Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0Welsh’s library is a branch of Jefferson Davis Parish Library, which lends less per resident than 76% of systems its size
Welsh’s library is the Mcburney Memorial Branch, a branch of Jefferson Davis Parish Library, which serves 22,156 people and lent 76K items last year.
Welsh’s library, in brief
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 75% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 24%. The building also logs about 16 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
43% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 43% of loans, more per resident than at 62% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 57%, 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; Welsh’s library is a branch of Jefferson Davis Parish Library, so they cover the whole system (22,156 people), not just the Welsh branch.
What’s behind Welsh’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Welsh is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #16 of 105 in Louisiana. Welsh is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Welsh’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Welsh
2.4 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.3%
11.3% of Welsh’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 Welsh’s residents live; 2022.
43% of borrowing is digital
76K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
32,786 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Jefferson Davis Parish Library serves 22,156 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jefferson Davis Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
About 6 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
Mcburney Memorial Branch, 301 South Sarah Street, Welsh.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Jefferson Davis Parish Library branch.
New in Welsh? 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 Welsh cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 8,830 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Mcburney Memorial Branch is one branch of Jefferson Davis Parish Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 22,156 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 Welsh
Does Welsh have a public library?
Yes: Mcburney Memorial Branch, 301 South Sarah Street, is a branch of Jefferson Davis Parish Library, which serves 22,156 people. The branch is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jefferson Davis 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 Welsh’s library?
It logged 4.9 visits and lent 3.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Welsh’s civic life grade?
B Welsh is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on civic life, #16 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 Welsh.
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.