Photo: Crisco 1492 · CC BY-SA 4.0Frankenmuth’s library logs 20 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Frankenmuth James E. Wickson District Library serves 7,738 people in and around Frankenmuth. Last year it lent 68K print books and media and logged 156K visits.
What stands out about Frankenmuth James E. Wickson District Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Frankenmuth’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Frankenmuth is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 697 in Michigan. Frankenmuth is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Frankenmuth near the top nationally; 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 →
58 community nonprofits are registered in Frankenmuth
11.3 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
19.9%
19.9% of Frankenmuth’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 Frankenmuth’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Frankenmuth James E. Wickson District Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Frankenmuth James E. Wickson District Library serves 7,738 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Books and media off the shelf
68K 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.
About 3 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
Frankenmuth James E. Wickson District Library, 359 South Franklin Street, Frankenmuth.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Frankenmuth James E. Wickson District Library branch.
New in Frankenmuth? 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 $2.64 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Frankenmuth cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $413K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $413K 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 4,524 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frankenmuth | Frankenmuth James E. Wickson District Library | — | 52 | A+ |
| Frankenmuth 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.
- Visits count everyone. Frankenmuth’s 156,000 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Frankenmuth James E. Wickson District Library serves 7,738 people in and around Frankenmuth, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Frankenmuth.
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 Frankenmuth
Does Frankenmuth have a public library?
Yes. Frankenmuth James E. Wickson District Library, 359 South Franklin Street, serves 7,738 people in and around Frankenmuth (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Frankenmuth James E. Wickson 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 Frankenmuth’s library?
It logged 20.2 visits and lent 8.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Frankenmuth’s civic life grade?
A+ Frankenmuth is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #1 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 Frankenmuth.
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.