Photo: Lawrence G. Miller (Lawrence G. Miller on en.wikipedia) · CC BY-SA 3.0Paw Paw’s library logs 4.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Paw Paw District Library serves 14,002 people in and around Paw Paw. Last year it lent 65K print books and media and logged 61K visits.
What stands out about Paw Paw District Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Paw Paw’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Paw Paw is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #121 of 697 in Michigan. Paw Paw is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Paw Paw
4.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.8%
11.8% of Paw Paw’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 Paw Paw’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Paw Paw District Library serves 14,002 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 23 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Paw Paw District Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
65K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Paw Paw District Library, 609 West Michigan Avenue, Paw Paw.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Paw Paw District Library branch.
New in Paw Paw? 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 $1.25 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Paw Paw cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $877K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $877K 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 7,946 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paw Paw | Paw Paw District Library fine-free | — | 54 | A− |
| Paw Paw Township | Paw Paw District Library fine-free | — | 54 | A− |
| Antwerp Township | Lawton Public Library fine-free | — | 32 | 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.
- System-wide. Paw Paw District Library serves 14,002 people in and around Paw Paw, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Paw Paw.
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 Paw Paw
Does Paw Paw have a public library?
Yes. Paw Paw District Library, 609 West Michigan Avenue, serves 14,002 people in and around Paw Paw (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Paw Paw District 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 Paw Paw’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 4.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Paw Paw’s civic life grade?
A− Paw Paw is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #121 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 Paw Paw.
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.