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Onekama, MIPhoto: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0
Onekama Branch Library · part of Manistee County Library

Onekama Township’s library is a branch of Manistee County Library, which lends less per resident than 58% of systems its size

Onekama Township’s library is the Onekama Branch Library, a branch of Manistee County Library, which serves 23,120 people and lent 77K items last year.

5283 Main Street, Onekama 49675 · about 25 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than two of the three inputs
Borrowed a year
77K
3.3 per resident
Visits a year
60K
2.6 per resident · Below typical (3.1)
Programs & events
645
about 12 a week · 8,977 attended
Cardholders
36%
8,434 cards
Open
25 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Onekama Branch Library

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

Civic life grade

What’s behind Onekama Township’s civic life grade

Onekama Township isn’t graded on civic life: its library is a branch of Manistee County Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Onekama Township’s overall grade.

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 →

Places to belong

11 community nonprofits are registered in Onekama Township

7.8 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 & culture00.15 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.95 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans32.42 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services00.15 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.81 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.73 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals11.03 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other21.54 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures

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

Visits per resident 2.6 visits · typical 3.1Lower than 58%
Borrowing per resident 3.3 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 58%
Kids’ borrowing 1.1 kids’ items · typical 1.8Lower than 65%
Program attendance 0.4 attendees · typical 0.4Lower than 55%
Programs offered 27.9 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Higher than 59%
Cardholders 36% of residents · typical 40%Lower than 56%
Spending $59 per resident · typical $43Higher than 69%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Manistee County Library serves 23,120 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 9 items go out

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

60K
visits
2.6 per resident
77K
loans, print + digital
3.3 per resident
645
programs & events
8,977 attended
8,434
library cards
36% of people served
Every open hour9items borrowed
Every week173people at a program
Every day130Wi-Fi sessions
16 staff (full-time equivalent)47 public computers
What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

77K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

77Kloans
Books & media (adults) 66%Kids’ books & media 34%
From your couch

Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 5 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Onekama Township →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5129
Ages 6–11151
Teens66
Adults192
All ages107
Little ones
2.5

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

26K
kids’ books & media borrowed
8,977
people at programs
645
programs
The building

Find it

Onekama Branch Library, 5283 Main Street, Onekama.

25
hours open a week
1,645
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Manistee County Library branch.

New in Onekama 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 $1.04 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Onekama 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
$59 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.4M.

Local taxes 92%State 1%Gifts & other 7%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 8,434 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
Onekama TownshipOnekama Branch Library fine-free—25— too few inputs
Bear Lake TownshipBear Lake Library fine-free—25A
Arcadia TownshipArcadia Township Branch Library fine-free—19— under 1,000 residents
Manistee 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.

  • Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
  • System-wide. Onekama Branch Library is one branch of Manistee County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 23,120 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 Onekama Township

Does Onekama Township have a public library?

Yes: Onekama Branch Library, 5283 Main Street, is a branch of Manistee County Library, which serves 23,120 people. The branch is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Manistee County 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 Onekama Township’s library?

It logged 2.6 visits and lent 3.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.

What is Onekama Township’s civic life grade?

Onekama Township isn’t graded on civic life: its library is a branch of Manistee County Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Onekama 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.