Photo: D. McGrath from Lafayette, LA, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0St. Gabriel’s library is a branch of Iberville Parish Library, which lends less per resident than 92% of systems its size
St. Gabriel’s library is the East Iberville Branch, a branch of Iberville Parish Library, which serves 29,766 people and lent 41K items last year.
The short version on St. Gabriel’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
The Iberville Parish Library system 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
The Iberville Parish Library system 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; St. Gabriel’s library is a branch of Iberville Parish Library, so they cover the whole system (29,766 people), not just the St. Gabriel branch.
What’s behind St. Gabriel’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, St. Gabriel is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns, #85 of 105 in Louisiana. St. Gabriel is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; St. Gabriel’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($56K–$93K) 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 St. Gabriel
2.8 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 (0 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.
4.5%
4.5% of St. Gabriel’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. Gabriel’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
East Iberville Branch, 5715 Monticello Street, St. Gabriel.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Iberville Parish Library branch.
New in St. Gabriel? 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 St. Gabriel 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Gabriel | East Iberville Branch | — | 39 | D |
| St. George | Jones Creek Regional Branch | — | 70 | — too few inputs |
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.
- System-wide. East Iberville Branch is one branch of Iberville Parish Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 29,766 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 St. Gabriel
Does St. Gabriel have a public library?
Yes: East Iberville Branch, 5715 Monticello Street, is a branch of Iberville Parish Library, which serves 29,766 people. The branch is open about 39 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 St. Gabriel’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 St. Gabriel’s civic life grade?
D St. Gabriel is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns on civic life, #85 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 St. Gabriel.
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.