Beyond books: Michigan libraries reinventing role as reading wanes

Michigan libraries are expanding the types of services they offer amid declining readership, pandemic losses
Programs include seed-sharing, clothing swaps and technology repair services
These expanded services aim to reduce isolation and strengthen community connections

A visitor walking into one of Michigan’s nearly 400 public library systems may leave with more than a book. They could walk out with garden seeds, a blender, a repaired laptop — or a new connection to neighbors.

As reading wanes among Americans and libraries seek to win back patrons who stopped visiting during the COVID-19 pandemic, many are transforming into hands-on community hubs that offer a wide variety of materials, programs and engagement opportunities.

“A lot has changed and library services now represent this really broad range of community needs beyond reading, but that throughline for literacy and learning is really strong,” said Dillon Geshel, executive director of the Michigan Library Association.

The new services vary by library, region — and creativity. In Menominee, patrons can take a sourdough bread-making class. Grand Haven now offers new technology designed for older people with dementia.

Related:

In the Upper Peninsula’s Sault Ste. Marie, the Bayliss Public Library is among a growing number of institutions that have expanded to include a “library of things” such as tools, electronics and even cookware.

“There is kind of an old-fashioned view of libraries that they’re a place where you’re very quiet and a woman with a bun and glasses shushes you and gives you your books,” said Bayliss Public Library Manager Matt Archibald.

“We are not trying to be that traditional kind of library. We want to be innovative and be ready for the time we’re in.”

The library also offers a monthly clothing swap and a repair cafe for individuals who need electronics repairs. It partners with Feeding America to offer free lunch to children during the summer. And in colder months, the library hosts a winter farmers market in its community room.

“We offer a lot of stuff that people wouldn’t traditionally associate with libraries,” Archibald told Bridge Michigan. “…One of our goals is to have the library be a community gathering space, a place where people feel welcomed and safe to come and gather for all different kinds of things.”

Reading down, circulation rebounding

The expanding services at Michigan libraries come at a time when reading is on the decline, especially among younger people.

A national survey conducted by the University of Florida found that 16% of Americans older than 15 read for leisure, down from 28% in 2003. And they’re spending less time doing it.

Teens age 15 to 19 spend roughly nine minutes a day reading for leisure compared to 46 minutes among adults 75 and older, according to an annual survey by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A sharp drop in physical visitors during the pandemic also forced some libraries to reinvent themselves.

Nearly 30 million people visited a Michigan library in fiscal year 2025, according to state reports, up from 13 million in 2022 but still less than the nearly 44 million who visited the year before COVID.

Circulation has slowly rebounded as well, driven by digital downloads. Electronic materials accounted for about 22% of the 69 million items circulated by Michigan libraries in 2024, the most recent year for which data is available.

Libraries always aimed to be community resources, and offering more lending options is a way to do that, said Geshel, of the Michigan Library Association.

“It’s also a very common outreach goal that libraries have … to get folks into the door so then they can understand what resources (libraries) have available that can tangibly benefit their lives,” he said.

While Michigan libraries have faced censorship campaigns in recent years, that has led to a “very public reinforcement of the role that public libraries play when it comes to free speech and First Amendment rights,” he added.

Alternative offerings

In Michigan communities with older populations, libraries are also tailoring programs specifically for seniors, expanding their role as social and support spaces.

Last year, the Loutit District Library in Grand Haven became the first in the country to receive a Tovertafel Pixie, an interactive projector specifically designed for people with dementia to stimulate social and cognitive activity.

“Libraries are becoming one of the only free third-spaces that are existing now,” said Chelsea Payton, community engagement & marketing manager for Loutit District Library. “The library is one of those spaces where you can come and use the library and you don’t even have to have a library card or be from this area.”

Public libraries in Michigan are funded primarily by local property tax millages. The state also distributes some additional funding, including about $16.6 million last year.

Spies Public Library in Menominee has programs that may help people put food on the table, whether they’re picking up seeds via its seed-sharing program or attending a sourdough making class where participants are given their own sourdough starter kit to take home for free.

“Menominee is not a very well-off community, so my goal is for us to be able to make some of our residents’ lives a little bit easier,” said Tarra Gamelin, director of the library. “If we can get people in here gardening (and) they’re starting to produce their own food, it makes life a little bit easier for them, especially when money is really tight.”

The seed-sharing program at Spies Public Library was started in 2022 in response to community members and allows individuals to swap fruit and vegetable seeds and other plants.

The seed-sharing program also draws in people who might not otherwise visit, introducing them to other services the library offers.

“We’ll have people who come in and they’re like, ‘we’re here for seeds but we want to look around,’ and then they sign up for library cards and that’s awesome,” Gamelin said. “I view libraries as a community hub and resource. We’re so much more than (a place) for checking out books,” she said.

Those efforts also come as many people report feeling increasingly disconnected from others, highlighting the role libraries play as gathering spaces. A November poll from the American Psychological Association showed that the majority of adults often feel isolated or lacking companionship, likely due to societal division.

“Most of the people who are coming in that we see everyday are at the library looking for connection,” Gamelin said. “For some people who are coming into our library, I think we’re the only friendly face that they see.”

Thank you to our Western Edition sponsors

Bridge Michigan Western Edition is made possible by generous financial support from our sponsors. Sponsorship supports our independent journalism mission but does not constitute sponsor endorsement of individual articles or editorial content. Bridge Michigan journalism remains fact- and data-driven and independent at all times.

Please visit the About page for more information and to subscribe to Bridge Michigan Western Edition. Interested in becoming a sponsor? Contact Emma Carr.