Photo: Benggriff · Public domainRockport’s library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Rockport Public Library serves Rockport’s 3,678 residents. Last year it lent 40K print books and media and logged 45K visits.
The short version on Rockport’s library
Rockport uses its library more than almost any town its size
Rockport Public Library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 93% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Rockport Public Library ran 469 programs last year, about 9 a week. That’s 128 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 6,239 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in Maine for library use
Rockport ranks #5 of 97 Maine towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 12 visits per resident, more than at 96% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Nearly everyone in Rockport has a card
3,499 cards for 3,678 people, or 95%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Rockport invests in its library
Rockport Public Library spends $162 per resident a year, about four times the typical $43 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
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 Rockport’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Rockport is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #2 of 143 in Maine. All three inputs put Rockport near the top nationally; Rockport’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 →
43 community nonprofits are registered in Rockport
11.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
16.1%
16.1% of Rockport’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 Rockport’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 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 Rockport last year.
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.
Rockport Public Library serves 3,678 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
40K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 38K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Rockport Public Library, 1 Limerock Street, Rockport.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Rockport? 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 $1.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rockport cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $596K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $698K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $596K 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 3,499 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Rockport ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camden | Camden Public Library fine-free | 20.5 | 56 | A+ |
| Rockport | Rockport Public Library fine-free | 10.8 | 51 | A+ |
| Rockland | Rockland Public Library fine-free | 9.8 | 50 | A+ |
| North Haven | North Haven Public Library fine-free | 4.9 | 10 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Warren | Warren Free Public Library fine-free | 1.3 | 32 | 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. 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 Rockport
Does Rockport have a public library?
Yes. Rockport Public Library, 1 Limerock Street, serves Rockport’s 3,678 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rockport 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 Rockport’s library?
It logged 12.3 visits and lent 10.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Rockport’s civic life grade?
A+ Rockport is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #2 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 Rockport.
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.