Gibson Methodist Episcopal Church · Photo: Z28scrambler · CC BY-SA 3.0Bayou L'Ourse’s library is a branch of Assumption Parish Library, which lends less per resident than 74% of systems its size
Bayou L'Ourse’s library is the Bayou L'Ourse Branch, a branch of Assumption Parish Library, which serves 20,050 people and lent 59K items last year.
What Bayou L'Ourse’s library is like
Open only about 16 hours a week
The Bayou L'Ourse branch keeps short hours: about 16 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
The Assumption Parish Library system records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, below 88% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 2.1 print items per resident. 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; Bayou L'Ourse’s library is a branch of Assumption Parish Library, so they cover the whole system (20,050 people), not just the Bayou L'Ourse branch.
What’s behind Bayou L'Ourse’s civic life grade
Bayou L'Ourse 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 Assumption Parish 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 Bayou L'Ourse
Bayou L'Ourse is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
6.0%
6.0% of Bayou L'Ourse’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.9% in the typical Louisiana 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 Bayou L'Ourse’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Assumption Parish Library serves 20,050 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Assumption Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
59K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
16,476 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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
Bayou L'Ourse Branch, 1214 B Highway 662, Morgan City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Assumption Parish Library branch.
New in Bayou L'Ourse? 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 Bayou L'Ourse cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 9,900 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Bayou L'Ourse Branch is one branch of Assumption Parish Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 20,050 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 Bayou L'Ourse
Does Bayou L'Ourse have a public library?
Yes: Bayou L'Ourse Branch, 1214 B Highway 662, is a branch of Assumption Parish Library, which serves 20,050 people. The branch is open about 16 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Assumption Parish 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 Bayou L'Ourse’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 2.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Bayou L'Ourse’s civic life grade?
Bayou L'Ourse 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 Assumption Parish Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Bayou L'Ourse.
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.