Martin Reef Light Station · Public domainDetour Township’s library is a branch of Superior District Library, which lends more per resident than 60% of systems its size
Detour Township’s library is the Detour Area School and Public Library, a branch of Superior District Library, which serves 41,170 people and lent 222K items last year.
The short version on Detour Township’s library
Six times the programs of a typical library its size
The Superior District Library system ran 3,328 programs last year, about 64 a week. That’s 81 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 62,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The Superior District Library system logs 7.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 96% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 4.8 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
36% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 62%. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 58% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 71% 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; Detour Township’s library is a branch of Superior District Library, so they cover the whole system (41,170 people), not just the Detour Township branch.
What’s behind Detour Township’s civic life grade
Detour Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
About 27 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 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Superior District Library serves 41,170 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Superior District Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
222K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
25,517 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Detour Area School and Public Library, 202 South Division Street, Detour Village.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Superior District Library branch.
New in Detour 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 $3.32 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Detour Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 15,331 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detour Township | Detour Area School and Public Library fine-free | — | 37 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Drummond Township | Drummond Island Library fine-free | — | 32 | — graded with its twin city |
| Clark Township | Les Cheneaux Community Library fine-free | — | 39 | A+ |
| Raber Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Detour Area School and Public Library is one branch of Superior District Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 41,170 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 Detour Township
Does Detour Township have a public library?
Yes: Detour Area School and Public Library, 202 South Division Street, is a branch of Superior District Library, which serves 41,170 people. The branch is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Superior District 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 Detour Township’s library?
It logged 7.6 visits and lent 5.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Detour Township’s civic life grade?
Detour Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Detour 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.