Photo: Bill Fitzpatrick · CC BY-SA 3.0Manning’s library lends 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Clarendon County Library System serves 31,144 people in and around Manning. Last year it lent 28K print books and media and logged 38K visits.
What Manning’s library is like
Clarendon County Library System is used less than most libraries its size
Clarendon County Library System records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $24 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Manning Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979. Today’s library there has 6,768 square feet. The building ↓
South Carolina pays a big share
20% of the budget comes from the state, and 79% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 363 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.2 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; Clarendon County Library System serves 31,144 people in and around Manning, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Manning’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Manning is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns, #59 of 102 in South Carolina. Manning is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Manning’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Clarendon County Library System spends $24 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($21K–$36K) 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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Manning
3.6 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.9%
2.9% of Manning’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.4% in the typical South 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 Manning’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1979
Clarendon County Library System, 215 N. Brooks St., Manning.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Clarendon County Library System branch.
New in Manning? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Manning Library
Manning Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jul 10, 1979. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival.
Manning Library, also known as Clarendon County Public Library and Hannah Levi Memorial Library, is a historic library building located at Manning, Clarendon County, South Carolina. It was built in 1909–1910, and is a one-story, brick, Classical Revival style structure is set on a raised basement. The front façade features a pedimented Roman Doric order portico projecting from the central bay.
More about the building →Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Clarendon County Library System serves 31,144 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Clarendon County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
28K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Manning cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $739K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $497K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $739K 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 12,104 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Clarendon County Library System serves 31,144 people in and around Manning, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Manning.
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 Manning
Does Manning have a public library?
Yes. Clarendon County Library System, 215 N. Brooks St., serves 31,144 people in and around Manning (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Clarendon County Library System 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 Manning’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 0.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Manning’s civic life grade?
D Manning is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns on civic life, #59 of 102 in South 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 Manning.
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; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.