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Shelby, MIPhoto: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0
Shelby Area District Library

Shelby’s library runs 8.2 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size

Shelby Area District Library serves 11,520 people in and around Shelby. Last year it lent 34K books, movies and e-books and logged 16K visits.

189 Maple Street, Shelby 49455 · about 46 hours a week
B−Civic lifeAhead of 51% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (231) 861-4565 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
34K
3 per resident
Visits a year
16K
1.4 per resident · Below typical (3.1)
Programs & events
94
about 2 a week · 1,781 attended
Cardholders
18%
2,110 cards
Open
46 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

Shelby’s library, in brief

Below typical on every measure

Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Shelby Area District Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓

Most programs are for young children

77% of the 94 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 50 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

Few programs for a library this size

Shelby Area District Library offered 94 programs last year, 8.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓

Few residents carry a card

Only 18% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓

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; Shelby Area District Library serves 11,520 people in and around Shelby, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Shelby’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Shelby is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns. Shelby is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Shelby’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.

B−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Shelby’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureC−Community nonprofits1.9 per 1,000 residents · MI towns 3.1 · U.S. 3.7AVolunteering11.7% of adults 25–44 · MI towns 12.4% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 51%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $37K–$62K (4,914)Ahead of 50%

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. Shelby is small (2,185 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

5 community nonprofits are registered in Shelby

1.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.16 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans20.58 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.74 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.31 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.16 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

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.

Volunteering

11.7%

11.7% of Shelby’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 Shelby’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.4 visits · typical 3.1Lower than 81%
Borrowing per resident 2.3 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 71%
Digital borrowing 0.6 e-items · typical 1.1Lower than 69%
Kids’ borrowing 0.8 kids’ items · typical 1.8Lower than 76%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.4Lower than 85%
Programs offered 8.2 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Lower than 88%
Cardholders 18% of residents · typical 40%Lower than 89%
Spending $25 per resident · typical $43Lower than 76%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Shelby Area District Library serves 11,520 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Shelby Area District Library system. The library’s own count.

16K
visits
1.4 per resident
34K
loans, print + digital
3 per resident
94
programs & events
1,781 attended
2,110
library cards
18% of people served
Every open hour14items borrowed
Every week34people at a program
Every week311visits
4 staff (full-time equivalent)6 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

34K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

34Kloans
Books & media (adults) 53%Kids’ books & media 26%E-books, audio & streaming 21%
From your couch

7,345 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 Shelby →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–550
Ages 6–1122
Teens13
Adults9
All ages0
Little ones
1

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

8,816
kids’ books & media borrowed
1,781
people at programs
94
programs
The building

Find it

Shelby Area District Library, 189 Maple Street, Shelby.

Directions(231) 861-4565
46
hours open a week
8,679
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Shelby Area District Library branch.

New in Shelby? 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 $1.85 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shelby 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
$25 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $293K.

Local taxes 96%State 4%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $544K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $293K 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 2,110 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. Shelby Area District Library serves 11,520 people in and around Shelby, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Shelby.

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 Shelby

Does Shelby have a public library?

Yes. Shelby Area District Library, 189 Maple Street, serves 11,520 people in and around Shelby (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Shelby Area District 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 Shelby’s library?

It logged 1.4 visits and lent 3.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.

What is Shelby’s civic life grade?

B− Shelby is ahead of 51% 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 Shelby.

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.