Register Rock · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0Rockland’s library runs 840 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Rockland School/Community serves 489 people in and around Rockland. Last year it lent 7,385 books, movies and e-books and logged 8,156 visits.
Rockland’s library, in brief
14 times the programs of a typical library its size
Rockland School/Community ran 411 programs last year, about 8 a week. That’s 840 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 21,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Rockland School/Community logs 17 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
87% of the 411 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 44% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 2% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 73% of similar-size libraries. 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; Rockland School/Community serves 489 people in and around Rockland, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Rockland’s civic life grade
Rockland 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 →
About 7 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Rockland School/Community serves 489 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Rockland School/Community system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,385 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
125 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Rockland School/Community, 321 E Center, Rockland.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Rockland School/Community branch.
New in Rockland? 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 $7.74 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rockland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $42K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $324K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $42K 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 347 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Rockland’s 8,156 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- System-wide. Rockland School/Community serves 489 people in and around Rockland, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Rockland.
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 Rockland
Does Rockland have a public library?
Yes. Rockland School/Community, 321 E Center, serves 489 people in and around Rockland (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rockland School/Community 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 Rockland’s library?
It logged 16.7 visits and lent 15.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Rockland’s civic life grade?
Rockland 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 Rockland.
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.