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McCullough Street in GlasgowPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
Glasgow Public Library · part of Rockbridge Regional Library

Glasgow’s library is a branch of Rockbridge Regional Library, which lends more per resident than 51% of systems its size

Glasgow’s library is the Glasgow Public Library, a branch of Rockbridge Regional Library, which serves 40,897 people and lent 210K items last year.

1108 Blue Ridge Rd, Glasgow 24555 · about 33 hours a week
C−Civic lifeAhead of 17% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (540) 258-2509 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
210K
5.1 per resident
Visits a year
125K
3 per resident · Above typical (2.6)
Programs & events
975
about 19 a week · 13K attended
Cardholders
12%
5,064 cards
Open
33 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Glasgow’s library

Few residents carry a card

Only 12% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓

Virginia pays a big share

27% of the budget comes from the state, and 73% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓

Most programs are for young children

73% of the 975 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 9.2 a week 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; Glasgow’s library is a branch of Rockbridge Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (40,897 people), not just the Glasgow branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Glasgow’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Glasgow is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns. Glasgow is graded on two of the three inputs. Glasgow’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.

C−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Glasgow’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureB−Community nonprofits3.8 per 1,000 residents · VA towns 4.4 · U.S. 3.7D−Volunteering3.2% of adults 25–44 · VA towns 6.9% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 17%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $39K–$65K (5,488)Ahead of 18%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($39K–$65K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Glasgow is small (1,049 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

5 community nonprofits are registered in Glasgow

3.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.75 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services21.50 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.75 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.75 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

3.2%

3.2% of Glasgow’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.9% in the typical Virginia 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 Glasgow’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 3 visits · typical 2.6Higher than 59%
Borrowing per resident 3.8 print items · typical 3.7Higher than 51%
Digital borrowing 1.3 e-items · typical 1.2Higher than 55%
Kids’ borrowing 0.9 kids’ items · typical 1.7Lower than 72%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.3Lower than 51%
Programs offered 23.8 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Higher than 77%
Cardholders 12% of residents · typical 39%Bottom 10%
Spending $46 per resident · typical $40Higher than 57%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Rockbridge Regional Library serves 40,897 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Rockbridge Regional Library system. The library’s own count.

125K
visits
3 per resident
210K
loans, print + digital
5.1 per resident
975
programs & events
13K attended
5,064
library cards
12% of people served
Every open hour20items borrowed
Every week254people at a program
Every day61Wi-Fi sessions
14 staff (full-time equivalent)51 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

210K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

210Kloans
Books & media (adults) 57%Kids’ books & media 17%E-books, audio & streaming 26%
From your couch

54,074 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 14 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Glasgow →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5480
Ages 6–11233
Teens4
Adults251
All ages7
Little ones
9.2

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

36K
kids’ books & media borrowed
13K
people at programs
975
programs
The building

Find it

Glasgow Public Library, 1108 Blue Ridge Rd, Glasgow.

Directions(540) 258-2509
33
hours open a week
5,210
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Rockbridge Regional Library branch.

New in Glasgow? The Handbook →

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

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.87 worth

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

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
2
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
$732
a year at retail prices · $61 a month

Who pays for it
$46 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.9M.

Local taxes 73%State 27%Gifts & other 0%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.9M 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 5,064 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Glasgow Public Library is one branch of Rockbridge Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 40,897 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 Glasgow

Does Glasgow have a public library?

Yes: Glasgow Public Library, 1108 Blue Ridge Rd, is a branch of Rockbridge Regional Library, which serves 40,897 people. The branch is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Rockbridge Regional 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 Glasgow’s library?

It logged 3.0 visits and lent 5.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Glasgow’s civic life grade?

C− Glasgow is ahead of 17% 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 Glasgow.

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.