Photo: NS777 · CC BY 4.0Clemmons’ library is a branch of Forsyth County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 63% of systems its size
Clemmons’s library is the Clemmons Branch Library, a branch of Forsyth County Public Library, which serves 392,839 people and lent 1.6M items last year.
Clemmons’s library, in brief
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
348,442 cards for 392,839 people, or 89%. At the typical library serving 100,000+ people, it’s 41%. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
51% of the 4,131 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 1,658 were for children. 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; Clemmons’s library is a branch of Forsyth County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (392,839 people), not just the Clemmons branch.
What’s behind Clemmons’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Clemmons is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #101 of 234 in North Carolina. Clemmons is graded on two of the three inputs. Clemmons’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($66K–$110K) 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 →
84 community nonprofits are registered in Clemmons
3.8 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 (32 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 8 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.0%
6.0% of Clemmons’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.2% in the typical North Carolina 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 Clemmons’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Forsyth County Public Library serves 392,839 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 47 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Forsyth County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1.6M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
640,881 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 32 kids’ programs 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
Clemmons Branch Library, 3554 Clemmons Rd, Clemmons.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Forsyth County Public Library branch.
New in Clemmons? 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 $2.65 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Clemmons cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $9.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $26M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9.9M 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 348,442 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clemmons | Clemmons Branch Library fine-free | — | 60 | C |
| Lewisville | Lewisville Branch Library fine-free | — | 60 | C+ |
| Winston-Salem | Forsyth County Public Library fine-free | — | 60 | 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.
- System-wide. Clemmons Branch Library is one branch of Forsyth County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 392,839 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 Clemmons
Does Clemmons have a public library?
Yes: Clemmons Branch Library, 3554 Clemmons Rd, is a branch of Forsyth County Public Library, which serves 392,839 people. The branch is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Forsyth County 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 Clemmons’ library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 4.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Clemmons’ civic life grade?
C Clemmons is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on civic life, #101 of 234 in North Carolina. 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 Clemmons.
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.