Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0Lake Providence’s library runs 49 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
East Carroll Parish Library serves 6,892 people in and around Lake Providence. Last year it lent 37K books, movies and e-books and logged 14K visits.
Lake Providence’s library, in brief
Programs lean toward adults
52% of the 335 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 106 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 60% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 76% 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; East Carroll Parish Library serves 6,892 people in and around Lake Providence, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Lake Providence’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lake Providence is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns, #84 of 105 in Louisiana. Lake Providence is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Lake Providence’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($21K–$34K) 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.
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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Lake Providence
3.5 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.4%
2.4% of Lake Providence’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 Lake Providence’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
East Carroll Parish Library serves 6,892 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole East Carroll Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
37K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,120 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
East Carroll Parish Library, 109 Sparrow Street, Lake Providence.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every East Carroll Parish Library branch.
New in Lake Providence? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lake Providence cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $366K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $572K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $366K 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 5,173 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. East Carroll Parish Library serves 6,892 people in and around Lake Providence, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Lake Providence.
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 Lake Providence
Does Lake Providence have a public library?
Yes. East Carroll Parish Library, 109 Sparrow Street, serves 6,892 people in and around Lake Providence (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is East Carroll 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 Lake Providence’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 5.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Lake Providence’s civic life grade?
D Lake Providence is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns on civic life, #84 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 Lake Providence.
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.