Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Clinton’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Clinton Public Library serves Clinton’s 29,507 residents. Last year it lent 95K books, movies and e-books and logged 42K visits.
Clinton’s library, in brief
Most of Clinton’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 61% of loans, more per resident than at 72% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 39%. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Clinton Public Library spends $10 per resident, less than 96% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). 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.
What’s behind Clinton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Clinton is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns, #125 of 150 in Tennessee. Clinton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Clinton’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Clinton Public Library spends $10 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($52K–$86K) 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Clinton
2.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.6%
5.6% of Clinton’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 Clinton’s residents live; 2022.
61% of borrowing is digital
95K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 47K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
58,442 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Clinton Public Library serves 29,507 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 33 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 2 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 Clinton last year.
Find it
Clinton Public Library, 118 South Hicks Street, Clinton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. 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 $5.10 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Clinton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $287K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $287K 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 16,724 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Clinton
Does Clinton have a public library?
Yes. Clinton Public Library, 118 South Hicks Street, serves Clinton’s 29,507 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Clinton 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 Clinton’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 3.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Clinton’s civic life grade?
D Clinton is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns on civic life, #125 of 150 in Tennessee. 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.