Photo: ShadZ01 · CC BY-SA 4.0St. Joseph’s library lends 5.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Maud Preston Palenske Memorial Library serves 17,849 people in and around St. Joseph. Last year it lent 99K print books and media and logged 74K visits.
The short version on St. Joseph’s library
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 ↓
Programs lean toward adults
55% of the 355 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 122 were for children. 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; Maud Preston Palenske Memorial Library serves 17,849 people in and around St. Joseph, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind St. Joseph’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, St. Joseph is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #191 of 697 in Michigan. St. Joseph is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; St. Joseph’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 →
38 community nonprofits are registered in St. Joseph
4.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.9%
8.9% of St. Joseph’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. Joseph’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Maud Preston Palenske Memorial Library serves 17,849 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 36 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Maud Preston Palenske Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
99K 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 2 kids’ programs 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
Maud Preston Palenske Memorial Library, 500 Market Street, Saint Joseph.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Maud Preston Palenske Memorial Library branch.
New in St. Joseph? 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 $1.99 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average St. Joseph cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $800K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $800K 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 3,141 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. Joseph | Maud Preston Palenske Memorial Library | — | 53 | A− |
| Benton Harbor | Benton Harbor Public Library fine-free | — | 40 | B− |
| St. Joseph Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Fair Plain | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Shoreham | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
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. Maud Preston Palenske Memorial Library serves 17,849 people in and around St. Joseph, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just St. Joseph.
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. Joseph
Does St. Joseph have a public library?
Yes. Maud Preston Palenske Memorial Library, 500 Market Street, serves 17,849 people in and around St. Joseph (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Maud Preston Palenske 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 St. Joseph’s library?
It logged 4.1 visits and lent 5.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is St. Joseph’s civic life grade?
A− St. Joseph is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on civic life, #191 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 St. Joseph.
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.