Photo: Finetooth · CC BY-SA 3.0Clarkdale’s library is a branch of Yavapai County Free Library District, which lends less per resident than 95% of systems its size
Clarkdale’s library is the Clark Memorial Library, a branch of Yavapai County Free Library District, which serves 251,768 people and lent 183K items last year.
What Clarkdale’s library is like
The Yavapai County Free Library District system is used less than most libraries its size
The Yavapai County Free Library District system records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. It also spends less than most: $14 per resident, against a typical $36. How it compares ↓
Open only about 22 hours a week
The Clarkdale branch keeps short hours: about 22 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Yavapai County Free Library District system spends $14 per resident, less than 93% of similar-size libraries (typical: $36). What your card is worth ↓
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; Clarkdale’s library is a branch of Yavapai County Free Library District, so they cover the whole system (251,768 people), not just the Clarkdale branch.
What’s behind Clarkdale’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Clarkdale is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns, #29 of 68 in Arizona. Clarkdale is graded on two of the three inputs. Clarkdale’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($35K–$58K) 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.
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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Clarkdale
4.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.4%
6.4% of Clarkdale’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.0% in the typical Arizona 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 Clarkdale’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Yavapai County Free Library District serves 251,768 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Yavapai County Free Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
183K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 14 kids’ programs 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
Clark Memorial Library, 39 N Ninth Street, Clarkdale.
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 Yavapai County Free Library District branch.
New in Clarkdale? 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 Clarkdale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $3.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.5M 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 9,473 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cottonwood | Cottonwood Public Library fine-free | 19.7 | 50 | B |
| Clarkdale | Clark Memorial Library fine-free | — | 22 | 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).
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. Clark Memorial Library is one branch of Yavapai County Free Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 251,768 people it serves.
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 Clarkdale
Does Clarkdale have a public library?
Yes: Clark Memorial Library, 39 N Ninth Street, is a branch of Yavapai County Free Library District, which serves 251,768 people. The branch is open about 22 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Yavapai County Free Library District 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 Clarkdale’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 0.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Clarkdale’s civic life grade?
C+ Clarkdale is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns on civic life, #29 of 68 in Arizona. 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 Clarkdale.
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.