Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY 3.0Rocksprings’ library logs 31 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Claud H Gilmer Memorial Library serves 1,393 people in and around Rocksprings. Last year it lent 18K books, movies and e-books and logged 43K visits.
Rocksprings’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
1,743 cards for 1,393 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Claud H Gilmer Memorial Library logs 31 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 88% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Claud H Gilmer Memorial Library ran 341 programs last year, about 7 a week. That’s 245 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 7,083 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
76% of the 341 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 37 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; Claud H Gilmer Memorial Library serves 1,393 people in and around Rocksprings, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Rocksprings’ civic life grade
Rocksprings isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Claud H Gilmer Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Claud H Gilmer Memorial Library serves 1,393 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
18K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,164 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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
Claud H Gilmer Memorial Library, 201 N Hwy 377, Rocksprings.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Claud H Gilmer Memorial Library branch.
New in Rocksprings? 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 $2.55 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rocksprings cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $121K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $309K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $121K 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 1,743 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Rocksprings’ 43,229 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- System-wide. Claud H Gilmer Memorial Library serves 1,393 people in and around Rocksprings, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Rocksprings.
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 Rocksprings
Does Rocksprings have a public library?
Yes. Claud H Gilmer Memorial Library, 201 N Hwy 377, serves 1,393 people in and around Rocksprings (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Claud H Gilmer Memorial 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 Rocksprings’ library?
It logged 31.0 visits and lent 13.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Rocksprings’ civic life grade?
Rocksprings isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Rocksprings.
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.