Photo: Jackx3 at en.wikipedia · Public domainPlaquemine’s library runs 37 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Iberville Parish Library serves 29,766 people in and around Plaquemine. Last year it lent 41K books, movies and e-books and logged 141K visits.
The short version on Plaquemine’s library
More library cards than residents
47,377 cards for 29,766 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 85% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 8%. The building also logs about 87 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Iberville Parish Library ran 1,110 programs last year, about 21 a week. That’s 37 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Iberville Parish Library spends $99 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (94%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
41% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 41% 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; Iberville Parish Library serves 29,766 people in and around Plaquemine, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Plaquemine’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Plaquemine is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns, #29 of 105 in Louisiana. Plaquemine is graded on two of the three inputs. Plaquemine’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($52K–$87K) 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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in Plaquemine
5.7 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.
4.9%
4.9% of Plaquemine’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 Plaquemine’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Iberville Parish Library serves 29,766 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Iberville Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
41% of borrowing is digital
41K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
17,159 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 11 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
Iberville Parish Library, 24605 J. Gerald Berret Boulevard, Plaquemine.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Iberville Parish Library branch.
New in Plaquemine? 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 Plaquemine cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $857K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3M 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 47,377 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Iberville Parish Library serves 29,766 people in and around Plaquemine, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Plaquemine.
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 Plaquemine
Does Plaquemine have a public library?
Yes. Iberville Parish Library, 24605 J. Gerald Berret Boulevard, serves 29,766 people in and around Plaquemine (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Iberville 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 Plaquemine’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 1.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Plaquemine’s civic life grade?
C+ Plaquemine is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on civic life, #29 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 Plaquemine.
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.