Photo: WikiSebasTheDev · CC BY-SA 4.0East Rockaway’s library logs 6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
East Rockaway Public Library serves East Rockaway’s 10,159 residents. Last year it lent 74K books, movies and e-books and logged 60K visits.
East Rockaway’s library, in brief
Programs lean toward adults
58% of the 442 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 165 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
East Rockaway invests in its library
East Rockaway Public Library spends $99 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 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.
What’s behind East Rockaway’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, East Rockaway is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #185 of 751 in New York. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; 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 →
41 community nonprofits are registered in East Rockaway
4.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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.
8.2%
8.2% of East Rockaway’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical New York 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 East Rockaway’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 26 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
East Rockaway Public Library serves 10,159 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
74K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 51K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
26,223 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in East Rockaway last year.
Find it
East Rockaway Public Library, 477 Atlantic Avenue, East Rockaway.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in East Rockaway? 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 $1.21 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average East Rockaway cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1M 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 5,587 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Rockaway | East Rockaway Public Library | 7.3 | 55 | B+ |
| Lynbrook | Lynbrook Public Library | 6.1 | 55 | C+ |
| Oceanside | Oceanside Library fine-free | — | 63 | — graded as part of its town |
| Hewlett | Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library | — | 69 | — graded as part of its town |
| Rockville Centre | Rockville Centre Public Library | — | 64 | B+ |
| Bay Park | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Hewlett Harbor | None of its own | — | — | D− |
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 East Rockaway
Does East Rockaway have a public library?
Yes. East Rockaway Public Library, 477 Atlantic Avenue, serves East Rockaway’s 10,159 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is East Rockaway 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 East Rockaway’s library?
It logged 6.0 visits and lent 7.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is East Rockaway’s civic life grade?
B+ East Rockaway is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on civic life, #185 of 751 in New York. 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 East Rockaway.
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.