Photo: Vasiliymeshko · CC BY-SA 4.0Rock Springs’ library is a branch of Sweetwater County Library System, which lends more per resident than 56% of systems its size
Rock Springs’s library is the White Mountain Library, a branch of Sweetwater County Library System, which serves 41,249 people and lent 242K items last year.
Rock Springs’s library, in brief
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 651 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 5.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
82% of the people it serves carry a library card
33,769 cards for 41,249 people, or 82%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
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; Rock Springs’s library is a branch of Sweetwater County Library System, so they cover the whole system (41,249 people), not just the Rock Springs branch.
What’s behind Rock Springs’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Rock Springs is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #21 of 24 in Wyoming. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Rock Springs is graded on two of the three inputs. Rock Springs’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
The survey’s stand-in for Rock Springs’ 2024 visits is its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 →
107 community nonprofits are registered in Rock Springs
4.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (17 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.0%
7.0% of Rock Springs’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.3% in the typical Wyoming 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 Rock Springs’ residents live; 2022.
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.
Sweetwater County Library System serves 41,249 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sweetwater County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
242K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
66,725 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 9 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.
2 places to borrow in Rock Springs
White Mountain Library, 2935 Sweetwater Drive, Rock Springs.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sweetwater County Library System branch.
New in Rock Springs? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Sweetwater County Library System branches in Rock Springs
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.21 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: $40. Operating budget $3.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.2M 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 33,769 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Springs | White Mountain Library fine-free | — | 47 | B− |
| North Rock Springs | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Clearview Acres | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Sweetwater County Library System didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate is its own, so we leave it out and never rank it.
- System-wide. White Mountain Library is one branch of Sweetwater County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 41,249 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 Rock Springs
Does Rock Springs have a public library?
Yes: White Mountain Library, 2935 Sweetwater Drive, is a branch of Sweetwater County Library System, which serves 41,249 people. The branch is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sweetwater County Library System 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 lent 5.9 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 651 programs that drew 20,389 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Rock Springs’ civic life grade?
B− Rock Springs is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on civic life, #21 of 24 in Wyoming. 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 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.