Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Clinton’s library runs 80 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Brown Memorial Library - Clinton serves Clinton’s 3,385 residents. Last year it lent 2,980 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,148 visits.
Clinton’s library, in brief
Brown Memorial Library - Clinton is used less than most libraries its size
Brown Memorial Library - Clinton records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $26 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Clinton’s library lends 0.9 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Canaan at 3.3. Libraries next door ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Brown Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975. Today’s library there has 1,500 square feet. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
71% of the 272 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 12 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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 18% of U.S. towns, #139 of 143 in Maine. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Brown Memorial Library - Clinton spends $26 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($54K–$89K) 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Clinton
3.0 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.
7.0%
7.0% of Clinton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 9.0% in the typical Maine 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.
About 4 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Brown Memorial Library - Clinton serves 3,385 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. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2,980 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 6,174 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
440 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 1975
Brown Memorial Library - Clinton, 53 Railroad Street, Clinton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. 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.
Brown Memorial Library
Brown Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Apr 28, 1975. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Romanesque Revival.
Brown Memorial Library is the public library of Clinton, Maine. It is located in an architecturally distinguished 1899-1900 Richardsonian Romanesque building at 53 Railroad Street in the town center. It was donated to the town by William W. Brown, in honor of his parents. The building was designed by architect John Calvin Stevens and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
More about the building →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 $90K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $48K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $90K 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 2,170 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Clinton ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canaan | Canaan Public Library fine-free | 3.3 | 23 | C+ |
| Pittsfield | Pittsfield Public Library fine-free | 3.2 | 45 | B+ |
| Fairfield | Lawrence Public Library | 2.0 | 40 | C+ |
| Clinton | Brown Memorial Library - Clinton fine-free | 0.9 | 32 | C− |
| Burnham | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Benton | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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. Brown Memorial Library - Clinton, 53 Railroad Street, serves Clinton’s 3,385 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brown Memorial Library - Clinton 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 1.2 visits and lent 0.9 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 18% of U.S. towns on civic life, #139 of 143 in Maine. 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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.