Evangeline Parish Library
Ville Platte’s library is the Evangeline Parish Library, a branch of Evangeline Parish Library, which serves 31,745 people and lent 63K items last year.
What stands out about Evangeline Parish Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
About 7 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 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.
Evangeline Parish Library serves 31,745 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
46% of borrowing is digital
63K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
29,050 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ville Platte cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.8M 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 23,541 cardholders ÷ 12.
Find it
Evangeline Parish Library, 916 West Main Street, Ville Platte.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Evangeline Parish Library branch.
New in Ville Platte? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Evangeline Parish Library system. The library’s own count.
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. Evangeline Parish Library is one branch of Evangeline Parish Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 31,745 people it serves.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Ville Platte.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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.