Photo: Matthew W. King · CC BY-SA 4.0Gloucester Courthouse’s library is a branch of Gloucester County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 65% of systems its size
Gloucester Courthouse’s library is the Gloucester Library, a branch of Gloucester County Public Library, which serves 38,731 people and lent 159K items last year.
Gloucester Courthouse’s library, in brief
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 ↓
Most programs are for young children
70% of the 209 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.5 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; Gloucester Courthouse’s library is a branch of Gloucester County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (38,731 people), not just the Gloucester Courthouse branch.
What’s behind Gloucester Courthouse’s civic life grade
Gloucester Courthouse isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Gloucester County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Gloucester Courthouse
Gloucester Courthouse is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
11.5%
11.5% of Gloucester Courthouse’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 Gloucester Courthouse’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Gloucester County Public Library serves 38,731 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 31 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Gloucester County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
159K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
57,859 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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.
Find it
Gloucester Library, 6920 Main Street, Gloucester.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Gloucester County Public Library branch.
New in Gloucester Courthouse? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.89 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gloucester Courthouse cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 4,551 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Gloucester Library is one branch of Gloucester County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 38,731 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 Gloucester Courthouse
Does Gloucester Courthouse have a public library?
Yes: Gloucester Library, 6920 Main Street, is a branch of Gloucester County Public Library, which serves 38,731 people. The branch is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Gloucester County Public 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 Gloucester Courthouse’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 4.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Gloucester Courthouse’s civic life grade?
Gloucester Courthouse isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Gloucester County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Gloucester Courthouse.
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.