Photo: Idawriter · CC BY-SA 3.0Goshen’s library is a branch of Rockbridge Regional Library, which lends more per resident than 51% of systems its size
Goshen’s library is the Goshen Public Library, a branch of Rockbridge Regional Library, which serves 40,897 people and lent 210K items last year.
The short version on Goshen’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; Goshen’s library is a branch of Rockbridge Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (40,897 people), not just the Goshen branch.
What’s behind Goshen’s civic life grade
Goshen 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 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Rockbridge Regional Library serves 40,897 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
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.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
210K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
54,074 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 14 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
Goshen Public Library, 1124 Virginia Ave, Goshen.
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 Goshen? 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 $1.87 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Goshen cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.9M.
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.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Goshen 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 Goshen
Does Goshen have a public library?
Yes: Goshen Public Library, 1124 Virginia Ave, is a branch of Rockbridge Regional Library, which serves 40,897 people. The branch is open about 35 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 Goshen’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 Goshen’s civic life grade?
Goshen 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 Goshen.
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.