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Rockaway visitor centerPhoto: Finetooth · CC BY-SA 3.0
Rockaway Branch Library · part of Tillamook County Library

Rockaway Beach’s library is a branch of Tillamook County Library, which lends more per resident than 84% of systems its size

Rockaway Beach’s library is the Rockaway Branch Library, a branch of Tillamook County Library, which serves 28,000 people and lent 230K items last year.

120 N Coral, Rockaway 97136 · about 38 hours a week
A+Civic lifeAhead of 96% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (503) 355-2655 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
230K
8.2 per resident
Visits a year
136K
4.9 per resident · Above typical (2.6)
Programs & events
1,109
about 21 a week · 13K attended
Cardholders
52%
14,623 cards
Open
38 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Rockaway Beach’s library

Three times the programs of a typical library its size

The Tillamook County Library system ran 1,109 programs last year, about 21 a week. That’s 40 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓

Most programs are for young children

76% of the 1,109 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 16 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

A well-funded system

The Tillamook County Library system spends $142 per resident a year, about four times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (95%) 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; Rockaway Beach’s library is a branch of Tillamook County Library, so they cover the whole system (28,000 people), not just the Rockaway Beach branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Rockaway Beach’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Rockaway Beach is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns. Rockaway Beach is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.

A+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Rockaway Beach’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureA−Community nonprofits6.2 per 1,000 residents · OR towns 5.2 · U.S. 3.7AVolunteering13.9% of adults 25–44 · OR towns 8.9% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 96%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $40K–$67K (6,077)Ahead of 95%

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. Rockaway Beach is small (1,455 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

10 community nonprofits are registered in Rockaway Beach

6.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.45 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation31.92 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.45 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services31.92 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.45 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.45 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.45 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

13.9%

13.9% of Rockaway Beach’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.9% in the typical Oregon 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 Rockaway Beach’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 16 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Rockaway Beach →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5847
Ages 6–110
Teens81
Adults181
All ages0
Little ones
16.3

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

81K
kids’ books & media borrowed
13K
people at programs
1,109
programs
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 4.9 visits · typical 2.6Higher than 86%
Borrowing per resident 8.2 print items · typical 3.7Higher than 84%
Kids’ borrowing 2.9 kids’ items · typical 1.7Higher than 73%
Program attendance 0.5 attendees · typical 0.3Higher than 70%
Programs offered 39.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Top 10%
Cardholders 52% of residents · typical 39%Higher than 71%
Spending $142 per resident · typical $40Top 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Tillamook County Library serves 28,000 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out

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

136K
visits
4.9 per resident
230K
loans, print + digital
8.2 per resident
1,109
programs & events
13K attended
15K
library cards
52% of people served
Every open hour16items borrowed
Every week255people at a program
Every day41Wi-Fi sessions
26 staff (full-time equivalent)39 public computers
What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

230K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

230Kloans
Books & media (adults) 65%Kids’ books & media 35%
The building

Find it

Rockaway Branch Library, 120 N Coral, Rockaway.

Directions(503) 355-2655
38
hours open a week
800
square feet
With a card

No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Tillamook County Library branch.

New in Rockaway Beach? 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 Rockaway Beach 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
$142 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4M.

Local taxes 95%State 0%Gifts & other 5%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4M 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 14,623 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. Rockaway Branch Library is one branch of Tillamook County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 28,000 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 Rockaway Beach

Does Rockaway Beach have a public library?

Yes: Rockaway Branch Library, 120 N Coral, is a branch of Tillamook County Library, which serves 28,000 people. The branch is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Tillamook County Library fine-free?

Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Rockaway Beach’s library?

It logged 4.9 visits and lent 8.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Rockaway Beach’s civic life grade?

A+ Rockaway Beach is ahead of 96% 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 Rockaway Beach.

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.