Goldfield Historic District · Photo: FloNight (Sydney Poore) and Russell Poore · CC BY-SA 3.0Goldfield’s library is a branch of Esmeralda County Libraries, which lends less per resident than 96% of systems its size
Goldfield’s library is the Goldfield Public Library, a branch of Esmeralda County Libraries, which serves 1,067 people and lent 773 items last year.
What Goldfield’s library is like
Few programs for a library this size
The Esmeralda County Libraries system offered 0 programs last year, 0 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
The Goldfield branch keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
The Esmeralda County Libraries system lends 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, fewer than 96% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
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; Goldfield’s library is a branch of Esmeralda County Libraries, so they cover the whole system (1,067 people), not just the Goldfield branch; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Goldfield’s civic life grade
Goldfield 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Esmeralda County Libraries serves 1,067 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Esmeralda County Libraries
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Esmeralda County Libraries system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
773 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
149 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
What kids borrow
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Find it
Goldfield Public Library, Corner Crook & Fourth, Goldfield.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Esmeralda County Libraries branch.
New in Goldfield? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Goldfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $94K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $23K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $94K 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 785 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Goldfield Public Library is one branch of Esmeralda County Libraries, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 1,067 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 Goldfield
Does Goldfield have a public library?
Yes: Goldfield Public Library, Corner Crook & Fourth, is a branch of Esmeralda County Libraries, which serves 1,067 people. The branch is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Esmeralda County Libraries fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Goldfield’s library?
It logged 4.6 visits and lent 0.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Goldfield’s civic life grade?
Goldfield 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 Goldfield.
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.