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Gonzales, Louisiana (3922472222)Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0
Ascension Parish Library

Gonzales’ library runs 17 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size

Ascension Parish Library serves 133,534 people in and around Gonzales. Last year it lent 882K books, movies and e-books and logged 326K visits.

708 South Irma Boulevard, Gonzales 70737 · about 68 hours a week
C−Civic lifeAhead of 21% of U.S. towns · #66 of 105 in Louisiana. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (225) 647-3955 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
882K
6.6 per resident
Visits a year
326K
2.4 per resident · Above typical (2.1)
Programs & events
2,204
about 42 a week · 72K attended
Cardholders
72%
96,579 cards
Open
68 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Gonzales’s library

Programs draw a crowd

72,000 people came to the system’s 2,204 programs last year: 0.5 per resident, against a typical 0.2, more than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓

Open about 68 hours a week

The Gonzales branch is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓

46% of borrowing happens on a screen

E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 46% of loans, more per resident than at 79% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 54%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓

Kids’ books are most of what goes out

Children’s books and media make up 58% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 60% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓

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; Ascension Parish Library serves 133,534 people in and around Gonzales, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Gonzales’ civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Gonzales is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns, #66 of 105 in Louisiana. Gonzales is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Gonzales’ count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.

C−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Gonzales’ overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureC+Community nonprofits3.1 per 1,000 residents · LA towns 3.0 · U.S. 3.7C−Volunteering5.8% of adults 25–44 · LA towns 5.9% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 21%
FewerMore
Louisiana towns we grade (105)Ahead of 38%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $57K–$94K (9,252)Ahead of 20%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($57K–$94K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

41 community nonprofits are registered in Gonzales

3.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.10 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation80.60 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans100.77 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services100.76 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education60.47 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health30.21 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals20.14 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.10 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.

Volunteering

5.8%

5.8% of Gonzales’ 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 Gonzales’ residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 20 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Gonzales →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5807
Ages 6–11257
Teens143
Adults814
All ages183
Little ones
15.5

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

272K
kids’ books & media borrowed
72K
people at programs
2,204
programs
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.4 visits · typical 2.1Higher than 61%
Borrowing per resident 3.5 print items · typical 3.2Higher than 56%
Digital borrowing 3.1 e-items · typical 1.4Higher than 79%
Kids’ borrowing 2 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 60%
Program attendance 0.5 attendees · typical 0.2Top 10%
Programs offered 16.5 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Higher than 83%
Cardholders 72% of residents · typical 41%Higher than 88%
Spending $70 per resident · typical $36Higher than 83%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Ascension Parish Library serves 133,534 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 56 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Ascension Parish Library system. The library’s own count.

326K
visits
2.4 per resident
882K
loans, print + digital
6.6 per resident
2,204
programs & events
72K attended
97K
library cards
72% of people served
Every open hour56items borrowed
Every week1,389people at a program
Every day52Wi-Fi sessions
94 staff (full-time equivalent)115 public computers
What people borrow

46% of borrowing is digital

882K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

882Kloans
Books & media (adults) 23%Kids’ books & media 31%E-books, audio & streaming 46%
From your couch

408,409 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The building

Find it

Ascension Parish Library, 708 South Irma Boulevard, Gonzales.

Directions(225) 647-3955
68
hours open a week
65,645
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Ascension Parish Library branch.

New in Gonzales? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.45 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gonzales cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$70 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $9.4M.

Local taxes 93%State 2%Gifts & other 5%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $14M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9.4M 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 96,579 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Ascension Parish Library serves 133,534 people in and around Gonzales, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Gonzales.

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 Gonzales

Does Gonzales have a public library?

Yes. Ascension Parish Library, 708 South Irma Boulevard, serves 133,534 people in and around Gonzales (the survey’s count) and is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Ascension 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 Gonzales’ library?

It logged 2.4 visits and lent 6.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Gonzales’ civic life grade?

C− Gonzales is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns on civic life, #66 of 105 in Louisiana. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Gonzales.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.