Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0Rocky Hill’s library is a branch of Somerset County Library, which lends more per resident than 94% of systems its size
Rocky Hill’s library is the Mary Jacobs Branch Library, a branch of Somerset County Library, which serves 224,243 people and lent 2.6M items last year.
Rocky Hill’s library, in brief
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
The Somerset County Library system ran 6,293 programs last year, about 121 a week. That’s 28 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 179,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Somerset County Library system logs 3.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 9.3 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Rocky Hill branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A well-funded system
The Somerset County Library system spends $84 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. Almost all of it (98%) comes from local taxes. 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; Rocky Hill’s library is a branch of Somerset County Library, so they cover the whole system (224,243 people), not just the Rocky Hill branch.
What’s behind Rocky Hill’s civic life grade
Rocky Hill 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 →
About 56 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Somerset County Library serves 224,243 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 104 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Somerset County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2.6M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
504,617 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Mary Jacobs Branch Library, 64 Washington Street, Rocky Hill.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Somerset County Library branch.
New in Rocky Hill? 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 $2.25 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rocky Hill cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $19M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $42M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $19M 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 83,099 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | Franklin Twp. Pub. Lib./Somerset | 4.8 | 61 | D |
| Rocky Hill | Mary Jacobs Branch Library fine-free | — | 20 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Montgomery Township | Montgomery Branch Library fine-free | — | 58 | A |
| East Rocky Hill | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Kingston | 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.
- System-wide. Mary Jacobs Branch Library is one branch of Somerset County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 224,243 people it serves.
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 Rocky Hill
Does Rocky Hill have a public library?
Yes: Mary Jacobs Branch Library, 64 Washington Street, is a branch of Somerset County Library, which serves 224,243 people. The branch is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Somerset County 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 Rocky Hill’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 11.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Rocky Hill’s civic life grade?
Rocky Hill 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 Rocky Hill.
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.