Photo: Jordano53 · CC BY-SA 4.0Independence Township’s library lends 7.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Clarkston Independence District Library serves Independence Township’s 37,614 residents. Last year it lent 269K print books and media and logged 105K visits.
What stands out about Independence Township’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Independence Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Independence Township is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns, #570 of 697 in Michigan. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Independence Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($86K–$143K) 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 →
71 community nonprofits are registered in Independence Township
1.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (24 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.
9.9%
9.9% of Independence 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 Independence Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Clarkston Independence District Library serves 37,614 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 85 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
269K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 112K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.4 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Independence Township last year.
Find it
Clarkston Independence District Library, 6495 Clarkston Road, Clarkston.
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 Independence 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 $1.84 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Independence Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.4M 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 13,654 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Independence Township ranks 2nd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orion Township | Orion Township Public Library fine-free | 12.0 | 60 | B− |
| Independence Township | Clarkston Independence District Library fine-free | 7.2 | 61 | C+ |
| Auburn Hills | Auburn Hills Public Library fine-free | 7.0 | 59 | C |
| Springfield Township | Springfield Township Library | 6.2 | 49 | C+ |
| Brandon Township | Brandon Township Public Library fine-free | 5.9 | 56 | B− |
| Waterford Township | Waterford Township Public Library fine-free | 4.3 | 55 | C− |
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 Independence Township
Does Independence Township have a public library?
Yes. Clarkston Independence District Library, 6495 Clarkston Road, serves Independence Township’s 37,614 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Clarkston Independence District 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 Independence Township’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 7.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Independence Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Independence Township is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on civic life, #570 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 Independence 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.