Port Austin’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. Last year it logged 15K visits.
What’s behind Port Austin’s civic life grade
Port Austin 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 →
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? 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 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.
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, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Port Austin.
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
Does Port Austin have a public library?
Yes. Port Austin Township Library, 114 Railroad Street, serves 4,604 people in and around Port Austin (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’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’s civic life grade?
Port Austin 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 Port Austin.
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.