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Kalkaska County Library

Kalkaska’s library logs 1.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size

Kalkaska County Library serves 17,939 people in and around Kalkaska. Last year it lent 41K books, movies and e-books and logged 26K visits.

247 South Cedar Street, Kalkaska 49646 · about 51 hours a week
A−Civic lifeAhead of 77% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (231) 258-9411 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
41K
2.3 per resident
Visits a year
26K
1.5 per resident · Below typical (3.1)
Programs & events
170
about 3 a week · 3,729 attended
Cardholders
34%
6,033 cards
Open
51 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Kalkaska’s library is like

Kalkaska County Library is used less than most libraries its size

Kalkaska County Library records 1.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $23 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓

Gifts and endowments pay a real share

25% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 70%. What your card is worth ↓

Few programs for a library this size

Kalkaska County Library offered 170 programs last year, 9.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. 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; Kalkaska County Library serves 17,939 people in and around Kalkaska, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Kalkaska’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Kalkaska is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns. Kalkaska is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Kalkaska’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.

A−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Kalkaska’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureC+Community nonprofits3.2 per 1,000 residents · MI towns 3.1 · U.S. 3.7A+Volunteering15.5% of adults 25–44 · MI towns 12.4% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 77%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $43K–$71K (6,924)Ahead of 74%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Kalkaska is small (2,258 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

8 community nonprofits are registered in Kalkaska

3.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.28 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation20.59 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans20.59 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.59 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education20.67 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.08 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.28 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

15.5%

15.5% of Kalkaska’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 Kalkaska’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.5 visits · typical 3.1Lower than 80%
Borrowing per resident 1.4 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 85%
Digital borrowing 0.9 e-items · typical 1.1Lower than 57%
Kids’ borrowing 0.5 kids’ items · typical 1.8Lower than 84%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.4Lower than 79%
Programs offered 9.5 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Lower than 85%
Cardholders 34% of residents · typical 40%Lower than 61%
Spending $23 per resident · typical $43Lower than 80%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Kalkaska County Library serves 17,939 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Kalkaska County Library system. The library’s own count.

26K
visits
1.5 per resident
41K
loans, print + digital
2.3 per resident
170
programs & events
3,729 attended
6,033
library cards
34% of people served
Every open hour15items borrowed
Every week72people at a program
Every day96Wi-Fi sessions
6 staff (full-time equivalent)7 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

41K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

41Kloans
Books & media (adults) 37%Kids’ books & media 24%E-books, audio & streaming 39%
From your couch

15,862 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Kalkaska →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–567
Ages 6–1127
Teens5
Adults69
All ages2
Little ones
1.3

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

9,751
kids’ books & media borrowed
3,729
people at programs
170
programs
The building

Find it

Kalkaska County Library, 247 South Cedar Street, Kalkaska.

Directions(231) 258-9411
51
hours open a week
4,928
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Kalkaska County Library branch.

New in Kalkaska? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.85 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kalkaska cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$23 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $407K.

Local taxes 70%State 5%Gifts & other 25%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $754K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $407K 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 6,033 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Kalkaska County Library serves 17,939 people in and around Kalkaska, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Kalkaska.

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 Kalkaska

Does Kalkaska have a public library?

Yes. Kalkaska County Library, 247 South Cedar Street, serves 17,939 people in and around Kalkaska (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Kalkaska County 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 Kalkaska’s library?

It logged 1.5 visits and lent 2.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.

What is Kalkaska’s civic life grade?

A− Kalkaska is ahead of 77% 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 Kalkaska.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.