Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Clarksdale’s library is a branch of Carnegie Public Library, which lends less per resident than 94% of systems its size
Clarksdale’s library is the Carnegie Public Library of Clarksdale and Coahoma County, a branch of Carnegie Public Library, which serves 20,077 people and lent 17K items last year.
Clarksdale’s library, in brief
The Carnegie Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Carnegie Public Library system records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $20 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Carnegie Public Library system offered 56 programs last year, 2.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. 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; Clarksdale’s library is a branch of Carnegie Public Library, so they cover the whole system (20,077 people), not just the Clarksdale branch.
What’s behind Clarksdale’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Clarksdale is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #27 of 85 in Mississippi. Clarksdale is graded on two of the three inputs. Clarksdale’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
75 community nonprofits are registered in Clarksdale
5.3 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 (22 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.8%
3.8% of Clarksdale’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.4% in the typical Mississippi 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 Clarksdale’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Carnegie Public Library serves 20,077 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Carnegie Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
17K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,590 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
56 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
Carnegie Public Library of Clarksdale and Coahoma County, 114 Delta Avenue, Clarksdale.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Carnegie Public Library branch.
New in Clarksdale? 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 Clarksdale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $395K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $274K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $395K 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 13,380 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarksdale | Carnegie Public Library of Clarksdale and Coahoma County | — | 43 | C |
| Lyon | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- System-wide. Carnegie Public Library of Clarksdale and Coahoma County is one branch of Carnegie Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 20,077 people it serves.
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 Clarksdale
Does Clarksdale have a public library?
Yes: Carnegie Public Library of Clarksdale and Coahoma County, 114 Delta Avenue, is a branch of Carnegie Public Library, which serves 20,077 people. The branch is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Carnegie Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Clarksdale’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Clarksdale’s civic life grade?
C Clarksdale is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on civic life, #27 of 85 in Mississippi. 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 Clarksdale.
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.