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Sebewaing Township Library

Sebewaing’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size

Sebewaing Township Library serves 3,958 people in and around Sebewaing. Last year it lent 17K books, movies and e-books and logged 5,600 visits.

41 North Center Street, Sebewaing 48759 · about 33 hours a week
A+Civic lifeAhead of 97% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
17K
4.2 per resident
Visits a year
5,600
1.4 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
135
about 3 a week · 901 attended
Cardholders
53%
2,117 cards
Open
33 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Sebewaing Township Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Sebewaing’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Sebewaing is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns. Sebewaing is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.

A+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Sebewaing’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 97%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $36K–$60K (4,313)Ahead of 95%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Sebewaing is small (1,678 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

13 community nonprofits are registered in Sebewaing

7.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture21.08 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.54 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans73.78 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.54 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.54 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.54 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

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.

Volunteering

12.4%

12.4% of Sebewaing’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 Sebewaing’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.4 visits · typical 3Lower than 80%
Borrowing per resident 3.8 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 51%
Digital borrowing 0.4 e-items · typical 1Lower than 75%
Kids’ borrowing 1.4 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 57%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 75%
Programs offered 34.1 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 51%
Cardholders 53% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 65%
Spending $27 per resident · typical $43Lower than 74%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Sebewaing Township Library serves 3,958 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sebewaing Township Library system. The library’s own count.

5,600
visits
1.4 per resident
17K
loans, print + digital
4.2 per resident
135
programs & events
901 attended
2,117
library cards
53% of people served
Every open hour10items borrowed
Every week17people at a program
Every day7Wi-Fi sessions
2 staff (full-time equivalent)4 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

17K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

17Kloans
Books & media (adults) 57%Kids’ books & media 32%E-books, audio & streaming 10%
From your couch

1,695 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 1 kids’ program a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Sebewaing →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–553
Ages 6–118
Teens4
Adults68
All ages2
Little ones
1

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

5,373
kids’ books & media borrowed
901
people at programs
135
programs
The building

Find it

Sebewaing Township Library, 41 North Center Street, Sebewaing.

33
hours open a week
13,130
square feet
With a card

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 Sebewaing Township Library branch.

New in Sebewaing? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.47 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sebewaing cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$27 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $109K.

Local taxes 74%State 3%Gifts & other 23%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $268K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $109K 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 2,117 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Sebewaing Township Library serves 3,958 people in and around Sebewaing, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Sebewaing.

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 Sebewaing

Does Sebewaing have a public library?

Yes. Sebewaing Township Library, 41 North Center Street, serves 3,958 people in and around Sebewaing (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Sebewaing Township 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 Sebewaing’s library?

It logged 1.4 visits and lent 4.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Sebewaing’s civic life grade?

A+ Sebewaing is ahead of 97% 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 Sebewaing.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.