Photo: Boscophotos · CC BY-SA 3.0Rockton’s library runs 32 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Talcott Free Library District serves 11,060 people in and around Rockton. Last year it lent 59K print books and media and logged 39K visits.
The short version on Rockton’s library
Talcott Free Library District serves more than Rockton
The library’s service area covers 11,060 people in and around Rockton, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
69% of the 351 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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 Rockton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Rockton is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #184 of 754 in Illinois. Rockton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Rockton’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 →
36 community nonprofits are registered in Rockton
4.5 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.5%
8.5% of Rockton’s 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 Rockton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Talcott Free Library District serves 11,060 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 23 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
59K 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 Rockton’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 47K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
About 5 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.
Find it
Talcott Free Library District, 101 East Main Street, Rockton.
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 $1.44 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rockton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $730K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $730K 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 2,735 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Rockton borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockton | Talcott Free Library District fine-free | 5.4 | 50 | B+ |
| Rockton Township | Talcott Free Library District fine-free | 5.4 | 50 | C |
| South Beloit | South Beloit Public Library fine-free | 2.3 | 52 | C− |
| Roscoe | Roscoe Branch Library fine-free | — | 58 | C+ |
| Roscoe Township | Roscoe Branch Library fine-free | — | 58 | C− |
| Owen Township | None of its own | — | — | D− |
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 Rockton
Does Rockton have a public library?
Yes. Talcott Free Library District, 101 East Main Street, serves 11,060 people in and around Rockton (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Talcott Free Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Rockton’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 5.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Rockton’s civic life grade?
B+ Rockton is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on civic life, #184 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 Rockton.
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.