Rosedown Plantation · Photo: Brandonrush · Public domainSt. Francisville’s library lends 2.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
West Feliciana Parish Library serves 15,155 people in and around St. Francisville. Last year it lent 53K books, movies and e-books and logged 43K visits.
What St. Francisville’s library is like
Programs lean toward adults
53% of the 376 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 90 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
41% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 41% of loans, more per resident than at 60% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 59%, much of it kids’ books. 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; West Feliciana Parish Library serves 15,155 people in and around St. Francisville, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind St. Francisville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, St. Francisville is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. St. Francisville is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in St. Francisville
4.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
16.0%
16.0% of St. Francisville’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 St. Francisville’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
West Feliciana Parish Library serves 15,155 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole West Feliciana Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
41% of borrowing is digital
53K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
21,511 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
West Feliciana Parish Library, 5114 Burnett Rd, St. Francisville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every West Feliciana Parish Library branch.
New in St. Francisville? 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 $1.59 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average St. Francisville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $580K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $923K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $580K 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 5,537 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. West Feliciana Parish Library serves 15,155 people in and around St. Francisville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just St. Francisville.
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 St. Francisville
Does St. Francisville have a public library?
Yes. West Feliciana Parish Library, 5114 Burnett Rd, serves 15,155 people in and around St. Francisville (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is West Feliciana 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 St. Francisville’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 3.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is St. Francisville’s civic life grade?
A St. Francisville is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 St. Francisville.
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.