Richardson-Brinkman Cobblestone House · Photo: Sa magnuson33 · CC BY-SA 3.0Clinton’s library runs 68 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Clinton Public Library serves Clinton’s 3,567 residents. Last year it lent 21K books, movies and e-books and drew 1,957 people to its programs.
What stands out about Clinton’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Clinton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Clinton is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Clinton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
The survey’s stand-in for Clinton’s 2024 visits is its own estimate, so it is left out. What the library did report is strong: 242 programs, 68 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for its size.
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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Clinton
5.9 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
14.3%
14.3% of Clinton’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 Clinton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Clinton Public Library serves 3,567 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 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.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
21K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
5,392 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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, 214 Mill St., 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 $1.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Clinton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $192K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $339K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $192K 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 3,548 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Clinton Public Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate is its own, 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 Clinton
Does Clinton have a public library?
Yes. Clinton Public Library, 214 Mill St., serves Clinton’s 3,567 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 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 lent 5.9 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 242 programs that drew 1,957 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Clinton’s civic life grade?
A+ Clinton is ahead of 96% 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 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.