Frithland · Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 4.0Bunkie’s library is a branch of Avoyelles Parish Library, which lends less per resident than 96% of systems its size
Bunkie’s library is the Bunkie Branch, a branch of Avoyelles Parish Library, which serves 38,373 people and lent 20K items last year.
Bunkie’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Avoyelles Parish Library system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Avoyelles Parish Library system offered 96 programs last year, 2.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
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; Bunkie’s library is a branch of Avoyelles Parish Library, so they cover the whole system (38,373 people), not just the Bunkie branch.
What’s behind Bunkie’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bunkie is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #3 of 105 in Louisiana. Bunkie is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Bunkie’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Bunkie
3.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
14.6%
14.6% of Bunkie’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 Bunkie’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Avoyelles Parish Library serves 38,373 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Avoyelles Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
20K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,615 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
96 programs a year
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
Bunkie Branch, 200 Walnut Street, Bunkie.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Avoyelles Parish Library branch.
New in Bunkie? 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 Bunkie cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $378K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1M 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 13,754 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Bunkie Branch is one branch of Avoyelles Parish Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 38,373 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 Bunkie
Does Bunkie have a public library?
Yes: Bunkie Branch, 200 Walnut Street, is a branch of Avoyelles Parish Library, which serves 38,373 people. The branch is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Avoyelles Parish 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 Bunkie’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 0.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bunkie’s civic life grade?
A− Bunkie is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #3 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 Bunkie.
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.