Morgan-Copp-Mervau Building · Public domainLeelanau Township’s library logs 8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Leelanau Township Library serves Leelanau Township’s 2,048 residents. Last year it lent 4,320 print books and media and logged 16K visits.
The short version on Leelanau Township’s library
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 84% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 26%. The building also logs about 42 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 95% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 63% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
A small-town library
Leelanau Township Library serves 2,048 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 42 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
A place to get online
Leelanau Township Library logs about 42 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 4 public computers. That’s 7.5 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Leelanau Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Leelanau Township is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Leelanau Township’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
32 community nonprofits are registered in Leelanau Township
14.9 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
17.1%
17.1% of Leelanau 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 Leelanau Township’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Leelanau Township Library serves 2,048 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
4,320 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Leelanau Township last year.
Find it
Leelanau Township Library, 119 East Nagonaba Street, Northport.
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 Leelanau 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 Leelanau Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $193K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $108K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $193K 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 1,026 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leelanau Township | Leelanau Township Library fine-free | 2.1 | 42 | A+ |
| Leland Township | Leland Township Public Library fine-free | — | 40 | A+ |
| Suttons Bay Township | Suttons Bay-Bingham District Library fine-free | — | 44 | A+ |
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.
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 Leelanau Township
Does Leelanau Township have a public library?
Yes. Leelanau Township Library, 119 East Nagonaba Street, serves Leelanau Township’s 2,048 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Leelanau Township 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 Leelanau Township’s library?
It logged 8.0 visits and lent 2.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Leelanau Township’s civic life grade?
A+ Leelanau Township is among the top 1% 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 Leelanau 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.