Columbia Township’s library lends 7.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Columbia Township Library serves 2,194 people in and around Columbia Township. Last year it lent 18K books, movies and e-books and logged 10K visits.
Columbia Township’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 61% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 7% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 62% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; Columbia Township Library serves 2,194 people in and around Columbia Township, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Columbia Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Columbia Township is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns. Columbia Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Columbia Township
5.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
15.0%
15.0% of Columbia Township’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 12.4% in the typical Michigan town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Columbia Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Columbia Township Library serves 2,194 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Columbia Township Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
18K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,271 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Columbia Township Library, 6456 Center Street, Unionville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Columbia Township Library branch.
New in Columbia Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.30 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Columbia Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $163K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $375K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $163K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 1,310 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Township | Columbia Township Library fine-free | — | 45 | A+ |
| Sebewaing Township | Sebewaing Township Library fine-free | — | 33 | A |
| Akron Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Almer Township | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Elmwood Township | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Columbia Township Library serves 2,194 people in and around Columbia Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Columbia Township.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Columbia Township
Does Columbia Township have a public library?
Yes. Columbia Township Library, 6456 Center Street, serves 2,194 people in and around Columbia Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Columbia Township Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Columbia Township’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 8.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Columbia Township’s civic life grade?
A+ Columbia Township is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Columbia Township.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.