Photo: Karen Apricot · CC BY-SA 2.0Grand Isle’s library is a branch of Jefferson Parish Library, which lends less per resident than 79% of systems its size
Grand Isle’s library is the Grand Isle Branch, a branch of Jefferson Parish Library, which serves 427,253 people and lent 1.5M items last year.
Grand Isle’s library, in brief
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 70% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 21%. The building also logs about 869 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. How it compares ↓
49% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 49% of loans. Print still makes up 51%, much of it kids’ books. 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; Grand Isle’s library is a branch of Jefferson Parish Library, so they cover the whole system (427,253 people), not just the Grand Isle branch.
What’s behind Grand Isle’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Grand Isle is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. Grand Isle is graded on two of the three inputs. Grand Isle’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Grand Isle
11.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.1%
5.1% of Grand Isle’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 Grand Isle’s residents live; 2022.
49% of borrowing is digital
1.5M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
745,451 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Jefferson Parish Library serves 427,253 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 33 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jefferson Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
About 35 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
Grand Isle Branch, 143 Ludwig Lane, Grand Isle.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Jefferson Parish Library branch.
New in Grand Isle? 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 Grand Isle cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $25M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $24M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $25M 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 62,600 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Grand Isle Branch is one branch of Jefferson Parish Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 427,253 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 Grand Isle
Does Grand Isle have a public library?
Yes: Grand Isle Branch, 143 Ludwig Lane, is a branch of Jefferson Parish Library, which serves 427,253 people. The branch is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jefferson 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 Grand Isle’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 3.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Grand Isle’s civic life grade?
B Grand Isle is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Grand Isle.
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.