Ernest McCarty Oliver House · Photo: Saverivers · CC BY-SA 4.0La Fayette’s library is a branch of Valley - H. Grady Bradshaw / Chambers County Library, which lends less per resident than 85% of systems its size
La Fayette’s library is the Lafayette Pilot Public Library, a branch of Valley - H. Grady Bradshaw / Chambers County Library, which serves 34,088 people and lent 54K items last year.
La Fayette’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
89% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 7%. What your card is worth ↓
The Valley - H. Grady Bradshaw / Chambers County Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Valley - H. Grady Bradshaw / Chambers County Library system records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. How it compares ↓
More library cards than residents
36,513 cards for 34,088 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
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; La Fayette’s library is a branch of Valley - H. Grady Bradshaw / Chambers County Library, so they cover the whole system (34,088 people), not just the La Fayette branch.
What’s behind La Fayette’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, La Fayette is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns, #128 of 156 in Alabama. La Fayette is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; La Fayette’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($24K–$41K) 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.
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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in La Fayette
3.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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.
1.8%
1.8% of La Fayette’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.8% in the typical Alabama 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 La Fayette’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.
Valley - H. Grady Bradshaw / Chambers County Library serves 34,088 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Valley - H. Grady Bradshaw / Chambers County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
54K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
11,721 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
Lafayette Pilot Public Library, 198 1st Street SE, Lafayette.
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 Valley - H. Grady Bradshaw / Chambers County Library branch.
New in La Fayette? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average La Fayette cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $889K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 36,513 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Lafayette Pilot Public Library is one branch of Valley - H. Grady Bradshaw / Chambers County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 34,088 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 La Fayette
Does La Fayette have a public library?
Yes: Lafayette Pilot Public Library, 198 1st Street SE, is a branch of Valley - H. Grady Bradshaw / Chambers County Library, which serves 34,088 people. The branch is open about 23 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Valley - H. Grady Bradshaw / Chambers County 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 La Fayette’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is La Fayette’s civic life grade?
D La Fayette is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns on civic life, #128 of 156 in Alabama. 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 La Fayette.
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.