Photo: Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Stonewall’s library is a branch of Desoto Parish Library, which lends less per resident than 65% of systems its size
Stonewall’s library is the Stonewall Branch Library, a branch of Desoto Parish Library, which serves 27,274 people and lent 141K items last year.
Stonewall’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
28,713 cards for 27,274 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 ↓
49% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 49% of loans, more per resident than at 82% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 51%. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
The Desoto Parish Library system spends $83 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (91%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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; Stonewall’s library is a branch of Desoto Parish Library, so they cover the whole system (27,274 people), not just the Stonewall branch.
What’s behind Stonewall’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Stonewall is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns, #39 of 105 in Louisiana. Stonewall is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Stonewall’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($42K–$71K) 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Stonewall
2.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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.
8.4%
8.4% of Stonewall’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 Stonewall’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Desoto Parish Library serves 27,274 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Desoto Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
49% of borrowing is digital
141K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
69,387 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 9 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
Stonewall Branch Library, 808 Highway 171, Stonewall.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Desoto Parish Library branch.
New in Stonewall? 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 $1.08 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Stonewall cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.3M 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 28,713 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Stonewall Branch Library is one branch of Desoto Parish Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 27,274 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 Stonewall
Does Stonewall have a public library?
Yes: Stonewall Branch Library, 808 Highway 171, is a branch of Desoto Parish Library, which serves 27,274 people. The branch is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Desoto Parish 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 Stonewall’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 5.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Stonewall’s civic life grade?
C+ Stonewall is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns on civic life, #39 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 Stonewall.
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.