Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Rock Springs’ library runs 274 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Rock Springs Public Library serves Rock Springs’s 744 residents. Last year it lent 5,497 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,045 visits.
Rock Springs’s library, in brief
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Rock Springs Public Library ran 204 programs last year, about 4 a week. That’s 274 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 1,942 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Rock Springs Public Library serves 744 residents with about 2 full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
Rock Springs Public Library keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 64% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 84% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
A place to get online
Rock Springs Public Library logs about 79 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 5 public computers. That’s 39 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Rock Springs’ civic life grade
Rock Springs 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 →
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Rock Springs Public Library serves 744 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
5,497 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,091 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
587 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Rock Springs Public Library, 251 Railroad St., Rock Springs.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Rock Springs? 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 $2.87 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rock Springs cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $64K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $183K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $64K 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 288 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Rock Springs
Does Rock Springs have a public library?
Yes. Rock Springs Public Library, 251 Railroad St., serves Rock Springs’ 744 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rock Springs 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 Rock Springs’ library?
It logged 4.1 visits and lent 7.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Rock Springs’ civic life grade?
Rock Springs 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 Rock Springs.
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.