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Library · Rockwood

Rockwood Public Library

Rockwood Public Library serves 16,475 people in and around Rockwood. Last year it lent 37K books, movies and e-books and logged 20K visits.

117 North Front Street, Rockwood 37854 · about 48 hours a week
Photo: Brian Stansberry
Borrowed a year
37K
2.2 per resident
Visits a year
20K
1.2 per resident · Below typical (3.1)
Programs & events
48
about 1 a week · 660 attended
Cardholders
8%
1,290 cards
Open
48 hrs
a week
A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

20K
visits
1.2 per resident
37K
loans, print + digital
2.2 per resident
48
programs & events
660 attended
1,290
library cards
8% of people served
Every open hour15items borrowed
Every week13people at a program
Every day15Wi-Fi sessions
4 staff (full-time equivalent)14 public computers47K books & media on the shelves
How it compares

Close to typical for its size

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.

Visits per resident 1.2 visits · typical 3.1Lower than 86%
Borrowing per resident 1.6 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 81%
Digital borrowing 0.6 e-items · typical 1.1Lower than 70%
Kids’ borrowing 0.8 kids’ items · typical 1.8Lower than 76%
Program attendance 0 attendees · typical 0.4Lower than 97%
Programs offered 2.9 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Lower than 96%
Cardholders 8% of residents · typical 40%Lower than 98%
Spending $10 per resident · typical $43Lower than 96%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
In Tennessee
#96 of 184

library systems for visits per resident.

Size group

Rockwood Public Library serves 16,475 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

37K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

37Kloans
Books & media (adults) 38%Kids’ books & media 34%E-books, audio & streaming 27%
How hard the shelves work
0.6×

Each of the 47K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.

From your couch

10,167 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

48 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Rockwood →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–530
Ages 6–116
Teens12
Adults0
All ages0
Little ones
0.6

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

13K
kids’ books & media borrowed
660
people at programs
48
programs
What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.36 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rockwood cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
1
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$0
a year at retail prices · $0 a month

Who pays for it
$10 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $169K.

Local taxes 96%Federal 1%Gifts & other 3%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $568K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $169K budget.

Late fines apply to some overdue items.

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 1,290 cardholders ÷ 12.

The building

Find it

Rockwood Public Library, 117 North Front Street, Rockwood.

48
hours open a week
6,200
square feet
47K
books & media
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Rockwood? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHours
RockwoodRockwood Public Library2.248
HarrimanHarriman Public Library1.345

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.

About these numbers

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
  • Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
  • 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.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Rockwood.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is Rockwood Public Library one of the best things about Rockwood?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Start a conversation

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.

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