Michigan Paper Company Mill Historic District · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0Plainwell’s library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Charles A. Ransom District Library serves 15,489 people in and around Plainwell. Last year it lent 162K print books and media and logged 59K visits.
Plainwell’s library, in brief
A system of heavy borrowers
Charles A. Ransom District Library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 91% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 45% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
81% of the people it serves carry a library card
12,480 cards for 15,489 people, or 81%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
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; Charles A. Ransom District Library serves 15,489 people in and around Plainwell, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Plainwell’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Plainwell is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #520 of 697 in Michigan. Plainwell is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Plainwell’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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Plainwell
2.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.8%
8.8% of Plainwell’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 Plainwell’s residents live; 2022.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
162K 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.
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.
Charles A. Ransom District Library serves 15,489 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 52 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Charles A. Ransom District Library system. The library’s own count.
About 4 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
Charles A. Ransom District Library, 180 South Sherwood Avenue, Plainwell.
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 Charles A. Ransom District Library branch.
New in Plainwell? 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 $2.93 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Plainwell cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $871K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $871K 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 12,480 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainwell | Charles A. Ransom District Library fine-free | — | 60 | B− |
| Gun Plain Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Otsego 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Charles A. Ransom District Library serves 15,489 people in and around Plainwell, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Plainwell.
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 Plainwell
Does Plainwell have a public library?
Yes. Charles A. Ransom District Library, 180 South Sherwood Avenue, serves 15,489 people in and around Plainwell (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Charles A. Ransom 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 Plainwell’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 10.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Plainwell’s civic life grade?
B− Plainwell is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on civic life, #520 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 Plainwell.
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.