Photo: Infrogmation · CC BY 2.5Jefferson’s library logs 2.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
Jefferson Parish Library serves 427,253 people in and around Jefferson. Last year it lent 1.5M books, movies and e-books and logged 1.2M visits.
Jefferson’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; Jefferson Parish Library serves 427,253 people in and around Jefferson, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Jefferson’s civic life grade
Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson
Jefferson is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
6.5%
6.5% of Jefferson’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 Jefferson’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
Rosedale Branch, 4036 Jefferson Highway, Old Jefferson.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Jefferson Parish Library branch.
New in Jefferson? 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 Jefferson 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson | Rosedale Branch fine-free | — | 48 | — unincorporated |
| New Orleans | New Orleans Public Library | — | 46 | B+ |
| Elmwood | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Bridge City | 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. Jefferson Parish Library serves 427,253 people in and around Jefferson, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Jefferson.
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 Jefferson
Does Jefferson have a public library?
Yes. Jefferson Parish Library, 4036 Jefferson Highway, serves 427,253 people in and around Jefferson (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 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 Jefferson’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 Jefferson’s civic life grade?
Jefferson 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 Jefferson Parish Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Jefferson.
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.