Photo: TheoneSueVanderschans · CC BY-SA 3.0Mount Hope’s library logs 4.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Rockaway Township Free Public Library serves 25,341 people in and around Mount Hope. Last year it lent 183K books, movies and e-books and logged 103K visits.
The short version on Mount Hope’s library
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Rockaway Township Free Public Library is above the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, with three in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Mount Hope out-borrows every town next door
At 7.2 loans per resident, Mount Hope leads the four towns here. The closest is Hibernia, at 7.2. Libraries next door ↓
Rockaway Township Free Public Library serves more than Mount Hope
The library’s service area covers 25,341 people in and around Mount Hope, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. 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 Mount Hope’s civic life grade
Mount Hope isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Rockaway Township Free Public Library serves 25,341 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 47 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
183K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 76K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
49,987 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Rockaway Twsp. Pub. Lib., 61 Mount Hope Road, Rockaway.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Mount Hope? 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 $1.67 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mount Hope cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.7M 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 16,013 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Mount Hope borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Hope | Rockaway Twsp. Pub. Lib. | 7.2 | 62 | — graded as part of its town |
| Hibernia | Hibernia Branch | 7.2 | 12 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Rockaway Township | Rockaway Twsp. Pub. Lib. | 7.2 | 62 | C |
| Wharton | Wharton Public Library | 3.1 | 41 | B |
| White Meadow Lake | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Mount Hope
Does Mount Hope have a public library?
Yes. Rockaway Township Free Public Library, 61 Mount Hope Road, serves 25,341 people in and around Mount Hope (the survey’s count) and is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rockaway Township Free Public 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 Mount Hope’s library?
It logged 4.1 visits and lent 7.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Mount Hope’s civic life grade?
Mount Hope isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Mount Hope.
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.