Clay County Courthouse · Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainClay Center’s library lends 37 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Clay Center Public Library serves Clay Center’s 728 residents. Last year it lent 30K books, movies and e-books and logged 3,791 visits.
The short version on Clay Center’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 55% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 80 items per child in Clay Center last year. Kids & programs ↓
Clay Center is a town of borrowers
Clay Center Public Library lends 37 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 99% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
A small-town library
Clay Center Public Library serves 728 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 28 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 ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.6 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. It’s 11% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Clay Center Library and Gymnasium has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2022. Today’s library there has 2,652 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 Clay Center’s civic life grade
Clay Center 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 →
About 1 kids’ program a week
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Clay Center last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Clay Center Public Library serves 728 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
30K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.
3,381 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 2022
Clay Center Public Library, 117 West Edgar Street, Clay Center.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Clay Center? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Clay Center Library and Gymnasium
Clay Center Library and Gymnasium was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Mar 4, 2022. It is significant for its education and social history at the local level. It was listed as part of Carnegie Libraries in Nebraska MPS.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $6.25 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Clay Center cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $74K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $461K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $74K 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 424 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay Center | Clay Center Public Library fine-free | 41.7 | 28 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lone Tree Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Marshall Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lynn Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lewis Township | 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.
- 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 Clay Center
Does Clay Center have a public library?
Yes. Clay Center Public Library, 117 West Edgar Street, serves Clay Center’s 728 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Clay Center 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 Clay Center’s library?
It logged 5.2 visits and lent 41.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Clay Center’s civic life grade?
Clay Center 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 Clay Center.
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.