Photo: ScienceQuiz · CC BY-SA 4.0Laplace’s library runs 31 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
St. John the Baptist Parish Library serves 39,694 people in and around Laplace. Last year it lent 31K books, movies and e-books and logged 52K visits.
Laplace’s library, in brief
St. John the Baptist Parish Library is used less than most libraries its size
St. John the Baptist Parish Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. How it compares ↓
Well funded, but lightly used
St. John the Baptist Parish Library spends $110 per resident, more than 92% of similar-size libraries. Use doesn’t match: visits per resident are lower than at 82% of them. What your card is worth ↓
45% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 45% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. 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; St. John the Baptist Parish Library serves 39,694 people in and around Laplace, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Laplace’s civic life grade
Laplace 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 St. John the Baptist 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 Laplace
Laplace is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
4.2%
4.2% of Laplace’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 Laplace’s residents live; 2022.
About 10 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
St. John the Baptist Parish Library serves 39,694 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole St. John the Baptist Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
45% of borrowing is digital
31K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
13,882 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
St. John the Baptist Parish Library, 2920 Highway 51, Laplace.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every St. John the Baptist Parish Library branch.
New in Laplace? 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 Laplace cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.4M 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 10,762 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.
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. St. John the Baptist Parish Library serves 39,694 people in and around Laplace, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Laplace.
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 Laplace
Does Laplace have a public library?
Yes. St. John the Baptist Parish Library, 2920 Highway 51, serves 39,694 people in and around Laplace (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is St. John the Baptist 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 Laplace’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 0.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Laplace’s civic life grade?
Laplace 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 St. John the Baptist Parish Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Laplace.
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.