Votruba Block · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0East Jordan’s library logs 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Jordan Valley District Library serves 6,819 people in and around East Jordan. Last year it lent 17K books, movies and e-books and logged 7,654 visits.
East Jordan’s library, in brief
Jordan Valley District Library is used less than most libraries its size
Jordan Valley District Library records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Jordan Valley District Library offered 22 programs last year, 3.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
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; Jordan Valley District Library serves 6,819 people in and around East Jordan, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind East Jordan’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, East Jordan is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. East Jordan 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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in East Jordan
7.7 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
14.1%
14.1% of East Jordan’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 East Jordan’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Jordan Valley District Library serves 6,819 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jordan Valley District Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
17K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
6,311 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
22 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
Jordan Valley District Library, One Library Lane, East Jordan.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Jordan Valley District Library branch.
New in East Jordan? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average East Jordan cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $391K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $281K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $391K 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 3,394 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Jordan Valley District Library serves 6,819 people in and around East Jordan, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just East Jordan.
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 East Jordan
Does East Jordan have a public library?
Yes. Jordan Valley District Library, One Library Lane, serves 6,819 people in and around East Jordan (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jordan Valley 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 East Jordan’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 2.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is East Jordan’s civic life grade?
A+ East Jordan is ahead of 98% 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 East Jordan.
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.