Cameron’s library runs 99 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Cameron Parish Library serves 4,678 people in and around Cameron. Last year it lent 19K books, movies and e-books and logged 7,937 visits.
The short version on Cameron’s library
More library cards than residents
8,277 cards for 4,678 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Well funded, but lightly used
Cameron Parish Library spends $302 per resident, more than 99% of similar-size libraries. Use doesn’t match: visits per resident are lower than at 74% of them. What your card is worth ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Cameron Parish Library ran 465 programs last year, about 9 a week. That’s 99 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. 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; Cameron Parish Library serves 4,678 people in and around Cameron, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Cameron’s civic life grade
Cameron 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 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Cameron Parish Library serves 4,678 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Cameron Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
19K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,191 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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
Cameron Parish Library, 512 Marshall St., Cameron.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Cameron Parish Library branch.
New in Cameron? 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 Cameron cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $320K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 8,277 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Cameron Parish Library serves 4,678 people in and around Cameron, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Cameron.
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 Cameron
Does Cameron have a public library?
Yes. Cameron Parish Library, 512 Marshall St., serves 4,678 people in and around Cameron (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cameron 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 Cameron’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 4.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Cameron’s civic life grade?
Cameron 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 Cameron.
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.