Photo: Dj1997 · CC BY-SA 3.0Fairgrove Township’s library runs 13 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Fairgrove District Library serves 2,996 people in and around Fairgrove Township. Last year it lent 6,981 print books and media and logged 4,286 visits.
The short version on Fairgrove Township’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Fairgrove District Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Well funded, but lightly used
Fairgrove District Library spends $74 per resident, more than 81% of similar-size libraries. Use doesn’t match: visits per resident are lower than at 79% of them. 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; Fairgrove District Library serves 2,996 people in and around Fairgrove Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Fairgrove Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Fairgrove Township is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns. Fairgrove Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Fairgrove 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 Fairgrove Township
2.5 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.
15.2%
15.2% of Fairgrove 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 Fairgrove 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.
Fairgrove District Library serves 2,996 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Fairgrove District Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
6,981 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.
40 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
Fairgrove District Library, 1959 Main Street, Fairgrove.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Fairgrove District Library branch.
New in Fairgrove Township? 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 Fairgrove Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $223K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $112K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $223K 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 1,232 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairgrove Township | Fairgrove District Library | — | 49 | B+ |
| Gilford Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Juniata Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Almer Township | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Akron 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. Fairgrove District Library serves 2,996 people in and around Fairgrove Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Fairgrove 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 Fairgrove Township
Does Fairgrove Township have a public library?
Yes. Fairgrove District Library, 1959 Main Street, serves 2,996 people in and around Fairgrove Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fairgrove 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 Fairgrove Township’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 2.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Fairgrove Township’s civic life grade?
B+ Fairgrove Township is ahead of 66% 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 Fairgrove 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.