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Sharkey-Issaquena County Library

Rolling Fork’s library logs 0.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size

Sharkey-Issaquena County Library serves 4,592 people in and around Rolling Fork. Last year it lent 2,312 print books and media and logged 356 visits.

116 R Morganfield Way, Rolling Fork 39159 · about 38 hours a week
C+Civic lifeAhead of 37% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (662) 873-4076 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
2,312
0.5 per resident
Visits a year
356
0.1 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
6
about 1 a week · 239 attended
Cardholders
89%
4,106 cards
Open
38 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Rolling Fork’s library is like

Sharkey-Issaquena County Library is used less than most libraries its size

Sharkey-Issaquena County Library records 0.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. How it compares ↓

Few programs for a library this size

Sharkey-Issaquena County Library offered 6 programs last year, 1.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓

Nearly everyone the system serves has a card

4,106 cards for 4,592 people, or 89%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. 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; Sharkey-Issaquena County Library serves 4,592 people in and around Rolling Fork, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Rolling Fork’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Rolling Fork is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns. Rolling Fork is graded on two of the three inputs. Rolling Fork’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.

C+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Rolling Fork’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureACommunity nonprofits6.9 per 1,000 residents · MS towns 2.8 · U.S. 3.7D−Volunteering1.8% of adults 25–44 · MS towns 4.4% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 37%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $34K–$57K (3,574)Ahead of 40%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($34K–$57K) 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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Rolling Fork is small (1,387 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

14 community nonprofits are registered in Rolling Fork

6.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture20.98 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.49 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.49 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.98 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education31.47 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.49 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals20.98 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other20.98 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

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.

Volunteering

1.8%

1.8% of Rolling Fork’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.4% in the typical Mississippi 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 Rolling Fork’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 0.1 visits · typical 3Bottom 10%
Borrowing per resident 0.5 print items · typical 3.8Bottom 10%
Kids’ borrowing 0 kids’ items · typical 1.6Bottom 10%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.5Bottom 10%
Programs offered 1.3 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Bottom 10%
Cardholders 89% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 87%
Spending $34 per resident · typical $43Lower than 64%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Sharkey-Issaquena County Library serves 4,592 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sharkey-Issaquena County Library system. The library’s own count.

356
visits
0.1 per resident
2,312
loans, print + digital
0.5 per resident
6
programs & events
239 attended
4,106
library cards
89% of people served
Every open hour4items borrowed
Every week5people at a program
Every day0Wi-Fi sessions
3 staff (full-time equivalent)2 public computers
What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

2,312 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

2,312loans
Books & media (adults) 99%Kids’ books & media 1%
From your couch

Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

6 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Rolling Fork →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–52
Ages 6–112
Teens0
Adults1
All ages1
Little ones
0

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

12
kids’ books & media borrowed
239
people at programs
6
programs
The building

Find it

Sharkey-Issaquena County Library, 116 R Morganfield Way, Rolling Fork.

Directions(662) 873-4076
38
hours open a week
5,772
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sharkey-Issaquena County Library branch.

New in Rolling Fork? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rolling Fork cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$34 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $155K.

Local taxes 74%State 15%Federal 0%Gifts & other 10%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $42K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $155K 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 4,106 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

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.
  • System-wide. Sharkey-Issaquena County Library serves 4,592 people in and around Rolling Fork, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Rolling Fork.

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 Rolling Fork

Does Rolling Fork have a public library?

Yes. Sharkey-Issaquena County Library, 116 R Morganfield Way, serves 4,592 people in and around Rolling Fork (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Sharkey-Issaquena County Library 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 Rolling Fork’s library?

It logged 0.1 visits and lent 0.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Rolling Fork’s civic life grade?

C+ Rolling Fork is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Rolling Fork.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.