Photo: Sam Beebe · CC BY 2.0Goldendale’s library is a branch of Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, which lends more per resident than 78% of systems its size
Goldendale’s library is the Goldendale Community Library, a branch of Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, which serves 552,118 people and lent 5.2M items last year.
The short version on Goldendale’s library
The branch is a National Register landmark
Goldendale Free Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. Today’s library there has 15,660 square feet. The building ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.5 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. It’s 37% of all loans. 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; Goldendale’s library is a branch of Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, so they cover the whole system (552,118 people), not just the Goldendale branch.
What’s behind Goldendale’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Goldendale is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #41 of 152 in Washington. Goldendale is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Goldendale’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 Goldendale
5.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.9%
7.9% of Goldendale’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.7% in the typical Washington 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 Goldendale’s residents live; 2022.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
5.2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,934,472 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Fort Vancouver Regional Library District serves 552,118 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 135 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Fort Vancouver Regional Library District system. The library’s own count.
About 52 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.
A National Register landmark since 1982
Goldendale Community Library, 131 West Burgen, Goldendale.
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 Fort Vancouver Regional Library District branch.
New in Goldendale? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Goldendale Free Public Library
Goldendale Free Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Aug 3, 1982. It is significant for its education, architecture and social history at the local level. It was listed as part of Carnegie Libraries of Washington TR.
The Goldendale Free Public Library in Goldendale, Washington is a historic Carnegie library which is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The library was a project of the Women's Association, a Federated Women's Clubs chapter.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.87 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Goldendale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $27M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $78M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $27M 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 179,771 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Goldendale Community Library is one branch of Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 552,118 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 Goldendale
Does Goldendale have a public library?
Yes: Goldendale Community Library, 131 West Burgen, is a branch of Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, which serves 552,118 people. The branch is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fort Vancouver Regional Library District 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 Goldendale’s library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 9.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Goldendale’s civic life grade?
B+ Goldendale is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on civic life, #41 of 152 in Washington. 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 Goldendale.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.