Photo: Smerdis · CC BY-SA 4.0Clayton’s library runs 136 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Depauville Free Library serves Clayton’s 4,770 residents. Last year it lent 1,430 print books and media and logged 3,080 visits.
What Clayton’s library is like
Depauville Free Library is used less than most libraries its size
Depauville Free Library records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $24 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Clayton’s library lends 0.3 items per resident. Each of the five neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Thousand Island Park at 30. Libraries next door ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Depauville Free Library ran 648 programs last year, about 12 a week. That’s 136 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Programs are almost all for children
88% of the 648 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2 a week for ages 0–5. 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.
What’s behind Clayton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Clayton is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns, #493 of 751 in New York. Clayton’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($68K–$113K) 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 →
36 community nonprofits are registered in Clayton
7.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.5%
6.5% of Clayton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical New York 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 Clayton’s residents live; 2022.
About 11 kids’ programs 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 Clayton last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Depauville Free Library serves 4,770 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Depauville Free Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1,430 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 6,286 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Clayton
Depauville Free Library, 32333 County Route 179, Depauville.
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 Clayton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Clayton
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Clayton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $113K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $42K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $113K 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 254 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Clayton ranks 6th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thousand Island Park | Thousand Island Park Library fine-free | 30.0 | 32 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lyme | Lyme Free Library fine-free | 5.6 | 40 | B |
| Cape Vincent | Cape Vincent Community Library fine-free | 3.4 | 38 | A |
| Brownville | Dexter Free Library fine-free | 0.9 | 27 | C |
| Orleans | Orleans Public Library fine-free | 0.5 | 28 | C+ |
| Clayton | Depauville Free Library fine-free | 0.3 | 37 | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. New York libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Clayton
Does Clayton have a public library?
Yes. Depauville Free Library, 32333 County Route 179, serves Clayton’s 4,770 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Depauville Free 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 Clayton’s library?
It logged 0.6 visits and lent 0.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Clayton’s civic life grade?
C+ Clayton is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns on civic life, #493 of 751 in New York. 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 Clayton.
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.