Clarence’s library logs 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Clarence Public Library serves Clarence’s 738 residents. Last year it lent 517 books, movies and e-books and logged 402 visits.
Clarence’s library, in brief
Clarence Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Clarence Public Library records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $13 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Clarence Public Library offered 0 programs last year, 0 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Missouri pays a big share
29% of the budget comes from the state, and 43% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Clarence Public Library serves 738 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 38 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 ↓
Runs on less money than most
Clarence Public Library spends $13 per resident, less than 96% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Clarence’s civic life grade
Clarence 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Clarence Public Library serves 738 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Clarence Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
517 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 5,380 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
What kids borrow
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Clarence last year.
Find it
Clarence Public Library, 200 E Beech St., Clarence.
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 Clarence cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $9,465.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7,364 worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9,465 budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 308 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Clarence
Does Clarence have a public library?
Yes. Clarence Public Library, 200 E Beech St., serves Clarence’s 738 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Clarence Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Clarence’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 0.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Clarence’s civic life grade?
Clarence 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 Clarence.
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.