Laingsburg’s library lends 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Laingsburg Public Library serves 9,430 people in and around Laingsburg. Last year it lent 7,000 print books and media and drew 590 people to its programs.
The short version on Laingsburg’s library
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 100% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 74% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Laingsburg Public Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
83% of the 59 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 44 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Laingsburg Public Library offered 59 programs last year, 6.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Laingsburg Public Library spends $11 per resident, less than 95% 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; Laingsburg Public Library serves 9,430 people in and around Laingsburg, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Laingsburg’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Laingsburg is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Laingsburg is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Laingsburg’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
The survey’s stand-in for Laingsburg’s 2024 visits is its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Laingsburg
2.0 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
15.4%
15.4% of Laingsburg’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 Laingsburg’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Laingsburg Public Library serves 9,430 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Laingsburg Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
7,000 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.
59 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
Laingsburg Public Library, 255 East Grand River Road, Laingsburg.
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 Laingsburg Public Library branch.
New in Laingsburg? 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 Laingsburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $103K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $95K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $103K 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 3,002 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laingsburg | Laingsburg Public Library fine-free | — | 40 | B |
| Sciota 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.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Laingsburg Public Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate is its own, so we leave it out and never rank it.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Laingsburg Public Library serves 9,430 people in and around Laingsburg, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Laingsburg.
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 Laingsburg
Does Laingsburg have a public library?
Yes. Laingsburg Public Library, 255 East Grand River Road, serves 9,430 people in and around Laingsburg (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Laingsburg Public 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 Laingsburg’s library?
It lent 0.7 items per resident in 2024 (print) and ran 59 programs that drew 590 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Laingsburg’s civic life grade?
B Laingsburg is ahead of 59% 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 Laingsburg.
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.