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Lenox Township Library

New Haven’s library lends 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size

Lenox Township Library serves 12,119 people in and around New Haven. Last year it lent 20K books, movies and e-books and logged 17K visits.

58976 Main Street, New Haven 48048 · about 48 hours a week
C+Civic lifeAhead of 36% of U.S. towns · #591 of 697 in Michigan. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (586) 749-3430 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
20K
1.7 per resident
Visits a year
17K
1.4 per resident · Below typical (3.1)
Programs & events
165
about 3 a week · 2,005 attended
Cardholders
21%
2,557 cards
Open
48 hrs
a week
In brief

What New Haven’s library is like

Lenox Township Library is used less than most libraries its size

Lenox Township Library records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓

Lenox Township Library serves more than New Haven

The library’s service area covers 12,119 people in and around New Haven, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓

A big collection for the borrowing it gets

Lenox Township Library holds 27,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. 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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind New Haven’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, New Haven is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns, #591 of 697 in Michigan. New Haven is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; New Haven’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.

C+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of New Haven’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureC−Community nonprofits2.3 per 1,000 residents · MI towns 3.1 · U.S. 3.7BVolunteering8.5% of adults 25–44 · MI towns 12.4% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 36%
FewerMore
Michigan towns we grade (697)Ahead of 15%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $50K–$83K (8,691)Ahead of 33%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$83K) 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. New Haven is small (6,749 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

15 community nonprofits are registered in New Haven

2.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.15 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.09 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans40.62 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services60.96 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education20.34 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.15 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

8.5%

8.5% of New Haven’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 New Haven’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.4 visits · typical 3.1Lower than 80%
Borrowing per resident 1.3 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 86%
Digital borrowing 0.4 e-items · typical 1.1Lower than 82%
Kids’ borrowing 0.5 kids’ items · typical 1.8Lower than 85%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.4Lower than 84%
Programs offered 13.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Lower than 75%
Cardholders 21% of residents · typical 40%Lower than 85%
Spending $28 per resident · typical $43Lower than 72%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Lenox Township Library serves 12,119 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

17K
visits
1.4 per resident
20K
loans, print + digital
1.7 per resident
165
programs & events
2,005 attended
2,557
library cards
21% of people served
Every open hour8items borrowed
Every week39people at a program
Every day11Wi-Fi sessions
5 staff (full-time equivalent)7 public computers27K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

20K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

20Kloans
Books & media (adults) 48%Kids’ books & media 30%E-books, audio & streaming 22%
How hard the shelves work
0.6×

Each of the 27K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.

From your couch

4,451 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, by who they’re for.

Schools in New Haven →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–538
Ages 6–1153
Teens26
Adults48
All ages0
Little ones
0.7

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

6,179
kids’ books & media borrowed
2,005
people at programs
165
programs
The building

Find it

Lenox Township Library, 58976 Main Street, New Haven.

Directions(586) 749-3430
48
hours open a week
2,440
square feet
27K
books & media
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in New Haven? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Haven 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
$28 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $343K.

Local taxes 98%State 2%Gifts & other 1%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $337K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $343K 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 2,557 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.

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 New Haven

Does New Haven have a public library?

Yes. Lenox Township Library, 58976 Main Street, serves 12,119 people in and around New Haven (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Lenox Township 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 New Haven’s library?

It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.

What is New Haven’s civic life grade?

C+ New Haven is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns on civic life, #591 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 New Haven.

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.