Davison’s library is a branch of Genesee District Library, which lends less per resident than 77% of systems its size
Davison’s library is the Davison Area Library, a branch of Genesee District Library, which serves 334,645 people and lent 1.1M items last year.
What Davison’s library is like
Few programs for a library this size
The Genesee District Library system offered 952 programs last year, 2.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
45% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 45% of loans. Print still makes up 55%, much of it kids’ books. 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; Davison’s library is a branch of Genesee District Library, so they cover the whole system (334,645 people), not just the Davison branch.
What’s behind Davison’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Davison is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #619 of 697 in Michigan. Davison is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Davison’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($37K–$61K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Davison
1.7 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.5%
8.5% of Davison’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 Davison’s residents live; 2022.
45% of borrowing is digital
1.1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
501,757 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Genesee District Library serves 334,645 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Genesee District Library system. The library’s own count.
About 11 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
Davison Area Library, 203 East Fourth Street, Davison.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Genesee District Library branch.
New in Davison? 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 $1.91 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Davison cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $9.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $17M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9.1M 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 97,467 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Davison Area Library is one branch of Genesee District Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 334,645 people it serves.
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 Davison
Does Davison have a public library?
Yes: Davison Area Library, 203 East Fourth Street, is a branch of Genesee District Library, which serves 334,645 people. The branch is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Genesee District 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 Davison’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 3.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Davison’s civic life grade?
C Davison is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on civic life, #619 of 697 in Michigan. 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 Davison.
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.