Rudyard Township’s library is a branch of Superior District Library, which lends more per resident than 60% of systems its size
Rudyard Township’s library is the Mollie R. Kahl Community Library, a branch of Superior District Library, which serves 41,170 people and lent 222K items last year.
Rudyard Township’s library, in brief
Six times the programs of a typical library its size
The Superior District Library system ran 3,328 programs last year, about 64 a week. That’s 81 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 62,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The Superior District Library system logs 7.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 96% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 4.8 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
36% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 62%. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 58% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 71% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Rudyard Township’s library is a branch of Superior District Library, so they cover the whole system (41,170 people), not just the Rudyard Township branch.
What’s behind Rudyard Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Rudyard Township is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. Rudyard Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Rudyard Township’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 →
3 community nonprofits are registered in Rudyard Township
2.7 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
20.2%
20.2% of Rudyard 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 Rudyard Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 27 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Superior District Library serves 41,170 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Superior District Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
222K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
25,517 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Mollie R. Kahl Community Library, 11185 West Second Street, Rudyard.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Superior District Library branch.
New in Rudyard Township? 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 $3.32 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rudyard Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 15,331 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rudyard Township | Mollie R. Kahl Community Library fine-free | — | 50 | B+ |
| Pickford Township | Pickford Community Library fine-free | — | 35 | A− |
| Kinross Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Trout Lake Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Marquette 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.
- System-wide. Mollie R. Kahl Community Library is one branch of Superior District Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 41,170 people it serves.
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 Rudyard Township
Does Rudyard Township have a public library?
Yes: Mollie R. Kahl Community Library, 11185 West Second Street, is a branch of Superior District Library, which serves 41,170 people. The branch is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Superior 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 Rudyard Township’s library?
It logged 7.6 visits and lent 5.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Rudyard Township’s civic life grade?
B+ Rudyard Township is ahead of 71% 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 Rudyard 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.