Indian Lake Road Stone Arch Bridge · Photo: Traveler100 · CC BY-SA 3.0Oxford Township’s library logs 7.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Oxford Public Library serves Oxford Township’s 22,419 residents. Last year it lent 196K print books and media and logged 173K visits.
The short version on Oxford Township’s library
Oxford Township has the most-used library in Michigan
Out of 91 Michigan towns with a library of their own, Oxford Township comes first for visits per resident. How it compares ↓
Oxford Township uses its library more than almost any town its size
Oxford Public Library logs 7.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 8.8 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Oxford Township invests in its library
Oxford Public Library spends $95 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (92%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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.
What’s behind Oxford Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Oxford Township is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns, #214 of 697 in Michigan. Library visits hold the grade up; Oxford Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
62 community nonprofits are registered in Oxford Township
2.8 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. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.5%
10.5% of Oxford 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 Oxford Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Oxford Public Library serves 22,419 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 64 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
196K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 149K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Oxford Township last year.
Find it
Oxford Public Library, 530 Pontiac Street, Oxford.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Oxford 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 $1.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oxford Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.1M 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 8,580 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Oxford Township ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orion Township | Orion Township Public Library fine-free | 12.0 | 60 | B− |
| Oxford Township | Oxford Public Library fine-free | 8.8 | 59 | A− |
| Brandon Township | Brandon Township Public Library fine-free | 5.9 | 56 | B− |
| Addison Township | Addison Township Public Library | 3.2 | 48 | B |
| Dryden Township | Dryden Township Library | 2.8 | 31 | B− |
| Metamora Township | Metamora Branch Library fine-free | — | 31 | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Oxford Township
Does Oxford Township have a public library?
Yes. Oxford Public Library, 530 Pontiac Street, serves Oxford Township’s 22,419 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Oxford 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 Oxford Township’s library?
It logged 7.7 visits and lent 8.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Oxford Township’s civic life grade?
A− Oxford Township is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on civic life, #214 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 Oxford 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.