Photo: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0Morgan City’s library logs 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Morgan City Public Library serves 10,813 people in and around Morgan City. Last year it lent 6,300 books, movies and e-books and logged 6,000 visits.
Morgan City’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
99% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 1%. What your card is worth ↓
Morgan City Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Morgan City Public Library records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $12 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Morgan City Public Library offered 5 programs last year, 0.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone in Morgan City has a card
10,150 cards for 10,813 people, or 94%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Morgan City Public Library spends $12 per resident, less than 93% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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.
What’s behind Morgan City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Morgan City is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns, #101 of 105 in Louisiana. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Morgan City Public Library spends $12 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size, and its 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($42K–$71K) 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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Morgan City
1.3 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.0%
6.0% of Morgan City’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 Morgan City’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Morgan City Public Library serves 10,813 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
6,300 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 34K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
5 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, 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
Morgan City Public Library, 220 Everett Street, Morgan City.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Morgan City? 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 Morgan City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $130K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $109K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $130K 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 10,150 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan City | Morgan City Public Library | 0.6 | 35 | D− |
| Siracusaville | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Morgan City Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Morgan City
Does Morgan City have a public library?
Yes. Morgan City Public Library, 220 Everett Street, serves 10,813 people in and around Morgan City (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Morgan City Public 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 Morgan City’s library?
It logged 0.6 visits and lent 0.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Morgan City’s civic life grade?
D− Morgan City is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns on civic life, #101 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 Morgan City.
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.