Photo: Louisiana Sea Grant College Program Louisiana State University · CC BY 2.0Chauvin’s library is a branch of Terrebonne Parish Library, which lends less per resident than 80% of systems its size
Chauvin’s library is the Chauvin Branch, a branch of Terrebonne Parish Library, which serves 103,864 people and lent 266K items last year.
What Chauvin’s library is like
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
The Terrebonne Parish Library system ran 3,900 programs last year, about 75 a week. That’s 38 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 90,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
91,716 cards for 103,864 people, or 88%. At the typical library serving 100,000+ people, it’s 41%. 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; Chauvin’s library is a branch of Terrebonne Parish Library, so they cover the whole system (103,864 people), not just the Chauvin branch.
What’s behind Chauvin’s civic life grade
Chauvin isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Terrebonne Parish Library, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Chauvin
Chauvin is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
5.9%
5.9% of Chauvin’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 Chauvin’s residents live; 2022.
About 32 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Terrebonne Parish Library serves 103,864 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Terrebonne Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
266K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
82,063 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Chauvin Branch, 5500 Highway 56, Chauvin.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Terrebonne Parish Library branch.
New in Chauvin? 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 Chauvin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $6.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.3M 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 91,716 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chauvin | Chauvin Branch fine-free | — | 40 | — unincorporated |
| Montegut | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Chauvin Branch is one branch of Terrebonne Parish Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 103,864 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 Chauvin
Does Chauvin have a public library?
Yes: Chauvin Branch, 5500 Highway 56, is a branch of Terrebonne Parish Library, which serves 103,864 people. The branch is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Terrebonne 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 Chauvin’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 2.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Chauvin’s civic life grade?
Chauvin isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Terrebonne Parish Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Chauvin.
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.