Hilton House · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0White Lake’s library lends 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
White Lake Community Library serves White Lake’s 406 residents. Last year it lent 1,385 books, movies and e-books and logged 890 visits.
What White Lake’s library is like
More library cards than residents
650 cards for 406 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Most of White Lake’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 61% of loans, more per resident than at 75% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 39%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
A small-town library
White Lake Community Library serves 406 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 31 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 77% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 59% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
A place to get online
White Lake Community Library logs about 6 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 6 public computers. That’s 5.4 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind White Lake’s civic life grade
White Lake 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 →
61% of borrowing is digital
1,385 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 8,305 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
851 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
White Lake Community Library serves 406 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at White Lake Community Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
24 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, 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
White Lake Community Library, 111 Main St., White Lake.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in White Lake? 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 $1.44 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average White Lake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $22K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $31K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $22K 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 650 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Lake
Does White Lake have a public library?
Yes. White Lake Community Library, 111 Main St., serves White Lake’s 406 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is White Lake Community 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 White Lake’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 3.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is White Lake’s civic life grade?
White Lake 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 White Lake.
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.