Photo: Shannon McGee · CC BY-SA 2.0Clifton’s library is a branch of Wayne County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 85% of systems its size
Clifton’s library is the Clifton Branch Library, a branch of Wayne County Public Library, which serves 16,066 people and lent 35K items last year.
The short version on Clifton’s library
The Wayne County Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Wayne County Public Library system records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $13 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Wayne County Public Library system offered 14 programs last year, 0.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Wayne County Public Library system spends $13 per resident, less than 92% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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; Clifton’s library is a branch of Wayne County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (16,066 people), not just the Clifton branch.
What’s behind Clifton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Clifton is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. Clifton is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Clifton’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Clifton
2.3 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.4%
10.4% of Clifton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.7% in the typical Tennessee 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 Clifton’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Wayne County Public Library serves 16,066 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Wayne County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
35K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
12,163 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
14 programs a year
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.
Find it
Clifton Branch Library, 300 East Water Street, Clifton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Wayne County Public Library branch.
New in Clifton? 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 $2.85 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Clifton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $206K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $585K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $206K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 5,902 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Clifton Branch Library is one branch of Wayne County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 16,066 people it serves.
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 Clifton
Does Clifton have a public library?
Yes: Clifton Branch Library, 300 East Water Street, is a branch of Wayne County Public Library, which serves 16,066 people. The branch is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wayne County Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Clifton’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 2.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Clifton’s civic life grade?
B− Clifton is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Clifton.
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.