Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Crystal Falls’ library runs 65 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Crystal Falls District Community Library serves 3,481 people in and around Crystal Falls. Last year it lent 14K print books and media and logged 14K visits.
What stands out about Crystal Falls District Community Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Crystal Falls’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Crystal Falls is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. Crystal Falls is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Crystal Falls near the top nationally; Crystal Falls’ count of community nonprofits 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 →
19 community nonprofits are registered in Crystal Falls
11.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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.
15.2%
15.2% of Crystal Falls’ 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 Crystal Falls’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Crystal Falls District Community Library serves 3,481 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Crystal Falls District Community Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
14K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Find it
Crystal Falls District Community Library, 237 Superior Avenue, Crystal Falls.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Crystal Falls District Community Library branch.
New in Crystal Falls? 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 $1.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Crystal Falls cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $205K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $243K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $205K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 2,201 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal Falls | Crystal Falls District Community Library | — | 55 | A+ |
| Crystal Falls Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Crystal Falls District Community Library serves 3,481 people in and around Crystal Falls, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Crystal Falls.
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 Crystal Falls
Does Crystal Falls have a public library?
Yes. Crystal Falls District Community Library, 237 Superior Avenue, serves 3,481 people in and around Crystal Falls (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Crystal Falls District Community Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Crystal Falls’ library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 4.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Crystal Falls’ civic life grade?
A+ Crystal Falls is among the top 1% 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 Crystal Falls.
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.