Photo: Steven Baltakatei Sandoval · CC BY-SA 4.0Cleveland’s library is a branch of Emery County Library, which lends more per resident than 79% of systems its size
Cleveland’s library is the Emery County Library Cleveland Branch, a branch of Emery County Library, which serves 10,144 people and lent 94K items last year.
Cleveland’s library, in brief
Seven times the programs of a typical library its size
The Emery County Library system ran 1,680 programs last year, about 32 a week. That’s 166 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 21,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The Emery County Library system logs 18 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 99% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 7 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 62% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The Emery County Library system spends $92 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (87%) comes from local taxes. 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; Cleveland’s library is a branch of Emery County Library, so they cover the whole system (10,144 people), not just the Cleveland branch.
What’s behind Cleveland’s civic life grade
Cleveland isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
About 20 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Emery County Library serves 10,144 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Emery County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
94K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
22,831 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Emery County Library Cleveland Branch, 45 West Main Street, Cleveland.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Emery County Library branch.
New in Cleveland? 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 $1.68 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 $935K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $935K 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 4,005 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Cleveland’s 178,378 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- System-wide. Emery County Library Cleveland Branch is one branch of Emery County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 10,144 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 Cleveland
Does Cleveland have a public library?
Yes: Emery County Library Cleveland Branch, 45 West Main Street, is a branch of Emery County Library, which serves 10,144 people. The branch is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Emery County 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 logged 17.6 visits and lent 9.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Cleveland’s civic life grade?
Cleveland isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. 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.