Photo: Ken Winters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers · Public domainRocky River’s library lends 24 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Rocky River Public Library serves 21,755 people in and around Rocky River. Last year it lent 825K books, movies and e-books and logged 186K visits.
The short version on Rocky River’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
Rocky River Public Library logs 8.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 24 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
21,579 cards for 21,755 people, or 99%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 14 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. It’s 37% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 39% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Rocky River Public Library spends $231 per resident a year, about five 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; Rocky River Public Library serves 21,755 people in and around Rocky River, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Rocky River’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Rocky River is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #175 of 914 in Ohio. 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 →
100 community nonprofits are registered in Rocky River
4.7 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 (16 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.2%
8.2% of Rocky River’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.5% in the typical Ohio 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 Rocky River’s residents live; 2022.
About 9 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Rocky River Public Library serves 21,755 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 240 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Rocky River Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
825K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
303,937 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Rocky River Public Library, 1600 Hampton Rd., Rocky River.
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 Rocky River Public Library branch.
New in Rocky River? 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 $2.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rocky River cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $13M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5M 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 21,579 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky River | Rocky River Public Library fine-free | — | 66 | A− |
| Lakewood | Lakewood Public Library fine-free | — | 72 | A− |
| Fairview Park | Fairview Park Branch Library fine-free | — | 67 | B− |
| Bay Village | Bay Village Branch Library fine-free | — | 66 | A |
| Westlake | Porter Public Library fine-free | — | 68 | A− |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Rocky River Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. Rocky River Public Library serves 21,755 people in and around Rocky River, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Rocky River.
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 River
Does Rocky River have a public library?
Yes. Rocky River Public Library, 1600 Hampton Rd., serves 21,755 people in and around Rocky River (the survey’s count) and is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rocky River 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 Rocky River’s library?
It logged 8.5 visits and lent 37.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Rocky River’s civic life grade?
A− Rocky River is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #175 of 914 in Ohio. 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 Rocky River.
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.