Salem Township’s library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Salem Township Library serves Salem Township’s 8,289 residents. Last year it lent 103K books, movies and e-books and logged 16K visits.
The short version on Salem Township’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 74% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 62 items per child in Salem Township last year. Kids & programs ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 70%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 17,000 items on the shelves went out about 5.1 times last year, on average. 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.
What’s behind Salem Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Salem Township is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #364 of 697 in Michigan. Salem Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Salem 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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Salem Township
2.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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.
11.1%
11.1% of Salem 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 Salem Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Salem Township last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Salem Township Library serves 8,289 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 46 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
103K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 5.1 times last year, on average.
18,704 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Salem Township Library, 3007 142nd Avenue, Burnips.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Salem 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 $7.27 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Salem Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $197K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $197K budget.
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 1,712 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Salem Township ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamestown Township | Patmos Library fine-free | 18.3 | 39 | C |
| Dorr Township | Leighton Township Library fine-free | 13.0 | 39 | B+ |
| Salem Township | Salem Township Library | 12.5 | 43 | B |
| Overisel Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Monterey 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Salem Township
Does Salem Township have a public library?
Yes. Salem Township Library, 3007 142nd Avenue, serves Salem Township’s 8,289 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Salem 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 Salem Township’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 12.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Salem Township’s civic life grade?
B Salem Township is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on civic life, #364 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 Salem 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.