Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0Green Lake Township’s library runs 116 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Interlochen Public Library serves Green Lake Township’s 6,703 residents. Last year it lent 64K print books and media and logged 43K visits.
Green Lake Township’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
60,859 cards for 6,703 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Green Lake Township ranks 2nd in Michigan for library use
Out of 91 Michigan towns with a library of their own, Green Lake Township comes 2nd for visits per resident. It’s also #3 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Interlochen Public Library ran 778 programs last year, about 15 a week. That’s 116 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 14,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Green Lake Township is a town of borrowers
Interlochen Public Library lends 9.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. Each item on the shelves went out about 2.6 times last year. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 42% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 25 items per child in Green Lake Township last year. 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.
What’s behind Green Lake Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Green Lake Township is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #94 of 697 in Michigan. All three 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 →
27 community nonprofits are registered in Green Lake Township
4.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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.
13.4%
13.4% of Green Lake 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 Green Lake Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 5 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Green Lake Township last year.
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.
Interlochen Public Library serves 6,703 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
64K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 24K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.6 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Interlochen Public Library, 9411 Tenth St., Interlochen.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Green Lake 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 $3.95 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Green Lake Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $291K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $291K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
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 60,859 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Lake Township | Interlochen Public Library fine-free | 9.6 | 51 | A |
| Long Lake Township | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Grant Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Inland Township | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Blair Township | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Grawn | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Bendon | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Colfax Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
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 Green Lake Township
Does Green Lake Township have a public library?
Yes. Interlochen Public Library, 9411 Tenth St., serves Green Lake Township’s 6,703 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Interlochen Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Green Lake Township’s library?
It logged 6.5 visits and lent 9.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Green Lake Township’s civic life grade?
A Green Lake Township is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #94 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 Green Lake 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.