George and Martha Hitchcock House · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 3.0Surrey Township’s library logs 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Surrey Township Public Library serves 9,084 people in and around Surrey Township. Last year it lent 26K books, movies and e-books and logged 7,800 visits.
The short version on Surrey Township’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Surrey Township Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
76% of the 89 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 37 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Surrey Township Public Library offered 89 programs last year, 9.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
Surrey Township Public Library records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, below 91% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 2.1 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
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; Surrey Township Public Library serves 9,084 people in and around Surrey Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Surrey Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Surrey Township is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #169 of 697 in Michigan. Surrey Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Surrey Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Surrey Township
3.5 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
14.8%
14.8% of Surrey 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 Surrey Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Surrey Township Public Library serves 9,084 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Surrey Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
26K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
6,634 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. 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
Surrey Township Public Library, 105 East Michigan Street, Farwell.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Surrey Township Public Library branch.
New in Surrey Township? 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 $1.83 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Surrey Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $235K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $432K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $235K 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 3,503 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surrey Township | Surrey Township Public Library fine-free | — | 49 | A− |
| Grant Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Garfield Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Lincoln Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Gilmore 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.
- System-wide. Surrey Township Public Library serves 9,084 people in and around Surrey Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Surrey Township.
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 Surrey Township
Does Surrey Township have a public library?
Yes. Surrey Township Public Library, 105 East Michigan Street, serves 9,084 people in and around Surrey Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Surrey Township 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 Surrey Township’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 2.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Surrey Township’s civic life grade?
A− Surrey Township is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life, #169 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 Surrey 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.