Photo: Z28scrambler · CC BY-SA 4.0Patterson’s library is a branch of St. Mary Parish Library, which lends less per resident than 78% of systems its size
Patterson’s library is the Patterson Branch, a branch of St. Mary Parish Library, which serves 35,986 people and lent 75K items last year.
What stands out about Patterson Branch
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Patterson’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Patterson is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #69 of 105 in Louisiana. Patterson is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Patterson’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($37K–$62K) 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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Patterson
3.1 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.7%
5.7% of Patterson’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 Patterson’s residents live; 2022.
About 7 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 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
St. Mary Parish Library serves 35,986 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole St. Mary Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
75K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
15,428 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Patterson Branch, 521 Catherine Street, Patterson.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every St. Mary Parish Library branch.
New in Patterson? 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 Patterson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.5M 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 17,099 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Patterson Branch is one branch of St. Mary Parish Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 35,986 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 Patterson
Does Patterson have a public library?
Yes: Patterson Branch, 521 Catherine Street, is a branch of St. Mary Parish Library, which serves 35,986 people. The branch is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is St. Mary 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 Patterson’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 2.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Patterson’s civic life grade?
C− Patterson is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #69 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 Patterson.
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.