Each library card at the Hillsdale Community Library costs around $125 in taxes each year, according to data from the Library of Michigan — but residents say the cards are worth the cost.

Each of the approximately 1,200 active library cards from the Hillsdale Community Library unlocks access to a collection of more than 50,000 physical items, from books to movies to power tools. Residents of the parts of Hillsdale County qualify for a free library card.

The combined population of the City of Hillsdale, Jefferson Township, and Hillsdale Township in 2024 was 13,364, according to the Census Bureau. Only about 8.9% of the population has library cards.

A Michigan Enjoyer article recently called for library reform to block additional tax money going to libraries. The article reported Ann Arbor District Library cards cost $348 each, coming from taxpayer revenue, despite only half of the 123,000 residents using the library’s resources. 

“Our number might look like we just have 1,200 library cards, but we have a lot of families that have just one library card,” said Rebekah Dobski, the library director at Hillsdale Community Library. “We look at it like one card supports a whole family.”

Dobski said families often use the library to supplement their reading, which supports children’s literacy. 

Jackie Case, who has lived in Hillsdale since 2016, said she agreed that library resources help families.

“I have young children,” Case said. “To be exposed to more and more words is huge for learning to read.” 

Case said she and her four children have visited the library at least once a week for almost nine years. Peter, Case’s 8-year-old son, has a library card of his own. He said he appreciates the library’s scavenger hunts. 

“It’s really fun to be able to get books and look at them,” he said. “Usually we’re all doing the scavenger hunt, and I find books.” 

In addition to supporting local families, Case said libraries also add value to communities as gathering places.

“Our library kind of functions as a community center, because we don’t have one in town,” Case said. “They do so much more than just what you would think of for a library.” 

Dobski said the library has been making an effort to organize more programs that bring the community together over the last few years. In response to a need the board perceived within the community, a group for homeschool families has recently been added to the library calendar. There, according to Dobski, more experienced families can give advice to newer homeschoolers.

“A lot of things happen at the library,” Dobski said. “There’s something for everybody.”

Another benefit of Hillsdale Community Library is its “Library of Things,” according to Dobski. Patrons can check out power tools, such as circular saws and drills, for home improvement and other do-it-yourself projects.

“Things that somebody might need only one time that they don’t want to have to invest the $100 or so into,” Dobski said. “They can borrow it here just one time, and it’s entirely free.”

Library Director Maurine McCourry said another benefit of public libraries is simply the books’ physical existence. Online bookshops and platforms often allow writers and publishing houses to update their books after publication, so McCourry said having a first edition is valuable. 

“Physical books matter because they’re a permanent record. A digital record can be changed,” McCourry said. “For a public library, having that physical item on the shelf the way it was published is something you’re not necessarily going to get from Overdrive or Amazon. Amazon has changed the text of books that they sell. You might buy a copy on Amazon, and what ends up in your Kindle is not what you originally thought. It’s been sanitized.”

Mary Rogers, a long-time Hillsdale resident, said she thinks the Hillsdale Community Library is indispensable. 

“As a card-holding member of the library for 69 years, I think the library is marvelous,” Rogers said. “I couldn’t live without it.”