Clear Lake’s library lends 7.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Clear Lake Public Library serves Clear Lake’s 2,779 residents. Last year it lent 26K books, movies and e-books and logged 7,883 visits.
What Clear Lake’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
87% of the 54 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 37 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
33% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 67%. 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 Clear Lake’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Clear Lake is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns. Clear Lake is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Clear Lake’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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Clear Lake
5.8 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.0%
8.0% of Clear Lake’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.6% in the typical Wisconsin 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 Clear Lake’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
26K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 20K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
5,034 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 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Clear Lake Public Library serves 2,779 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
54 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 Clear Lake last year.
Find it
Clear Lake Public Library, 350 Fourth Ave., Clear Lake.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Clear Lake? 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 $2.51 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Clear Lake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $160K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $402K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $160K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
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 632 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clear Lake | Clear Lake Public Library fine-free | 9.3 | 46 | A− |
| Black Brook | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
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.
- 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 Clear Lake
Does Clear Lake have a public library?
Yes. Clear Lake Public Library, 350 Fourth Ave., serves Clear Lake’s 2,779 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Clear Lake Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Clear Lake’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 9.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Clear Lake’s civic life grade?
A− Clear Lake is ahead of 77% 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 Clear Lake.
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.