Photo: Chillin662 · CC BY 4.0Cleveland’s library is a branch of Bolivar County Library, which lends less per resident than 92% of systems its size
Cleveland’s library is the Robinson-Carpenter Memorial Library, a branch of Bolivar County Library, which serves 28,968 people and lent 24K items last year.
Cleveland’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
The Bolivar County Library system offered 83 programs last year, 2.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 83 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 34 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 2% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 98% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Cleveland’s library is a branch of Bolivar County Library, so they cover the whole system (28,968 people), not just the Cleveland branch.
What’s behind Cleveland’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cleveland is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #5 of 85 in Mississippi. Cleveland is graded on two of the three inputs. Cleveland’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 →
88 community nonprofits are registered in Cleveland
8.3 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 (24 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.9%
4.9% of Cleveland’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 Cleveland’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Bolivar County Library serves 28,968 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Bolivar County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
24K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
486 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program a week
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
Robinson-Carpenter Memorial Library, 104 South Leflore Avenue, Cleveland.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Bolivar County Library branch.
New in Cleveland? 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 $1.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cleveland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $650K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $675K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $650K 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 18,327 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Robinson-Carpenter Memorial Library is one branch of Bolivar County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 28,968 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 Cleveland
Does Cleveland have a public library?
Yes: Robinson-Carpenter Memorial Library, 104 South Leflore Avenue, is a branch of Bolivar County Library, which serves 28,968 people. The branch is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bolivar County 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 Cleveland’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 0.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Cleveland’s civic life grade?
B− Cleveland is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on civic life, #5 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 Cleveland.
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.