Deerfield Township’s library logs 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Walton Erickson Public Library serves 9,638 people in and around Deerfield Township. Last year it lent 6,261 print books and media and logged 5,636 visits.
The short version on Deerfield Township’s library
Walton Erickson Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Walton Erickson Public Library records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $7 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Walton Erickson Public Library offered 25 programs last year, 2.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
25% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 66%. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
Walton Erickson Public Library spends $7 per resident, less than 98% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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; Walton Erickson Public Library serves 9,638 people in and around Deerfield Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Deerfield Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Deerfield Township is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns. Deerfield Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Deerfield Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Deerfield Township
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
19.9%
19.9% of Deerfield 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 Deerfield Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Walton Erickson Public Library serves 9,638 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Walton Erickson Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
6,261 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.
25 programs a year
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
Walton Erickson Public Library, 4808 Northland Drive, Morley.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Walton Erickson Public Library branch.
New in Deerfield 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 $1.47 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Deerfield Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $71K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $104K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $71K 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 7,468 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deerfield Township | Walton Erickson Public Library | — | 34 | B |
| Aetna Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Hinton Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Winfield Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Austin Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
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. Walton Erickson Public Library serves 9,638 people in and around Deerfield Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Deerfield 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 Deerfield Township
Does Deerfield Township have a public library?
Yes. Walton Erickson Public Library, 4808 Northland Drive, serves 9,638 people in and around Deerfield Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Walton Erickson Public 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 Deerfield Township’s library?
It logged 0.6 visits and lent 0.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Deerfield Township’s civic life grade?
B Deerfield Township is ahead of 58% 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 Deerfield 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.