John Chambers House · Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 3.0St. Ignace’s library lends 2.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Saint Ignace Public Library serves 4,361 people in and around St. Ignace. Last year it lent 12K print books and media and logged 12K visits.
What stands out about Saint Ignace Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind St. Ignace’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, St. Ignace is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. St. Ignace is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; St. Ignace’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 →
29 community nonprofits are registered in St. Ignace
11.8 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.4%
11.4% of St. Ignace’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 St. Ignace’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Saint Ignace Public Library serves 4,361 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Saint Ignace Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
12K 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
Saint Ignace Public Library, 110 West Spruce Street, Saint Ignace.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Saint Ignace Public Library branch.
New in St. Ignace? 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 $1.15 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average St. Ignace cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $184K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $213K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $184K 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 1,739 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Ignace | Saint Ignace Public Library fine-free | — | 42 | A+ |
| Moran Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| St. Ignace 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Saint Ignace Public Library serves 4,361 people in and around St. Ignace, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just St. Ignace.
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 St. Ignace
Does St. Ignace have a public library?
Yes. Saint Ignace Public Library, 110 West Spruce Street, serves 4,361 people in and around St. Ignace (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Saint Ignace Public 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 St. Ignace’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 2.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is St. Ignace’s civic life grade?
A+ St. Ignace is ahead of 98% 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 St. Ignace.
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.