Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0L'Anse Township’s library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
L'Anse Area School-Public Library serves 8,761 people in and around L'Anse Township. Last year it lent 5,078 print books and media and logged 8,524 visits.
What L'Anse Township’s library is like
L'Anse Area School-Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
L'Anse Area School-Public Library records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $8 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
L'Anse Area School-Public Library offered 17 programs last year, 1.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
L'Anse Area School-Public Library spends $8 per resident, less than 97% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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; L'Anse Area School-Public Library serves 8,761 people in and around L'Anse Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind L'Anse Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, L'Anse Township is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #91 of 697 in Michigan. L'Anse Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in L'Anse Township
4.4 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.6%
13.6% of L'Anse 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 L'Anse Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
L'Anse Area School-Public Library serves 8,761 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 L'Anse Area School-Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
5,078 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.
17 programs a year
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
L'Anse Area School-Public Library, 201 North 4th Street, L'Anse.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every L'Anse Area School-Public Library branch.
New in L'Anse 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 $1.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average L'Anse Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $71K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $83K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $71K 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 1,332 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L'Anse Township | L'Anse Area School-Public Library | — | 25 | A |
| Baraga Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Arvon Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Michigamme Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Spurr Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Covington 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. L'Anse Area School-Public Library serves 8,761 people in and around L'Anse Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just L'Anse 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 L'Anse Township
Does L'Anse Township have a public library?
Yes. L'Anse Area School-Public Library, 201 North 4th Street, serves 8,761 people in and around L'Anse Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is L'Anse Area School-Public 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 L'Anse Township’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 0.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is L'Anse Township’s civic life grade?
A L'Anse Township is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #91 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 L'Anse 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.