Photo: Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Castor’s library is a branch of Bienville Parish Library, which lends less per resident than 64% of systems its size
Castor’s library is the Castor Branch, a branch of Bienville Parish Library, which serves 12,412 people and lent 48K items last year.
Castor’s library, in brief
Six times the programs of a typical library its size
The Bienville Parish Library system ran 1,726 programs last year, about 33 a week. That’s 139 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 17,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
10,728 cards for 12,412 people, or 86%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
The Bienville Parish Library system spends $123 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (91%) comes from local taxes. 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; Castor’s library is a branch of Bienville Parish Library, so they cover the whole system (12,412 people), not just the Castor branch.
What’s behind Castor’s civic life grade
Castor 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 →
About 7 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
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Bienville Parish Library serves 12,412 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Bienville Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
48K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
11,792 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Castor Branch, 1955 Hwy 507, Castor.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Bienville Parish Library branch.
New in Castor? 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 Castor cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $931K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M 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 10,728 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Castor Branch is one branch of Bienville Parish Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 12,412 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 Castor
Does Castor have a public library?
Yes: Castor Branch, 1955 Hwy 507, is a branch of Bienville Parish Library, which serves 12,412 people. The branch is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bienville 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 Castor’s library?
It logged 5.2 visits and lent 3.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Castor’s civic life grade?
Castor 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 Castor.
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.