Photo: Shyngo at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Zwolle’s library is a branch of Sabine Parish Library, which lends less per resident than 85% of systems its size
Zwolle’s library is the Zwolle Branch, a branch of Sabine Parish Library, which serves 21,746 people and lent 45K items last year.
The short version on Zwolle’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
100% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 0%. What your card is worth ↓
The Sabine Parish Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Sabine Parish Library system records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
19,185 cards for 21,746 people, or 88%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
72% of the 209 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Zwolle’s library is a branch of Sabine Parish Library, so they cover the whole system (21,746 people), not just the Zwolle branch.
What’s behind Zwolle’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Zwolle is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns. Zwolle is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Zwolle’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($21K–$35K) 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 Zwolle
3.2 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.7%
4.7% of Zwolle’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 Zwolle’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Sabine Parish Library serves 21,746 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sabine Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
45K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
16,298 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Zwolle Branch, 2218 Port Arthur Street, Zwolle.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sabine Parish Library branch.
New in Zwolle? 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 $1.13 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Zwolle cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $712K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $801K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $712K 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 19,185 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Zwolle Branch is one branch of Sabine Parish Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 21,746 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 Zwolle
Does Zwolle have a public library?
Yes: Zwolle Branch, 2218 Port Arthur Street, is a branch of Sabine Parish Library, which serves 21,746 people. The branch is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sabine 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 Zwolle’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 2.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Zwolle’s civic life grade?
C− Zwolle is ahead of 15% 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 Zwolle.
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.