Photo: J. Passepartout · CC BY-SA 4.0Clinton’s library runs 142 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Clinton Community Library serves Clinton’s 4,037 residents. Last year it lent 20K books, movies and e-books and logged 15K visits.
Clinton’s library, in brief
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Clinton Community Library ran 574 programs last year, about 11 a week. That’s 142 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 7,049 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
36% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 62%. What your card is worth ↓
47% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 47% of loans, more per resident than at 81% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 53%. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
88% of the 574 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 58 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.
What’s behind Clinton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Clinton is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #100 of 751 in New York. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
23 community nonprofits are registered in Clinton
5.8 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.9%
11.9% of Clinton’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 Clinton’s residents live; 2022.
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 Clinton last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Clinton Community Library serves 4,037 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
47% of borrowing is digital
20K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
9,276 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Clinton Community Library, 1215 Centre Road, Rhinebeck.
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 Clinton? 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 $1.95 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Clinton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $198K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $386K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $198K 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 1,573 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Clinton ranks 5th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhinebeck | Starr Library fine-free | 11.6 | 48 | A+ |
| Stanford | Stanford Free Library fine-free | 10.5 | 55 | A |
| Pleasant Valley | Pleasant Valley Free Library | 10.4 | 50 | A− |
| Washington | Millbrook Library fine-free | 9.4 | 42 | A |
| Clinton | Clinton Community Library fine-free | 4.9 | 50 | A− |
| Hyde Park | Hyde Park Library District fine-free | 2.8 | 48 | C |
| Milan | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Salt Point | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Clinton Community 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 Clinton
Does Clinton have a public library?
Yes. Clinton Community Library, 1215 Centre Road, serves Clinton’s 4,037 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Clinton Community 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 Clinton’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 4.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Clinton’s civic life grade?
A− Clinton is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #100 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 Clinton.
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.