Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 3.0Iron River’s library logs 5.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
West Iron District Library serves 7,305 people in and around Iron River. Last year it lent 42K books, movies and e-books and logged 42K visits.
What stands out about West Iron District Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Iron River’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Iron River is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #2 of 697 in Michigan. Iron River is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Iron River near the top nationally; Iron River’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
36 community nonprofits are registered in Iron River
11.8 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
15.7%
15.7% of Iron River’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 Iron River’s residents live; 2022.
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.
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.
West Iron District Library serves 7,305 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole West Iron District Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
42K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,579 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
West Iron District Library, 116 West Genesee Street, Iron River.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every West Iron District Library branch.
New in Iron River? 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 $1.21 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Iron River cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $597K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $723K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $597K 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 4,185 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron River | West Iron District Library | — | 48 | A+ |
| Iron River Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Stambaugh Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Caspian | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Bates 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.
- System-wide. West Iron District Library serves 7,305 people in and around Iron River, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Iron River.
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 Iron River
Does Iron River have a public library?
Yes. West Iron District Library, 116 West Genesee Street, serves 7,305 people in and around Iron River (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is West Iron 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 Iron River’s library?
It logged 5.8 visits and lent 5.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Iron River’s civic life grade?
A+ Iron River is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #2 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 Iron River.
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.