Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0Cleveland’s library runs 22 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Austin Memorial Library serves Cleveland’s 9,113 residents. Last year it lent 28K books, movies and e-books and drew 8,213 people to its programs.
Cleveland’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
12,977 cards for 9,113 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
79% of the 200 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.9 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Austin Memorial Library holds 49,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Cleveland’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cleveland is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns, #450 of 539 in Texas. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Cleveland is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
The survey’s stand-in for Cleveland’s 2024 visits carries forward a 2021 figure, so it is left out.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($41K–$68K) 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Cleveland
1.1 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.5%
5.5% of Cleveland’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.7% in the typical Texas 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 Cleveland’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Austin Memorial Library serves 9,113 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
28K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 49K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
3,501 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 Cleveland last year.
Find it
Austin Memorial Library, 220 S Bonham Ave, Cleveland.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Cleveland? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cleveland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $609K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $566K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $609K 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 12,977 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | Austin Memorial Library | 3.1 | 55 | D |
| North Cleveland | 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.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Austin Memorial Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate carries forward its 2021 figure, so we leave it out and never rank it.
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 Cleveland
Does Cleveland have a public library?
Yes. Austin Memorial Library, 220 S Bonham Ave, serves Cleveland’s 9,113 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Austin Memorial 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 Cleveland’s library?
It lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 200 programs that drew 8,213 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Cleveland’s civic life grade?
D Cleveland is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns on civic life, #450 of 539 in Texas. 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 Cleveland.
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.