Rowan’s library lends 7.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Rowan Public Library serves Rowan’s 491 residents. Last year it lent 3,572 print books and media and logged 1,248 visits.
The short version on Rowan’s library
A small-town library
Rowan Public Library serves 491 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 26 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
A place to get online
Rowan Public Library logs about 7 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 3 public computers. That’s 5.2 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Rowan’s civic life grade
Rowan isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Rowan Public Library serves 491 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
3,572 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 9,827 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
10 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Rowan Public Library, 101 Main St., Rowan.
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 $2.06 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rowan cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $33K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $67K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $33K 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 227 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 Rowan
Does Rowan have a public library?
Yes. Rowan Public Library, 101 Main St., serves Rowan’s 491 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rowan Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Rowan’s library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 7.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Rowan’s civic life grade?
Rowan isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Rowan.
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.