Jamestown Township’s library lends 16 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Patmos Library serves Jamestown Township’s 9,630 residents. Last year it lent 176K books, movies and e-books and logged 25K visits.
The short version on Jamestown Township’s library
Jamestown Township ranks 2nd in Michigan for kids’ borrowing
Out of 91 Michigan towns with a library of their own, Jamestown Township comes 2nd for children’s items borrowed per child. It’s also #2 for borrowing. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 64% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 32 items per child in Jamestown Township last year. Kids & programs ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 57%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 174 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.6 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.5 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. It’s 14% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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 Jamestown Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Jamestown Township is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #603 of 697 in Michigan. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Jamestown Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($90K–$150K) 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 →
21 community nonprofits are registered in Jamestown Township
2.1 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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.0%
9.0% of Jamestown 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 Jamestown Township’s residents live; 2022.
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 Jamestown Township last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Patmos Library serves 9,630 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 86 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
176K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 49K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.1 times last year, on average.
24,406 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Patmos Library, 2445 Riley Street, Jamestown.
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 Jamestown 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 $8.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jamestown Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $309K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $309K 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 2,663 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Jamestown Township borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamestown Township | Patmos Library fine-free | 18.3 | 39 | C |
| Georgetown Township | Georgetown Township Public Library | 12.5 | 63 | B− |
| Salem Township | Salem Township Library | 12.5 | 43 | B |
| Hudsonville | Gary Byker Memorial Library of Hudsonville fine-free | — | 45 | C+ |
| Byron Township | Byron Township Branch Library fine-free | — | 52 | C+ |
| Zeeland Township | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Jamestown Township
Does Jamestown Township have a public library?
Yes. Patmos Library, 2445 Riley Street, serves Jamestown Township’s 9,630 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Patmos 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 Jamestown Township’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 18.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Jamestown Township’s civic life grade?
C Jamestown Township is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on civic life, #603 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 Jamestown 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.