Photo: F. D. Richards from Clinton, MI · CC BY-SA 2.0Sturgis’ library runs 12 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Sturgis District Library serves 18,155 people in and around Sturgis. Last year it lent 43K books, movies and e-books and logged 42K visits.
What Sturgis’s library is like
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 209 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2 a week 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; Sturgis District Library serves 18,155 people in and around Sturgis, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Sturgis’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Sturgis is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #87 of 697 in Michigan. Sturgis is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
58 community nonprofits are registered in Sturgis
5.3 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 (22 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.
10.6%
10.6% of Sturgis’ 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 Sturgis’ residents live; 2022.
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.
Sturgis District Library serves 18,155 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sturgis District Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
43K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
6,443 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Sturgis District Library, 255 North Street, Sturgis.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sturgis District Library branch.
New in Sturgis? 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 $1.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sturgis cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $702K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $750K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $702K 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 3,099 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burr Oak Township | Burr Oak Township Library | 0.6 | 28 | C |
| Sturgis | Sturgis District Library | — | 48 | A |
| Sturgis Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Fawn River Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Sherman 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.
- System-wide. Sturgis District Library serves 18,155 people in and around Sturgis, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Sturgis.
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 Sturgis
Does Sturgis have a public library?
Yes. Sturgis District Library, 255 North Street, serves 18,155 people in and around Sturgis (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sturgis District 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 Sturgis’ library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 2.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Sturgis’ civic life grade?
A Sturgis is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on civic life, #87 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 Sturgis.
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.