Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0Saginaw Township’s library is a branch of Public Libraries of Saginaw, which lends less per resident than 76% of systems its size
Saginaw Township’s library is the Rudolph C. Zauel Memorial Library, a branch of Public Libraries of Saginaw, which serves 117,256 people and lent 282K items last year.
What stands out about Rudolph C. Zauel Memorial Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Saginaw Township’s civic life grade
Saginaw Township 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 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Public Libraries of Saginaw serves 117,256 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Public Libraries of Saginaw system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
282K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
59,538 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 9 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
Rudolph C. Zauel Memorial Library, 3100 North Center Road, Saginaw.
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 Public Libraries of Saginaw branch.
New in Saginaw 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 $1.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Saginaw Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $3.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.3M 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 19,825 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Township | Thomas Township Library | 3.9 | 45 | C |
| Shields | Thomas Township Library | 3.9 | 45 | — graded as part of its town |
| Saginaw Township | Rudolph C. Zauel Memorial Library fine-free | — | 59 | — graded with its twin city |
| Saginaw | Public Libraries of Saginaw fine-free | — | 58 | C+ |
| James Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Carrollton Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Kochville Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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. Rudolph C. Zauel Memorial Library is one branch of Public Libraries of Saginaw, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 117,256 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 Saginaw Township
Does Saginaw Township have a public library?
Yes: Rudolph C. Zauel Memorial Library, 3100 North Center Road, is a branch of Public Libraries of Saginaw, which serves 117,256 people. The branch is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Public Libraries of Saginaw 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 Saginaw Township’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 2.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Saginaw Township’s civic life grade?
Saginaw Township 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 Saginaw 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.