Rock S. Edwards Farmstead · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0Sodus Township’s library lends 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Sodus Township Library serves Sodus Township’s 1,995 residents. Last year it lent 1,335 print books and media and logged 4,236 visits.
The short version on Sodus Township’s library
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 100% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 71% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Sodus Township Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Sodus Township Library serves 1,995 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 35 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Sodus Township Library lends 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, fewer than 95% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Sodus Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sodus Township is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($59K–$98K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Sodus Township
3.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.8%
8.8% of Sodus 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 Sodus Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Sodus Township Library serves 1,995 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Sodus Township Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1,335 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
47 programs a year
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 Sodus Township last year.
Find it
Sodus Township Library, 3776 Naomi Road, Sodus.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Sodus Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sodus Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $50K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $20K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $50K 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 811 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sodus Township | Sodus Township Library fine-free | 0.7 | 35 | C+ |
| Oronoko Township | Berrien Springs Community Library | — | 54 | B− |
| Royalton Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Benton Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Pipestone 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Sodus Township
Does Sodus Township have a public library?
Yes. Sodus Township Library, 3776 Naomi Road, serves Sodus Township’s 1,995 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sodus 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 Sodus Township’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 0.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Sodus Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Sodus Township is ahead of 36% 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 Sodus 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.