Blanchard’s library is a branch of Shreve Memorial Library, which lends less per resident than 62% of systems its size
Blanchard’s library is the Blanchard Branch, a branch of Shreve Memorial Library, which serves 224,893 people and lent 941K items last year.
Blanchard’s library, in brief
84% of the people it serves carry a library card
189,089 cards for 224,893 people, or 84%. At the typical library serving 100,000+ people, it’s 41%. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
The Shreve Memorial Library system spends $87 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
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; Blanchard’s library is a branch of Shreve Memorial Library, so they cover the whole system (224,893 people), not just the Blanchard branch.
What’s behind Blanchard’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Blanchard is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns, #89 of 105 in Louisiana. Blanchard is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Blanchard’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($56K–$94K) 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Blanchard
2.7 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.
3.9%
3.9% of Blanchard’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 Blanchard’s residents live; 2022.
About 44 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Shreve Memorial Library serves 224,893 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Shreve Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
941K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
358,605 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Blanchard Branch, 344 Alexander Avenue, Blanchard.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Shreve Memorial Library branch.
New in Blanchard? 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 Blanchard cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $16M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 189,089 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Blanchard Branch is one branch of Shreve Memorial Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 224,893 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 Blanchard
Does Blanchard have a public library?
Yes: Blanchard Branch, 344 Alexander Avenue, is a branch of Shreve Memorial Library, which serves 224,893 people. The branch is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Shreve Memorial Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Blanchard’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 4.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Blanchard’s civic life grade?
D Blanchard is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns on civic life, #89 of 105 in Louisiana. 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 Blanchard.
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.