Shields’ library runs 7.4 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Thomas Township Library serves 11,931 people in and around Shields. Last year it lent 47K books, movies and e-books and logged 14K visits.
What Shields’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
88% of the 88 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone in Shields has a card
11,191 cards for 11,931 people, or 94%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Thomas Township Library offered 88 programs last year, 7.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Thomas Township Library serves more than Shields
The library’s service area covers 11,931 people in and around Shields, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Thomas Township Library holds 81,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 Shields’ civic life grade
Shields 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 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Thomas Township Library serves 11,931 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
47K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 81K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
6,945 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Find it
Thomas Township Library, 8207 Shields Drive, Saginaw.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Shields? 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 $1.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shields cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $373K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $708K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $373K 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 11,191 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shields | Thomas Township Library | 3.9 | 45 | — graded as part of its town |
| Thomas Township | Thomas Township Library | 3.9 | 45 | C |
| Saginaw Township | Rudolph C. Zauel Memorial Library fine-free | — | 59 | — graded with its twin city |
| James 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.
- 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 Shields
Does Shields have a public library?
Yes. Thomas Township Library, 8207 Shields Drive, serves 11,931 people in and around Shields (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Thomas 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 Shields’ library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 3.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Shields’ civic life grade?
Shields 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 Shields.
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.