Mississippi Mills Packing and Shipping Rooms · Photo: Forrest Lamar Cooper · Public domainWesson’s library is a branch of Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 98% of systems its size
Wesson’s library is the Longie Dale Memorial Library, a branch of Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library, which serves 34,605 people and lent 9,388 items last year.
Wesson’s library, in brief
The Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library system records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $9 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library system offered 61 programs last year, 1.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 61 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 33 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Federal money pays a real share
3% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 73% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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; Wesson’s library is a branch of Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (34,605 people), not just the Wesson branch.
What’s behind Wesson’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Wesson is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns. Wesson is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Wesson’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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Wesson
1.8 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.
11.7%
11.7% of Wesson’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.4% in the typical Mississippi 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 Wesson’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library serves 34,605 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
9,388 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
61 programs a year
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
Longie Dale Memorial Library, 1012 Spring Street, Wesson.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library branch.
New in Wesson? 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 Wesson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $321K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $166K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $321K 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 5,041 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wesson | Longie Dale Memorial Library fine-free | — | 32 | B− |
| Beauregard | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Longie Dale Memorial Library is one branch of Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 34,605 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 Wesson
Does Wesson have a public library?
Yes: Longie Dale Memorial Library, 1012 Spring Street, is a branch of Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library, which serves 34,605 people. The branch is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Wesson’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 0.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Wesson’s civic life grade?
B− Wesson is ahead of 49% 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 Wesson.
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.