Richland Historic District · Public domainRichland Township’s library logs 5.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Richland Community Library serves Richland Township’s 8,693 residents. Last year it logged 51K visits.
What stands out about Richland Township’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Richland Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Richland Township is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #151 of 697 in Michigan. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
41 community nonprofits are registered in Richland Township
4.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.4%
9.4% of Richland 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 Richland Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Richland Community Library serves 8,693 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Richland Community Library
Fiscal year 2024. 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.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Richland Township last year.
Find it
Richland Community Library, 8951 Park Street, Richland.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Richland 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 Richland Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $478K.
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 3,283 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comstock Township | Comstock Township Library fine-free | 7.1 | 57 | C |
| Richland Township | Richland Community Library fine-free | — | 34 | A− |
| Ross Township | Augusta-Ross Township District Library fine-free | — | 41 | A− |
| South Gull Lake | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Cooper Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Prairieville 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.
- 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.
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 Richland Township
Does Richland Township have a public library?
Yes. Richland Community Library, 8951 Park Street, serves Richland Township’s 8,693 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Richland Community 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 Richland Township’s library?
It logged 5.8 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Richland Township’s civic life grade?
A− Richland Township is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #151 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 Richland 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.