Photo: Z28scrambler · CC BY-SA 3.0Opelousas’ library logs 6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Opelousas Public Library serves 15,176 people in and around Opelousas. Last year it lent 8,391 books, movies and e-books and logged 91K visits.
The short version on Opelousas’s library
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 85% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 2%. The building also logs about 49 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
More library cards than residents
18,100 cards for 15,176 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Opelousas Public Library offered 101 programs last year, 6.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Opelousas Public Library holds 110,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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.
What’s behind Opelousas’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Opelousas is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns, #38 of 105 in Louisiana. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Among U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($25K–$41K) it does better, ahead of 60%.
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 →
53 community nonprofits are registered in Opelousas
3.4 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 (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.4%
3.4% of Opelousas’ 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 Opelousas’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Opelousas Public Library serves 15,176 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
8,391 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 110K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
1,500 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program a week
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
Opelousas Public Library, 212 East Grolee Street, Opelousas.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Opelousas? 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 Opelousas cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $246K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $213K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $246K 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 18,100 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Opelousas
Does Opelousas have a public library?
Yes. Opelousas Public Library, 212 East Grolee Street, serves 15,176 people in and around Opelousas (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Opelousas Public 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 Opelousas’ library?
It logged 6.0 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 Opelousas’ civic life grade?
C+ Opelousas is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns on civic life, #38 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 Opelousas.
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.