Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Rockland’s library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Rockland Public Library serves Rockland’s 7,031 residents. Last year it lent 69K print books and media and logged 93K visits.
Rockland’s library, in brief
Rockland uses its library more than almost any town its size
Rockland Public Library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 9.8 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Rockland Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979. Today’s library there has 18,500 square feet. The building ↓
Top 10% in Maine for library use
Rockland ranks #4 of 97 Maine towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 13 visits per resident, more than at 97% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 41% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 26 items per child in Rockland last year. Kids & programs ↓
A place to get online
Rockland Public Library logs about 206 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 16 public computers. That’s 11 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.
What’s behind Rockland’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Rockland is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #3 of 143 in Maine. All three inputs put Rockland near the top nationally; library visits rank 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 →
75 community nonprofits are registered in Rockland
10.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
13.1%
13.1% of Rockland’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 9.0% in the typical Maine 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 Rockland’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Rockland Public Library serves 7,031 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Books and media off the shelf
69K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 54K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Rockland last year.
A National Register landmark since 1979
Rockland Public Library, 80 Union St., Rockland.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Rockland? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Rockland Public Library
Rockland Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jul 10, 1979. It is significant for its architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Romanesque Revival and Beaux Arts.
The Rockland Public Library is located at 80 Union Street in central Rockland, Maine. It is located in an architecturally distinguished building, built in 1903–04 with funding support from Andrew Carnegie. The library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 for its architecture. The library is one of the only libraries in Maine designated as a "Star Library" by Library Journal.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rockland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $671K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $671K 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 3,025 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Rockland ranks 2nd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockport | Rockport Public Library fine-free | 10.8 | 51 | A+ |
| Rockland | Rockland Public Library fine-free | 9.8 | 50 | A+ |
| Thomaston | Thomaston Public Library fine-free | 5.0 | 38 | B− |
| North Haven | North Haven Public Library fine-free | 4.9 | 10 | — under 1,000 residents |
| South Thomaston | South Thomaston Public Library fine-free | 1.6 | 23 | A |
| Warren | Warren Free Public Library fine-free | 1.3 | 32 | C− |
| Owls Head | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
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. 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 Rockland
Does Rockland have a public library?
Yes. Rockland Public Library, 80 Union St., serves Rockland’s 7,031 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rockland Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Rockland’s library?
It logged 13.2 visits and lent 9.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Rockland’s civic life grade?
A+ Rockland is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #3 of 143 in Maine. 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 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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.