Photo: Pdubs.94 · CC BY 4.0Rock Falls’ library runs 7 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Rock Falls Public Library District serves 10,570 people in and around Rock Falls. Last year it lent 20K print books and media and logged 30K visits.
What Rock Falls’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Rock Falls Public Library District sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Rock Falls Public Library District offered 74 programs last year, 7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people Rock Falls Public Library District serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
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 Rock Falls’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Rock Falls is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns, #570 of 754 in Illinois. Rock Falls is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Rock Falls’ count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Rock Falls Public Library District spends $24 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($37K–$62K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
30 community nonprofits are registered in Rock Falls
3.5 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.4%
5.4% of Rock Falls’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.1% in the typical Illinois 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 Rock Falls’ residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Rock Falls Public Library District serves 10,570 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
20K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Rock Falls’ library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 30K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
74 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.
Find it
Rock Falls Public Library District, 1007 Seventh Avenue, Rock Falls.
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 $1.48 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rock Falls cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $250K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $370K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $250K 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 1,383 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Rock Falls ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling | Sterling Public Library | 5.1 | 49 | B− |
| Sterling Township | Sterling Public Library | 5.1 | 49 | — graded with its twin city |
| Rock Falls | Rock Falls Public Library District | 1.9 | 51 | C− |
| Coloma Township | Rock Falls Public Library District | 1.9 | 51 | C− |
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. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. Illinois libraries often don’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 Rock Falls
Does Rock Falls have a public library?
Yes. Rock Falls Public Library District, 1007 Seventh Avenue, serves 10,570 people in and around Rock Falls (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rock Falls Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Rock Falls’ library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 1.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Rock Falls’ civic life grade?
C− Rock Falls is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns on civic life, #570 of 754 in Illinois. 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 Rock Falls.
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.