Jonesfield Township’s library logs 4.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Merrill District Library serves 3,152 people in and around Jonesfield Township. Last year it lent 6,222 print books and media and logged 13K visits.
The short version on Jonesfield Township’s library
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 98% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 58% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
79% of the 112 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 15 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
2,804 cards for 3,152 people, or 89%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
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; Merrill District Library serves 3,152 people in and around Jonesfield Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Jonesfield Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Jonesfield Township is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. Jonesfield Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Jonesfield 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 →
2 community nonprofits are registered in Jonesfield Township
1.0 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
14.6%
14.6% of Jonesfield 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 Jonesfield Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Merrill District Library serves 3,152 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Merrill District Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
6,222 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
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, 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.
Find it
Merrill District Library, 321 West Saginaw Street, Merrill.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Merrill District Library branch.
New in Jonesfield Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jonesfield Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $116K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $92K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $116K 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 2,804 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonesfield Township | Merrill District Library fine-free | — | 29 | B− |
| Richland Township | Rauchholz Memorial Library fine-free | — | 37 | B |
| Lakefield Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Mount Haley 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Merrill District Library serves 3,152 people in and around Jonesfield Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Jonesfield 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 Jonesfield Township
Does Jonesfield Township have a public library?
Yes. Merrill District Library, 321 West Saginaw Street, serves 3,152 people in and around Jonesfield Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Merrill 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 Jonesfield Township’s library?
It logged 4.2 visits and lent 2.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Jonesfield Township’s civic life grade?
B− Jonesfield Township is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Jonesfield 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.