Henry Richardi House · Photo: Dkanaris · CC BY-SA 3.0Forest Home Township has no public library of its own; the nearest is Bellaire Public Library in Bellaire, 2.4 miles away
Forest Home Township doesn’t have a public library of its own. The closest is Bellaire Public Library in Bellaire, 2.4 miles away. Many small-town libraries give cards to neighbors, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
A+Civic lifeAhead of 98% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.Getting a library card from Forest Home Township
Forest Home Township borrows from the libraries next door
Forest Home Township has no public library of its own, but four libraries are within 10 miles, the closest being Bellaire Public Library in Bellaire (2.4 miles). Many small-town libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead. Nearest libraries ↓
Forest Home Township isn’t the only town nearby without one
Custer Township, Torch Lake Township and Milton Township don’t have a public library of their own either. Among the towns next door, Kearney Township (Bellaire Public Library), Helena Township (Alden District Library) and Bellaire (Bellaire Public Library) do. Libraries next door ↓
The closest isn’t the one open longest
Bellaire Public Library is nearest, open about 37 hours a week. Elk Rapids District Library, 9.8 miles away, is open about 52 hours a week, so it may be easier to fit in. Nearest libraries ↓
The nearby libraries are all fine-free
None of the four closest libraries charges late fines. Nearest libraries ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Distances are straight-line from the town center.
What’s behind Forest Home Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Forest Home Township is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. Forest Home Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Forest Home Township near the top nationally; Forest Home Township’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Forest Home Township
8.6 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.1%
13.1% of Forest Home 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 Home Township’s residents live; 2022.
The closest is 2.4 miles away
Closest first, measured from the center of Forest Home Township. Each one’s hours, and whether it charges late fines.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kearney Township | Bellaire Public Library fine-free | — | 37 | A+ |
| Helena Township | Alden District Library fine-free | — | 43 | — graded with its twin city |
| Bellaire | Bellaire Public Library fine-free | — | 37 | A+ |
| Central Lake Township | Central Lake District Library fine-free | — | 45 | A+ |
| Custer Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Torch Lake Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Milton 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Home Township
Does Forest Home Township have a public library?
No. The closest is Bellaire Public Library in Bellaire, 2.4 miles from the town center. Many libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
What is Forest Home Township’s civic life grade?
A+ Forest Home Township 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 Forest Home 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.