Photo: Michel Rathwell from Cornwall, Canada · CC BY 2.0Clearwater’s library is a branch of Pinellas Public Library Cooperative, which lends more per resident than 57% of systems its size
Clearwater’s library is the East Branch Library, a branch of Pinellas Public Library Cooperative, which serves 946,776 people and lent 3.4M items last year.
What stands out about East Branch Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Clearwater’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Clearwater is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns, #96 of 273 in Florida. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #134. Clearwater is graded on two of the three inputs. Clearwater’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 ($50K–$83K) 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 →
483 community nonprofits are registered in Clearwater
4.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (142 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 36 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.2%
6.2% of Clearwater’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.6% in the typical Florida 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 Clearwater’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Pinellas Public Library Cooperative serves 946,776 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
A year at Pinellas Public Library Cooperative
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Pinellas Public Library Cooperative system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
3.4M print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Clearwater’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 87 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.
6 places to borrow in Clearwater
East Branch Library, 2465 Drew Street, Clearwater.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Pinellas Public Library Cooperative branch.
New in Clearwater? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Pinellas Public Library Cooperative branches in Clearwater
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.59 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Clearwater cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $63M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4M 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 474,589 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearwater | East Branch Library fine-free | — | 58 | C+ |
| Dunedin | Dunedin Public Library fine-free | — | 53 | B |
| Safety Harbor | Safety Harbor Library fine-free | — | 55 | B+ |
| Largo | Largo Public Library fine-free | — | 56 | D |
| Palm Harbor | Palm Harbor Library fine-free | — | 51 | — unincorporated |
| Belleair | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Greenbriar | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Belleair Beach | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
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. East Branch Library is one branch of Pinellas Public Library Cooperative, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 946,776 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 Clearwater
Does Clearwater have a public library?
Yes: East Branch Library, 2465 Drew Street, is a branch of Pinellas Public Library Cooperative, which serves 946,776 people. The branch is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pinellas Public Library Cooperative fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Clearwater’s library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 3.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Clearwater’s civic life grade?
C+ Clearwater is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns on civic life, #96 of 273 in Florida. 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 Clearwater.
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.