Pentwater’s library lends 8.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Pentwater Township Library serves 2,081 people in and around Pentwater. Last year it lent 17K print books and media and logged 13K visits.
Pentwater’s library, in brief
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
1,999 cards for 2,081 people, or 96%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Pentwater Township Library is above the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, with three in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
Pentwater Township Library spends $151 per resident a year, about three times the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (97%) 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; Pentwater Township Library serves 2,081 people in and around Pentwater, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Pentwater’s civic life grade
Pentwater isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pentwater cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $315K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $306K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $315K 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 1,999 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Pentwater Township Library serves 2,081 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Pentwater Township Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
17K 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 2 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
Pentwater Township Library, 402 East Park Street, Pentwater.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Pentwater Township Library branch.
New in Pentwater? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pentwater | Pentwater Township Library fine-free | — | 47 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Pentwater Township | Pentwater Township Library fine-free | — | 47 | 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).
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. Pentwater Township Library serves 2,081 people in and around Pentwater, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Pentwater.
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 Pentwater
Does Pentwater have a public library?
Yes. Pentwater Township Library, 402 East Park Street, serves 2,081 people in and around Pentwater (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pentwater Township 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 Pentwater’s library?
It logged 6.5 visits and lent 8.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Pentwater’s civic life grade?
Pentwater isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Pentwater.
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.