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Library · Scott · part of Lafayette Public Library

West Regional Library

Scott’s library is the West Regional Library, a branch of Lafayette Public Library, which serves 254,241 people and lent 1.7M items last year.

501 Old Spanish Trail, Scott 70583 · about 60 hours a week
Photo: Public domain
Borrowed a year
1.7M
6.6 per resident
Visits a year
758K
3 per resident · Above typical (2.1)
Programs & events
4,049
about 78 a week · 82K attended
Cardholders
51%
128,701 cards
Open
60 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about West Regional Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.28 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Scott cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$0
a year at retail prices · $0 a month

Who pays for it
$44 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $11M.

Local taxes 85%State 1%Gifts & other 14%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $26M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $11M 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 128,701 cardholders ÷ 12.

The building

Find it

West Regional Library, 501 Old Spanish Trail, Scott.

60
hours open a week
17,500
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lafayette Public Library branch.

New in Scott? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 73 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lafayette Public Library system. The library’s own count.

758K
visits
3 per resident
1.7M
loans, print + digital
6.6 per resident
4,049
programs & events
82K attended
129K
library cards
51% of people served
Every open hour73items borrowed
Every week1,585people at a program
Every day430Wi-Fi sessions
139 staff (full-time equivalent)316 public computers
How it compares

Strongest at visits per resident

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.

Visits per resident 3 visits · typical 2.1Higher than 76%
Borrowing per resident 5.4 print items · typical 3.2Higher than 73%
Digital borrowing 1.2 e-items · typical 1.4Lower than 55%
Kids’ borrowing 2.7 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 74%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.2Higher than 74%
Programs offered 15.9 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Higher than 81%
Cardholders 51% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 69%
Spending $44 per resident · typical $36Higher than 61%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Lafayette Public Library serves 254,241 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

1.7M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

1.7Mloans
Books & media (adults) 40%Kids’ books & media 42%E-books, audio & streaming 18%
From your couch

301,637 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 36 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Scott →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5938
Ages 6–11948
Teens560
Adults1,380
All ages223
Little ones
18

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

699K
kids’ books & media borrowed
82K
people at programs
4,049
programs
Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHours
ScottWest Regional Library fine-free—60
LafayetteLafayette Public Library fine-free—61

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.

About these numbers

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
  • Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
  • The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
  • System-wide. West Regional Library is one branch of Lafayette Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 254,241 people it serves.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Scott.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is West Regional Library one of the best things about Scott?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Start a conversation

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.

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