Photo: Nyttend · Public domainRostraver Township’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Rostraver Public Library serves Rostraver Township’s 17,723 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 44K books, movies and e-books and logged 24K visits.
Rostraver Township’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
50% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 18%. What your card is worth ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Rostraver Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 14% of the people Rostraver Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Rostraver Public Library spends $10 per resident, less than 96% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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 Rostraver Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Rostraver Township is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #604 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Rostraver Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Rostraver Township’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($55K–$92K) 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 →
42 community nonprofits are registered in Rostraver Township
3.7 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.2%
6.2% of Rostraver Township’s 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 Rostraver Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Rostraver Public Library serves 17,723 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
44K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 25K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.
6,008 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 Rostraver Township last year.
2 places to borrow in Rostraver Township
Rostraver Public Library, 700 Plaza Drive, Rostraver Township.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Rostraver Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Rostraver Township
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rostraver Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $176K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $707K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $176K 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 2,448 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rostraver Township | Rostraver Public Library fine-free | 2.5 | 42 | C |
| Monessen | Monessen Public Library fine-free | 1.1 | 39 | C |
| North Belle Vernon | Belle Vernon Public Library fine-free | — | 44 | C |
| Donora | Donora Public Library fine-free | — | 35 | C |
| South Huntingdon Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Washington Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Collinsburg | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| West Newton | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Lynnwood-Pricedale | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Carroll Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Perry 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.
- 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 Rostraver Township
Does Rostraver Township have a public library?
Yes. Rostraver Public Library, 700 Plaza Drive, serves Rostraver Township’s 17,723 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rostraver 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 Rostraver Township’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 2.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Rostraver Township’s civic life grade?
C Rostraver Township is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on civic life, #604 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 Rostraver Township.
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.