Photo: Nanamac47 · CC BY-SA 3.0South Haven’s library logs 5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
South Haven Memorial Library serves 8,005 people in and around South Haven. Last year it lent 33K print books and media and logged 40K visits.
The short version on South Haven’s library
More library cards than residents
9,219 cards for 8,005 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
48% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 51%. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 91 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 47 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; South Haven Memorial Library serves 8,005 people in and around South Haven, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind South Haven’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, South Haven is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #130 of 697 in Michigan. South Haven is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; South Haven’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
22 community nonprofits are registered in South Haven
5.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.3%
9.3% of South Haven’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 South Haven’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
South Haven Memorial Library serves 8,005 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole South Haven Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
33K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
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, across the whole system, 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
South Haven Memorial Library, 314 Broadway Street, South Haven.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every South Haven Memorial Library branch.
New in South Haven? 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 $1.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Haven cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $482K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $572K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $482K 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 9,219 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Haven | South Haven Memorial Library | — | 54 | A− |
| South Haven Township | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
| Casco Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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.
- System-wide. South Haven Memorial Library serves 8,005 people in and around South Haven, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just South Haven.
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 South Haven
Does South Haven have a public library?
Yes. South Haven Memorial Library, 314 Broadway Street, serves 8,005 people in and around South Haven (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Haven Memorial 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 South Haven’s library?
It logged 5.0 visits and lent 4.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is South Haven’s civic life grade?
A− South Haven is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life, #130 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 South Haven.
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.