Clarks’ library runs 123 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Clarks Public Library serves Clarks’s 341 residents. Last year it lent 624 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,030 visits.
Clarks’s library, in brief
A small-town library
Clarks Public Library serves 341 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
Nearly everyone in Clarks has a card
322 cards for 341 people, or 94%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
Clarks Public Library keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Clarksville Township Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2021. Today’s library there has 3,744 square feet. The building ↓
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 Clarks’ civic life grade
Clarks 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 →
A National Register landmark since 2021
Clarks Public Library, 101 West Amity Street, Clarks.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Clarks? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Clarksville Township Carnegie Library
Clarksville Township Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Feb 24, 2021. It is significant for its education at the local level. It was listed as part of Carnegie Libraries in Nebraska MPS.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Clarks Public Library serves 341 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Clarks Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
624 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 7,829 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
42 programs a year
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.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Clarks cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $24K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $24K 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 322 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Clarks Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Clarks
Does Clarks have a public library?
Yes. Clarks Public Library, 101 West Amity Street, serves Clarks’ 341 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Clarks Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Clarks’ library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 1.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Clarks’ civic life grade?
Clarks 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 Clarks.
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. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.