Photo: Gargiulo · Public domainThree Oaks’ library runs 66 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Three Oaks Township Public Library serves 4,106 people in and around Three Oaks. Last year it lent 14K print books and media and logged 8,722 visits.
What stands out about Three Oaks Township Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Three Oaks’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Three Oaks is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. Three Oaks is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Three Oaks’ 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Three Oaks
6.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.4%
10.4% of Three Oaks’ 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 Three Oaks’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Three Oaks Township Public Library serves 4,106 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Three Oaks Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
14K 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 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
Three Oaks Township Public Library, 3 North Elm Street, Three Oaks.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Three Oaks Township Public Library branch.
New in Three Oaks? 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 $1.42 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Three Oaks cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $193K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $274K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $193K 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 3,388 cardholders ÷ 12.
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. Three Oaks Township Public Library serves 4,106 people in and around Three Oaks, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Three Oaks.
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 Three Oaks
Does Three Oaks have a public library?
Yes. Three Oaks Township Public Library, 3 North Elm Street, serves 4,106 people in and around Three Oaks (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Three Oaks Township Public 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 Three Oaks’ library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 3.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Three Oaks’ civic life grade?
A Three Oaks is ahead of 93% 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 Three Oaks.
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.