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Morton Township Public Library

Morton Township’s library runs 19 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size

Morton Township Public Library serves 6,776 people in and around Morton Township. Last year it lent 38K books, movies and e-books and logged 23K visits.

110 South James Street, Mecosta 49332 · about 32 hours a week
A−Civic lifeAhead of 75% of U.S. towns · #212 of 697 in Michigan. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
38K
5.6 per resident
Visits a year
23K
3.4 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
126
about 2 a week · 5,152 attended
Cardholders
100%
9,328 cards
Open
32 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Morton Township Public Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Morton Township’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Morton Township is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns, #212 of 697 in Michigan. Morton Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Morton Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.

A−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Morton Township’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 75%
FewerMore
Michigan towns we grade (697)Ahead of 70%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $55K–$91K (9,168)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. Morton Township is small (4,766 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

14 community nonprofits are registered in Morton Township

3.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.13 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans51.13 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.37 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education20.37 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.20 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals20.39 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other20.48 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

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

17.2%

17.2% of Morton 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 Morton Township’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 3.4 visits · typical 3Higher than 56%
Borrowing per resident 4.3 print items · typical 3.8Higher than 55%
Digital borrowing 1.4 e-items · typical 1Higher than 62%
Kids’ borrowing 1.4 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 55%
Program attendance 0.8 attendees · typical 0.5Higher than 67%
Programs offered 18.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 73%
Cardholders 100% of residents · typical 42%Top 10%
Spending $48 per resident · typical $43Higher than 58%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Morton Township Public Library serves 6,776 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 23 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Morton Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.

23K
visits
3.4 per resident
38K
loans, print + digital
5.6 per resident
126
programs & events
5,152 attended
9,328
library cards
100% of people served
Every open hour23items borrowed
Every week99people at a program
Every day2Wi-Fi sessions
3 staff (full-time equivalent)14 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

38K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

38Kloans
Books & media (adults) 50%Kids’ books & media 25%E-books, audio & streaming 24%
From your couch

9,336 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 Morton Township →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–547
Ages 6–1133
Teens6
Adults38
All ages2
Little ones
0.9

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

9,667
kids’ books & media borrowed
5,152
people at programs
126
programs
The building

Find it

Morton Township Public Library, 110 South James Street, Mecosta.

32
hours open a week
15,000
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Morton Township Public Library branch.

New in Morton Township? 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 $1.94 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Morton Township 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
$48 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $328K.

Local taxes 82%State 2%Gifts & other 16%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $637K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $328K 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 9,328 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
Morton TownshipMorton Township Public Library—32A−
Wheatland TownshipWheatland Township Library—32A+
Austin TownshipNone of its own——B+
Canadian LakesNone of its own——— graded as part of its town
Martiny TownshipNone of its own——B+
Hinton TownshipNone of its own——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).

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Morton Township Public Library serves 6,776 people in and around Morton Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Morton 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 Morton Township

Does Morton Township have a public library?

Yes. Morton Township Public Library, 110 South James Street, serves 6,776 people in and around Morton Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Morton Township 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 Morton Township’s library?

It logged 3.4 visits and lent 5.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Morton Township’s civic life grade?

A− Morton Township is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on civic life, #212 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 Morton Township.

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.