Wilder House · Photo: Jonathan Fricker · Public domainChatham’s library is a branch of Jackson Parish Library, which lends less per resident than 62% of systems its size
Chatham’s library is the Chatham Branch, a branch of Jackson Parish Library, which serves 14,797 people and lent 60K items last year.
The short version on Chatham’s library
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
12,990 cards for 14,797 people, or 88%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
The Jackson Parish Library system spends $87 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (93%) 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; Chatham’s library is a branch of Jackson Parish Library, so they cover the whole system (14,797 people), not just the Chatham branch.
What’s behind Chatham’s civic life grade
Chatham 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 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Jackson Parish Library serves 14,797 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jackson Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
60K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
14,265 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Chatham Branch, 1500 Pine Street, Chatham.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Jackson Parish Library branch.
New in Chatham? 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 Chatham cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M 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 12,990 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Chatham Branch is one branch of Jackson Parish Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 14,797 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 Chatham
Does Chatham have a public library?
Yes: Chatham Branch, 1500 Pine Street, is a branch of Jackson Parish Library, which serves 14,797 people. The branch is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jackson 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 Chatham’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 4.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Chatham’s civic life grade?
Chatham 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 Chatham.
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.