Benjamin and Maria (Ogden) Drake Farm · Photo: Karen High2 · CC BY-SA 3.0Oshtemo Township’s library is a branch of Kalamazoo Public Library, which lends more per resident than 93% of systems its size
Oshtemo Township’s library is the Oshtemo Branch Library, a branch of Kalamazoo Public Library, which serves 127,924 people and lent 1.7M items last year.
Oshtemo Township’s library, in brief
A system of heavy borrowers
The Kalamazoo Public Library system lends 9.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 93% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 14% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
The Kalamazoo Public Library system spends $113 per resident a year, about three times the typical $36 for a library its size. Almost all of it (92%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. It’s 30% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 44% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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; Oshtemo Township’s library is a branch of Kalamazoo Public Library, so they cover the whole system (127,924 people), not just the Oshtemo Township branch.
What’s behind Oshtemo Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Oshtemo Township is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns, #576 of 697 in Michigan. Oshtemo Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Oshtemo Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($44K–$73K) 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.
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 →
63 community nonprofits are registered in Oshtemo Township
2.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.2%
8.2% of Oshtemo 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 Oshtemo Township’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1.7M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
509,017 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Kalamazoo Public Library serves 127,924 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 152 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Kalamazoo Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 18 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.
Find it
Oshtemo Branch Library, 7265 West Main Street, Kalamazoo.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Kalamazoo Public Library branch.
New in Oshtemo Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.78 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oshtemo Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $14M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $26M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $14M 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 17,570 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oshtemo Township | Oshtemo Branch Library fine-free | — | 50 | C+ |
| Kalamazoo | Kalamazoo Public Library fine-free | — | 64 | A− |
| Kalamazoo Township | Eastwood Branch Library fine-free | — | 36 | C− |
| Texas Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Alamo Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Almena Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
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).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Oshtemo Branch Library is one branch of Kalamazoo Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 127,924 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 Oshtemo Township
Does Oshtemo Township have a public library?
Yes: Oshtemo Branch Library, 7265 West Main Street, is a branch of Kalamazoo Public Library, which serves 127,924 people. The branch is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kalamazoo Public 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 Oshtemo Township’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 13.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Oshtemo Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Oshtemo Township is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on civic life, #576 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 Oshtemo Township.
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.