Harrison Township’s library logs 1.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Charter Township of Harrison Free Public Library serves Harrison Township’s 24,314 residents. Last year it lent 41K print books and media and logged 41K visits.
The short version on Harrison Township’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Charter Township of Harrison Free Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Charter Township of Harrison Free Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. Two of the three libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
56% of the 303 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 104 were for children. 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 Harrison Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Harrison Township is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns, #671 of 697 in Michigan. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Charter Township of Harrison Free Public Library spends $24 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($60K–$100K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
45 community nonprofits are registered in Harrison Township
1.9 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.8%
6.8% of Harrison 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 Harrison Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Charter Township of Harrison Free Public Library serves 24,314 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
41K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 29K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Harrison Township last year.
Find it
Harrison Township Public Library, 38255 L'Anse Creuse Ste. A, Harrison Township.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Harrison 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 $1.24 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Harrison Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $579K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $715K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $579K 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 7,518 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesterfield Township | Chesterfield Township Library fine-free | 3.8 | 48 | C− |
| Harrison Township | Harrison Township Public Library | 1.7 | 58 | D |
| Clinton Township | Clinton-Macomb Public Library | — | 72 | D |
| Mount Clemens | Mount Clemens Public Library fine-free | — | 51 | 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.
- 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 Harrison Township
Does Harrison Township have a public library?
Yes. Charter Township of Harrison Free Public Library, 38255 L'Anse Creuse Ste. A, serves Harrison Township’s 24,314 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Charter Township of Harrison Free Public 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 Harrison Township’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 1.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Harrison Township’s civic life grade?
D Harrison Township is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns on civic life, #671 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 Harrison 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.