Photo: Gpwitteveen · CC BY-SA 3.0Weldon Township’s library lends 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Betsie Valley District Library serves 3,168 people in and around Weldon Township. Last year it lent 4,619 books, movies and e-books and logged 6,636 visits.
What’s behind Weldon Township’s civic life grade
Weldon Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Betsie Valley District Library serves 3,168 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 Betsie Valley District Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4,619 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
808 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
Betsie Valley District Library, 14744 Thompson Avenue, Thompsonville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Betsie Valley District Library branch.
New in Weldon Township? 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 Weldon Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $98K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $95K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $98K 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 690 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weldon Township | Betsie Valley District Library | — | 38 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Benzonia Township | Benzonia Public Library | — | 44 | A+ |
| Thompsonville | Betsie Valley District Library | — | 38 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Homestead Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Joyfield Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Springdale Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Colfax Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Betsie Valley District Library serves 3,168 people in and around Weldon Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Weldon 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 Weldon Township
Does Weldon Township have a public library?
Yes. Betsie Valley District Library, 14744 Thompson Avenue, serves 3,168 people in and around Weldon Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Betsie Valley 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 Weldon Township’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 1.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Weldon Township’s civic life grade?
Weldon Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Weldon 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.