Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0Goliad’s library runs 7 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Goliad County Library serves 7,144 people in and around Goliad. Last year it lent 8,016 print books and media and logged 12K visits.
The short version on Goliad’s library
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
6,658 cards for 7,144 people, or 93%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
27% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 73%. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 50 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 24 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; Goliad County Library serves 7,144 people in and around Goliad, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Goliad’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Goliad is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. Goliad is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Goliad’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Goliad
10.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.5%
11.5% of Goliad’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.7% in the typical Texas 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 Goliad’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Goliad County Library serves 7,144 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Goliad County Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
8,016 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
50 programs a year
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
Goliad County Library, 320 S Commercial St., Goliad.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Goliad County Library branch.
New in Goliad? 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 Goliad cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $178K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $147K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $178K 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 6,658 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Goliad County Library serves 7,144 people in and around Goliad, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Goliad.
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 Goliad
Does Goliad have a public library?
Yes. Goliad County Library, 320 S Commercial St., serves 7,144 people in and around Goliad (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Goliad County Library 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 Goliad’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 1.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Goliad’s civic life grade?
A+ Goliad is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Goliad.
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.