Smith-Culhane House · Photo: Doug Kerr (Dougtone) · CC BY-SA 2.0Port Austin Township’s library runs 8.7 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Port Austin Township Library serves 4,604 people in and around Port Austin Township. Last year it logged 15K visits.
What’s behind Port Austin Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Port Austin Township is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. Port Austin Township 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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Port Austin Township
7.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.5%
13.5% of Port Austin 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 Port Austin Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Port Austin Township Library serves 4,604 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Port Austin Township Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Port Austin Township Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: print loans and books & media on the shelves. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
40 programs a year
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
Port Austin Township Library, 114 Railroad Street, Port Austin.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Port Austin Township Library branch.
New in Port Austin Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Port Austin Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $120K.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 1,700 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Austin Township | Port Austin Township Library | — | 36 | A+ |
| Hume Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Huron Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Dwight Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Not reported for 2024: print loans and books & media on the shelves. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Port Austin Township Library serves 4,604 people in and around Port Austin Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Port Austin Township.
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 Port Austin Township
Does Port Austin Township have a public library?
Yes. Port Austin Township Library, 114 Railroad Street, serves 4,604 people in and around Port Austin Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Port Austin Township Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Port Austin Township’s library?
It logged 3.3 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Port Austin Township’s civic life grade?
A+ Port Austin Township is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Port Austin 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.