Mermentau’s library is a branch of Acadia Parish Library, which lends less per resident than 87% of systems its size
Mermentau’s library is the Mermentau Branch, a branch of Acadia Parish Library, which serves 56,604 people and lent 111K items last year.
What Mermentau’s library is like
Open only about 8 hours a week
The Mermentau branch keeps short hours: about 8 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
The Acadia Parish Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Acadia Parish Library system records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. How it compares ↓
43% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 43% 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; Mermentau’s library is a branch of Acadia Parish Library, so they cover the whole system (56,604 people), not just the Mermentau branch.
What’s behind Mermentau’s civic life grade
Mermentau isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
43% of borrowing is digital
111K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
47,439 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 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Acadia Parish Library serves 56,604 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Acadia Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
About 5 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
Mermentau Branch, 107 Second Street, Mermentau.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Acadia Parish Library branch.
New in Mermentau? 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 $1.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mermentau cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.7M 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 32,319 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Mermentau Branch is one branch of Acadia Parish Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 56,604 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 Mermentau
Does Mermentau have a public library?
Yes: Mermentau Branch, 107 Second Street, is a branch of Acadia Parish Library, which serves 56,604 people. The branch is open about 8 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Acadia 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 Mermentau’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Mermentau’s civic life grade?
Mermentau isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Mermentau.
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.