Calvin’s library is a branch of Winn Parish Library, which lends less per resident than 68% of systems its size
Calvin’s library is the Calvin Branch, a branch of Winn Parish Library, which serves 13,405 people and lent 46K items last year.
Calvin’s library, in brief
Programs are almost all for children
81% of the 499 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 0 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
11,699 cards for 13,405 people, or 87%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. 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; Calvin’s library is a branch of Winn Parish Library, so they cover the whole system (13,405 people), not just the Calvin branch.
What’s behind Calvin’s civic life grade
Calvin isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Winn Parish Library serves 13,405 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 Winn Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
46K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
11,991 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 8 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
Find it
Calvin Branch, 255 Second Street, Calvin.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Winn Parish Library branch.
New in Calvin? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.14 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Calvin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $669K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $759K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $669K 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 11,699 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Calvin Branch is one branch of Winn Parish Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 13,405 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 Calvin
Does Calvin have a public library?
Yes: Calvin Branch, 255 Second Street, is a branch of Winn Parish Library, which serves 13,405 people. The branch is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Winn 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 Calvin’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 3.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Calvin’s civic life grade?
Calvin isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Calvin.
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.