Clark Memorial Library
Clark Memorial Library serves 8,020 people in and around Carolina. Last year it lent 37K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Close to typical for its size
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.
library systems for visits per resident.
Clark Memorial Library serves 8,020 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
37K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
10,288 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
175 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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.43 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Carolina cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $166K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $569K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $166K 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 1,600 cardholders ÷ 12.
Find it
Clark Memorial Library, 7 Pinehurst Drive, Richmond.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Carolina? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
Carolina ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlestown | Cross' Mills Public Library fine-free | 11.7 | 42 |
| Carolina | Clark Memorial Library | 4.6 | 37 |
| Richmond | Clark Memorial Library | 4.6 | 37 |
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.
About these numbers
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
- Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
- 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.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Carolina.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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.