Watervliet’s library lends 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Watervliet District Library serves 4,705 people in and around Watervliet. Last year it lent 4,653 print books and media and logged 15K visits.
What Watervliet’s library is like
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 94% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 69% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
4,599 cards for 4,705 people, or 98%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Watervliet District Library lends 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, fewer than 90% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
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; Watervliet District Library serves 4,705 people in and around Watervliet, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Watervliet’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Watervliet is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns. Watervliet is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Watervliet’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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Watervliet
2.6 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.5%
10.5% of Watervliet’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 Watervliet’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Watervliet District Library serves 4,705 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Watervliet District Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
4,653 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
Watervliet District Library, 333 North Main Street, Watervliet.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Watervliet District Library branch.
New in Watervliet? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Watervliet cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $194K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $88K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $194K 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 4,599 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watervliet | Watervliet District Library fine-free | — | 47 | B |
| Paw Paw Lake | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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. Watervliet District Library serves 4,705 people in and around Watervliet, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Watervliet.
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 Watervliet
Does Watervliet have a public library?
Yes. Watervliet District Library, 333 North Main Street, serves 4,705 people in and around Watervliet (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Watervliet District 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 Watervliet’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 1.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Watervliet’s civic life grade?
B Watervliet is ahead of 55% 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 Watervliet.
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.