First Christian Church · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0Clinton’s library logs 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Hickman County Memorial Library serves 4,447 people in and around Clinton. Last year it lent 1,671 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,298 visits.
Clinton’s library, in brief
Hickman County Memorial Library is used less than most libraries its size
Hickman County Memorial Library records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $7 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Open only about 15 hours a week
The Clinton branch keeps short hours: about 15 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Hickman County Memorial Library offered 20 programs last year, 4.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 11% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Hickman County Memorial Library spends $7 per resident, less than 98% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Hickman County Memorial Library serves 4,447 people in and around Clinton, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Clinton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Clinton is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. Clinton is graded on two of the three inputs. Clinton’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Among U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($26K–$43K) it does better, ahead of 62%.
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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Clinton
5.2 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.4%
5.4% of Clinton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.6% in the typical Kentucky 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 Clinton’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hickman County Memorial Library serves 4,447 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hickman County Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,671 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
20 programs a year
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
Hickman County Memorial Library, 110 Craig Ln, Clinton.
No late fees. Good at every Hickman County Memorial Library branch.
New in Clinton? The Handbook →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 $1.08 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Clinton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $29K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $32K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $29K 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 501 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Hickman County Memorial Library serves 4,447 people in and around Clinton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Clinton.
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 Clinton
Does Clinton have a public library?
Yes. Hickman County Memorial Library, 110 Craig Ln, serves 4,447 people in and around Clinton (the survey’s count) and is open about 15 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hickman County Memorial Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Clinton’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 0.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Clinton’s civic life grade?
C+ Clinton is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Clinton.
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.