Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Mount Morris

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Mount Morris Library · part of Genesee District Library

Mount Morris’ library is a branch of Genesee District Library, which lends less per resident than 77% of systems its size

Mount Morris’s library is the Mount Morris Library, a branch of Genesee District Library, which serves 334,645 people and lent 1.1M items last year.

685 Van Buren Avenue, Mount Morris 48458 · about 40 hours a week
DCivic lifeAhead of 11% of U.S. towns · #680 of 697 in Michigan. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
1.1M
3.4 per resident
Visits a year
689K
2.1 per resident · Below typical (2.1)
Programs & events
952
about 18 a week · 30K attended
Cardholders
29%
97,467 cards
Open
40 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

Mount Morris’s library, in brief

Few programs for a library this size

The Genesee District Library system offered 952 programs last year, 2.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓

45% of borrowing happens on a screen

E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 45% of loans. Print still makes up 55%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓

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; Mount Morris’s library is a branch of Genesee District Library, so they cover the whole system (334,645 people), not just the Mount Morris branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Mount Morris’ civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Mount Morris is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns, #680 of 697 in Michigan. Mount Morris is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.

D
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Mount Morris’ overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 11%
FewerMore
Michigan towns we grade (697)Ahead of 2%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $37K–$61K (4,527)Ahead of 14%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($37K–$61K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.

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. Mount Morris is small (3,086 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

4 community nonprofits are registered in Mount Morris

1.5 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 & culture00.10 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.26 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.35 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.32 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.16 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.10 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.06 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

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

6.4%

6.4% of Mount Morris’ 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 Mount Morris’ residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · What people borrow

45% of borrowing is digital

1.1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

1.1Mloans
Books & media (adults) 35%Kids’ books & media 20%E-books, audio & streaming 45%
From your couch

501,757 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.1 visits · typical 2.1Lower than 52%
Borrowing per resident 1.9 print items · typical 3.2Lower than 77%
Digital borrowing 1.5 e-items · typical 1.4Higher than 53%
Kids’ borrowing 0.7 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 84%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.2Bottom 10%
Programs offered 2.8 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Bottom 10%
Cardholders 29% of residents · typical 41%Lower than 74%
Spending $27 per resident · typical $36Lower than 64%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Genesee District Library serves 334,645 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Genesee District Library system. The library’s own count.

689K
visits
2.1 per resident
1.1M
loans, print + digital
3.4 per resident
952
programs & events
30K attended
97K
library cards
29% of people served
Every open hour27items borrowed
Every week577people at a program
Every day170Wi-Fi sessions
89 staff (full-time equivalent)329 public computers
Kids & programs

About 11 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Mount Morris →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5385
Ages 6–11201
Teens36
Adults217
All ages113
Little ones
7.4

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

230K
kids’ books & media borrowed
30K
people at programs
952
programs
The building

Find it

Mount Morris Library, 685 Van Buren Avenue, Mount Morris.

40
hours open a week
4,500
square feet
With a card

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

New in Mount Morris? 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 $1.91 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mount Morris 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
$27 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $9.1M.

Local taxes 93%State 4%Gifts & other 4%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $17M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9.1M 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 97,467 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
Mount MorrisMount Morris Library—40D
Mount Morris TownshipBeecher Vera B. Rison Library—40D
Genesee TownshipGenesee Township-Johnson Memorial Library—40C−

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. Mount Morris Library is one branch of Genesee District Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 334,645 people it serves.

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 Mount Morris

Does Mount Morris have a public library?

Yes: Mount Morris Library, 685 Van Buren Avenue, is a branch of Genesee District Library, which serves 334,645 people. The branch is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Genesee District 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 Mount Morris’ library?

It logged 2.1 visits and lent 3.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Mount Morris’ civic life grade?

D Mount Morris is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns on civic life, #680 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 Mount Morris.

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.