The Goshen County Library was established in 1921. Locally, the library has approximately 6900 registered patrons. As one of the 80 libraries serving Wyoming residents, GCL works closely with the Wyoming State Library, academic libraries, public and private school libraries, and other county libraries to provide a range of services and resources for local residents. We offer a number of print and electronic resources available at the library and online. We also offer an interlibrary loan service to provide patrons with resources from outside our collection.
The story of us -- the Goshen County Library
The Goshen County Library is an essential service. The library creates space that connects people to information and ideas. As we seek to recover from this historic global health crisis, we need our library more than ever. People are feeling isolated and stressed and out of sorts. The pandemic has magnified the importance of the library in our community life. This is a moment in our history where we need public spaces like never before, and there simply is no other place that has such capacity to bring people together.
Our library is a community builder.
- Our GoCo2Go grew out of community need. We are a locally responsive and flexible community center.
- In our library, people find each other. New moms at story time, elderly people facing difficult life transitions, teens meeting after school.
- Our library staff knows the community first hand. They interact with patrons from all across the county on a daily basis.
- The library building communicates our underlying values: that the library, information, and shared community space matter.
- Our library provides important business resources, including technology and video-conferencing capabilities.
Our library is a community center for diverse populations.
- We ensure that non-English speakers see themselves represented. Our signs are bilingual and we have a collection of bilingual books.
- Our library is a place where various points of view are valued and local artists are welcome. We provide free classes to encourage “creative aging,”
- Our library is an “equalizer;” access is open to all, not just those who can afford it. Library events are free of charge and books allow people to explore their worlds.
Our library serves as a “people’s university.”
- We provide information and educational opportunities through book talks.
- We provide remote access to materials through virtual story time, OverDrive, and our Inter-Library Loan services.
- Patrons use our library to gain knowledge and create their own new and independent works.
Our library is a champion of youth
- Our library provides space for people who want to learn how to edit webpages, set up blogs and podcasts and much more.
- The summer reading program, middle school book groups and story time help bridge the economic divide that impacts students’ academic performance.
- Through library programs, collections and physical spaces, children learn to share, to be engaged in their communities, and to participate in the arts and to explore their immediate world and the world at large.