Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to White Pigeon

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
White Pigeon Township Library

White Pigeon’s library runs 25 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size

White Pigeon Township Library serves 5,226 people in and around White Pigeon. Last year it lent 16K print books and media and logged 15K visits.

102 North Kalamazoo Street, White Pigeon 49099 · about 48 hours a week
C+Civic lifeAhead of 40% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
16K
3.1 per resident
Visits a year
15K
3 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
131
about 3 a week · 2,181 attended
Cardholders
43%
2,271 cards
Open
48 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about White Pigeon Township Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind White Pigeon’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, White Pigeon is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns. White Pigeon is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; White Pigeon’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.

C+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of White Pigeon’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 40%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $38K–$64K (5,328)Ahead of 39%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($38K–$64K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. White Pigeon is small (1,824 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

5 community nonprofits are registered in White Pigeon

2.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.51 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.34 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.68 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.34 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.17 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.17 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.34 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

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.

Volunteering

8.3%

8.3% of White Pigeon’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 White Pigeon’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 3 visits · typical 3Lower than 51%
Borrowing per resident 3.1 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 61%
Kids’ borrowing 1.4 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 57%
Program attendance 0.4 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 57%
Programs offered 25.1 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 63%
Cardholders 43% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 52%
Spending $65 per resident · typical $43Higher than 74%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

White Pigeon Township Library serves 5,226 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole White Pigeon Township Library system. The library’s own count.

15K
visits
3 per resident
16K
loans, print + digital
3.1 per resident
131
programs & events
2,181 attended
2,271
library cards
43% of people served
Every open hour6items borrowed
Every week42people at a program
Every day6Wi-Fi sessions
3 staff (full-time equivalent)12 public computers
What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

16K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

16Kloans
Books & media (adults) 56%Kids’ books & media 44%
From your couch

Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 1 kids’ program a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in White Pigeon →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–523
Ages 6–1138
Teens0
Adults65
All ages5
Little ones
0.4

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

7,066
kids’ books & media borrowed
2,181
people at programs
131
programs
The building

Find it

White Pigeon Township Library, 102 North Kalamazoo Street, White Pigeon.

48
hours open a week
6,600
square feet
With a card

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 White Pigeon Township Library branch.

New in White Pigeon? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average White Pigeon cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$65 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $339K.

Local taxes 54%State 1%Gifts & other 45%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $265K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $339K 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 2,271 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
White PigeonWhite Pigeon Township Library fine-free—48C+
White Pigeon TownshipWhite Pigeon Township Library fine-free—48C+
Mottville TownshipNone 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).

How to read these numbers

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. White Pigeon Township Library serves 5,226 people in and around White Pigeon, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just White Pigeon.

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 White Pigeon

Does White Pigeon have a public library?

Yes. White Pigeon Township Library, 102 North Kalamazoo Street, serves 5,226 people in and around White Pigeon (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is White Pigeon Township 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 White Pigeon’s library?

It logged 3.0 visits and lent 3.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is White Pigeon’s civic life grade?

C+ White Pigeon is ahead of 40% 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 White Pigeon.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.