Corcoran School · Photo: Tim Pierce · CC BY 3.0Clinton’s library lends 2.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Bigelow Free Public Library serves Clinton’s 15,484 residents. Last year it lent 33K print books and media and logged 35K visits.
Clinton’s library, in brief
Every town next door borrows more
Clinton’s library lends 2.1 items per resident. Each of the five neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Bolton at 11. Libraries next door ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Bigelow Free Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
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.
What’s behind Clinton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Clinton is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns, #264 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Clinton’s 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($67K–$112K) 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 →
39 community nonprofits are registered in Clinton
2.5 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 (9 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.
5.7%
5.7% of Clinton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical Massachusetts 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 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Bigelow Free Public Library serves 15,484 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
33K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 36K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 kids’ programs 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Clinton last year.
Find it
Bigelow Free Public Library, 54 Walnut St., Clinton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Clinton? 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 Clinton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $605K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $526K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $605K 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 4,864 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Clinton ranks 6th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolton | Bolton Public Library fine-free | 10.5 | 41 | B+ |
| Sterling | Conant Free Public Library fine-free | 10.2 | 42 | B |
| Lancaster | Thayer Memorial Library fine-free | 7.3 | 47 | C+ |
| Boylston | Boylston Public Library fine-free | 5.8 | 43 | A− |
| Berlin | Berlin Public Library fine-free | 2.6 | 31 | C+ |
| Clinton | Bigelow Free Public Library fine-free | 2.1 | 48 | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Bigelow Free Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- Digital loans not reported. Massachusetts libraries often don’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 Clinton
Does Clinton have a public library?
Yes. Bigelow Free Public Library, 54 Walnut St., serves Clinton’s 15,484 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bigelow Free Public Library 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 Clinton’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 2.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Clinton’s civic life grade?
C− Clinton is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns on civic life, #264 of 283 in Massachusetts. 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.