Photo: Christopher L. Riley · CC BY-SA 4.0Homer Township’s library runs 190 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Homer Public Library serves 3,841 people in and around Homer Township. Last year it lent 21K books, movies and e-books and logged 20K visits.
The short version on Homer Township’s library
Six times the programs of a typical library its size
Homer Public Library ran 731 programs last year, about 14 a week. That’s 190 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 5,049 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
73% of the 731 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.9 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Homer Public Library serves 3,841 people in and around Homer Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Homer Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Homer Township is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #407 of 697 in Michigan. Homer Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Homer Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Homer 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
14.1%
14.1% of Homer 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 Homer Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 10 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Homer Public Library serves 3,841 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Homer Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
21K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,537 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Homer Public Library, 141 West Main Street, Homer.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Homer Public Library branch.
New in Homer 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 $1.89 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Homer Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $210K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $396K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $210K 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 2,437 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homer Township | Homer Public Library fine-free | — | 38 | B |
| Albion Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Clarendon Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Pulaski Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Litchfield 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.
- System-wide. Homer Public Library serves 3,841 people in and around Homer Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Homer Township.
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 Homer Township
Does Homer Township have a public library?
Yes. Homer Public Library, 141 West Main Street, serves 3,841 people in and around Homer Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Homer 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 Homer Township’s library?
It logged 5.2 visits and lent 5.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Homer Township’s civic life grade?
B Homer Township is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on civic life, #407 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 Homer 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.