Fifth Ward’s library is a branch of Avoyelles Parish Library, which lends less per resident than 96% of systems its size
Fifth Ward’s library is the Fifth Ward Satellite Branch, a branch of Avoyelles Parish Library, which serves 38,373 people and lent 20K items last year.
What Fifth Ward’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Avoyelles Parish Library system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Avoyelles Parish Library system offered 96 programs last year, 2.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 15 hours a week
The Fifth Ward branch keeps short hours: about 15 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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; Fifth Ward’s library is a branch of Avoyelles Parish Library, so they cover the whole system (38,373 people), not just the Fifth Ward branch.
What’s behind Fifth Ward’s civic life grade
Fifth Ward 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 Avoyelles 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 Fifth Ward
Fifth Ward is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
5.8%
5.8% of Fifth Ward’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 Fifth Ward’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Avoyelles Parish Library serves 38,373 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Avoyelles Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
20K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,615 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
96 programs a year
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
Fifth Ward Satellite Branch, 152 Schoolhouse Road, Marksville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Avoyelles Parish Library branch.
New in Fifth Ward? 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 Fifth Ward cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $378K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1M 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 13,754 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Fifth Ward Satellite Branch is one branch of Avoyelles Parish Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 38,373 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 Fifth Ward
Does Fifth Ward have a public library?
Yes: Fifth Ward Satellite Branch, 152 Schoolhouse Road, is a branch of Avoyelles Parish Library, which serves 38,373 people. The branch is open about 15 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Avoyelles 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 Fifth Ward’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 0.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Fifth Ward’s civic life grade?
Fifth Ward 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 Avoyelles Parish Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Fifth Ward.
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.