Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0Montgomery’s library is a branch of Grant Parish Library, which lends more per resident than 51% of systems its size
Montgomery’s library is the Montgomery Branch, a branch of Grant Parish Library, which serves 22,109 people and lent 98K items last year.
Montgomery’s library, in brief
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Montgomery branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
The Grant Parish Library system records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, below 95% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 4 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
65% of the 483 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Montgomery’s library is a branch of Grant Parish Library, so they cover the whole system (22,109 people), not just the Montgomery branch.
What’s behind Montgomery’s civic life grade
Montgomery 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Grant Parish Library serves 22,109 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Grant Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
98K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
9,954 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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
Montgomery Branch, 940 Caddo Street, Montgomery.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Grant Parish Library branch.
New in Montgomery? 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 $2.18 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Montgomery cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $713K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $713K 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 5,578 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Montgomery Branch is one branch of Grant Parish Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 22,109 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 Montgomery
Does Montgomery have a public library?
Yes: Montgomery Branch, 940 Caddo Street, is a branch of Grant Parish Library, which serves 22,109 people. The branch is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Grant 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 Montgomery’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 4.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Montgomery’s civic life grade?
Montgomery 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 Montgomery.
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.