The Carmel Clay Public Library is the heart and mind of the Carmel Clay community and is a hub for lifelong learning. It is one of the leading libraries in the country, and continually strives to meet and exceed its community's expectations for the quality of its collections, service and technology. As an integral part of the community, the Library's mission is to serve the educational, informational, and recreational needs of all citizens of Carmel Clay, a challenge the Library embraces with pride and purpose.

In 1904, the Carmel Clay Public Library was founded by the Wednesday Literary Club, a group of educated women whose vision and dedication provided the foundation for our Library. Since that time, the Library has grown from serving a small community of 500 people to a population of approximately 80,000. The Library has emerged from a room in the back of the telephone company building to a 116,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility that will serve the needs of our growing community well into the future.

Library Statistics 2009

• 2009 Annual Visitors: 591,243 (daily average - 1,680)
  • Yearly Circulation of Books and Materials: 1,794,819 (daily average - 5,100)
  • Annual Programs: 1,909 (annual attendance --54,113)
  • Library card holders: 74,648
  • Public Library Access Card (PLAC) - 6,090
• Computer Stations: 133
• Website Visits
  • Outside visitors to library website: 495,641 (Incidental hits not included)
  • Average visitors to website per day: 1,354
  • Website pages viewed annually: 1,505,154
  • Average per day: 4,170
• Hours of Operation:
  • Open 7 days per week - (70 hours per week, 353 days per year)
• Library Recognition: Ranked in the top ten (since this rating was created) out of 538 libraries nationwide in service population category (50,000 - 99,000) according to Hennen's American Public Library Ratings (HAPLR.)