Photo: formulanone from Huntsville, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0McKees Rocks’ library lends 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
F.O.R. Sto-Rox Library serves 12,346 people in and around McKees Rocks. Last year it lent 16K books, movies and e-books and logged 15K visits.
What McKees Rocks’s library is like
F.O.R. Sto-Rox Library is used less than most libraries its size
F.O.R. Sto-Rox Library records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $21 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
49% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 49% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 196 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.6 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; F.O.R. Sto-Rox Library serves 12,346 people in and around McKees Rocks, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind McKees Rocks’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, McKees Rocks is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns, #866 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. McKees Rocks is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; McKees Rocks’ count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
F.O.R. Sto-Rox Library spends $21 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($31K–$51K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in McKees Rocks
3.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.1%
4.1% of McKees Rocks’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.0% in the typical Pennsylvania 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 McKees Rocks’ residents live; 2022.
49% of borrowing is digital
16K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
7,633 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
F.O.R. Sto-Rox Library serves 12,346 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole F.O.R. Sto-Rox Library system. The library’s own count.
About 3 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.
Find it
F O R Sto-Rox Library, 420 Chartiers Ave, Mckees Rocks.
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 F.O.R. Sto-Rox Library branch.
New in McKees Rocks? 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 $1.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average McKees Rocks cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $262K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $273K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $262K 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 1,544 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh fine-free | 9.6 | 62 | A− |
| McKees Rocks | F O R Sto-Rox Library fine-free | — | 44 | C− |
| Stowe Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Kennedy Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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. F.O.R. Sto-Rox Library serves 12,346 people in and around McKees Rocks, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just McKees Rocks.
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 McKees Rocks
Does McKees Rocks have a public library?
Yes. F.O.R. Sto-Rox Library, 420 Chartiers Ave, serves 12,346 people in and around McKees Rocks (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is F.O.R. Sto-Rox 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 McKees Rocks’ library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is McKees Rocks’ civic life grade?
C− McKees Rocks is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns on civic life, #866 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. 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 McKees Rocks.
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.