Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Clifton Forge’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Clifton Forge Public Library serves Clifton Forge’s 3,444 residents. Last year it lent 48K books, movies and e-books and logged 19K visits.
Clifton Forge’s library, in brief
Clifton Forge ranks 3rd in Virginia for borrowing
Out of 24 Virginia towns with a library of their own, Clifton Forge comes 3rd for items borrowed per resident. How it compares ↓
Virginia pays a big share
24% of the budget comes from the state, and 76% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 6% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 57% of similar-size libraries. 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 Clifton Forge’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Clifton Forge is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #10 of 88 in Virginia. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Clifton Forge’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in Clifton Forge
10.2 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. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.6%
8.6% of Clifton Forge’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.9% in the typical Virginia 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 Forge’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Clifton Forge Public Library serves 3,444 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
48K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 50K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
2,769 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
37 programs a year
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 Clifton Forge last year.
Find it
Clifton Forge Public Library, 535 Church Street, Clifton Forge.
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 $3.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Clifton Forge cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $238K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $791K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $238K 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 741 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton Forge | Clifton Forge Public Library | 14.1 | 42 | A |
| Selma | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Clifton Forge Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Forge
Does Clifton Forge have a public library?
Yes. Clifton Forge Public Library, 535 Church Street, serves Clifton Forge’s 3,444 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Clifton Forge 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 Forge’s library?
It logged 5.6 visits and lent 14.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Clifton Forge’s civic life grade?
A Clifton Forge is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on civic life, #10 of 88 in Virginia. 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 Forge.
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.