Clayton School · Photo: Kevin Schuchmann · CC BY-SA 3.0Clayton’s library lends 6.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Garnavillo Public Library serves Clayton’s 1,427 residents. Last year it lent 9,343 print books and media and logged 6,767 visits.
What Clayton’s library is like
More library cards than residents
1,683 cards for 1,427 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 ↓
A small-town library
Garnavillo Public Library serves 1,427 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 30 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 ↓
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Garnavillo Public Library is above the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, with three in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
78% of the 94 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 49 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Garnavillo Public Library holds 28,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Clayton’s civic life grade
Clayton 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 →
About 1 kids’ program a week
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Garnavillo Public Library serves 1,427 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
9,343 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 28K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
Find it
Garnavillo Public Library, 112 S Main St., Garnavillo.
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 $2.91 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Clayton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $54K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $156K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $54K 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 1,683 cardholders ÷ 12.
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.
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 Clayton
Does Clayton have a public library?
Yes. Garnavillo Public Library, 112 S Main St., serves Clayton’s 1,427 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Garnavillo Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Clayton’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 6.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Clayton’s civic life grade?
Clayton 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 Clayton.
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.