Marcellus’ library runs 112 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Marcellus Township Wood Memorial Library serves 3,988 people in and around Marcellus. Last year it logged 15K visits.
The short version on Marcellus’s library
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Marcellus Township Wood Memorial Library ran 446 programs last year, about 9 a week. That’s 112 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
3,532 cards for 3,988 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; Marcellus Township Wood Memorial Library serves 3,988 people in and around Marcellus, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Marcellus’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Marcellus is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns. Marcellus is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Marcellus’ 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 →
3 community nonprofits are registered in Marcellus
2.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.7%
11.7% of Marcellus’ 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 Marcellus’ residents live; 2022.
About 4 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Marcellus Township Wood Memorial Library serves 3,988 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Marcellus Township Wood Memorial Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Marcellus Township Wood Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: print loans and books & media on the shelves. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Find it
Marcellus Township-Wood Memorial Library, 205 East Main Street, Marcellus.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Marcellus Township Wood Memorial Library branch.
New in Marcellus? 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 Marcellus cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $184K.
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 3,532 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: print loans and books & media on the shelves. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Marcellus Township Wood Memorial Library serves 3,988 people in and around Marcellus, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Marcellus.
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 Marcellus
Does Marcellus have a public library?
Yes. Marcellus Township Wood Memorial Library, 205 East Main Street, serves 3,988 people in and around Marcellus (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Marcellus Township Wood Memorial 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 Marcellus’ library?
It logged 3.8 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Marcellus’ civic life grade?
B Marcellus is ahead of 61% 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 Marcellus.
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.