Alexander McClew Farm House · Photo: Matthew Lampe · Public domainForest Township’s library is a branch of Genesee District Library, which lends less per resident than 77% of systems its size
Forest Township’s library is the Forest Township Library, a branch of Genesee District Library, which serves 334,645 people and lent 1.1M items last year.
What Forest Township’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; Forest Township’s library is a branch of Genesee District Library, so they cover the whole system (334,645 people), not just the Forest Township branch.
What’s behind Forest Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Forest Township is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #124 of 697 in Michigan. Forest Township 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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Forest Township
4.1 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.1%
13.1% of Forest 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 Forest Township’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
Forest Township Library, 123 West Main Street, Otisville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Genesee District Library branch.
New in Forest 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 $1.91 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Forest Township 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Township | Forest Township Library | — | 40 | A− |
| Marathon Township | Columbiaville Branch Library fine-free | — | 22 | B− |
| Millington Township | Millington Arbela District Library | — | 54 | B |
| Thetford Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Richfield Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
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. Forest Township 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 Forest Township
Does Forest Township have a public library?
Yes: Forest Township Library, 123 West Main Street, is a branch of Genesee District Library, which serves 334,645 people. The branch is open about 40 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 Forest Township’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 Forest Township’s civic life grade?
A− Forest Township is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #124 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 Forest 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.