Photo: Dual Freq · CC BY-SA 3.0Rockwell City’s library lends 2.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Rockwell City Public Library serves Rockwell City’s 3,045 residents. Last year it lent 7,710 print books and media and logged 5,980 visits.
What Rockwell City’s library is like
More library cards than residents
3,159 cards for 3,045 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 110 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 35 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Rockwell City Public Library holds 40,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 Rockwell City’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Rockwell City is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns. Rockwell City is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Rockwell City’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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Rockwell City
6.5 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.0%
10.0% of Rockwell City’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.6% in the typical Iowa 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 Rockwell City’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Rockwell City Public Library serves 3,045 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
7,710 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 40K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
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 Rockwell City last year.
Find it
Rockwell City Public Library, 424 Main St., Rockwell City.
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 $1.57 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rockwell City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $88K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $138K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $88K 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 3,159 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Rockwell City
Does Rockwell City have a public library?
Yes. Rockwell City Public Library, 424 Main St., serves Rockwell City’s 3,045 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rockwell City Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Rockwell City’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 2.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Rockwell City’s civic life grade?
A Rockwell City is ahead of 91% 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 Rockwell City.
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.