Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Bridgeport’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Bridgeport - Lena Cagle Public Library serves Bridgeport’s 5,437 residents. Last year it logged 3,633 visits.
The short version on Bridgeport’s library
Alabama pays a big share
20% of the budget comes from the state, and 58% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Bridgeport - Lena Cagle Public Library offered 36 programs last year, 6.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
Bridgeport - Lena Cagle Public Library keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Runs on less money than most
Bridgeport - Lena Cagle Public Library spends $6 per resident, less than 99% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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.
What’s behind Bridgeport’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bridgeport is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. Bridgeport is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Bridgeport - Lena Cagle Public Library spends $6 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($26K–$43K) 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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Bridgeport
2.2 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.
5.8%
5.8% of Bridgeport’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.8% in the typical Alabama 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 Bridgeport’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 5 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Bridgeport - Lena Cagle Public Library serves 5,437 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Bridgeport - Lena Cagle Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Loans aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 796 items borrowed against 3,633 visits, so we leave the count out.
36 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, 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
Bridgeport - Lena Cagle Public Library, 401 Alabama Avenue, Bridgeport.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bridgeport? 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 Bridgeport cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $31K.
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 1,943 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stevenson | Stevenson Public Library fine-free | 0.5 | 33 | D− |
| Bridgeport | Bridgeport - Lena Cagle Public Library | — | 21 | D |
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.
- Loans left out. This year’s loan count is far below the library’s visits and shelves, so we leave it out.
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 Bridgeport
Does Bridgeport have a public library?
Yes. Bridgeport - Lena Cagle Public Library, 401 Alabama Avenue, serves Bridgeport’s 5,437 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bridgeport - Lena Cagle Public 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 Bridgeport’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Bridgeport’s civic life grade?
D Bridgeport is ahead of 12% 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 Bridgeport.
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.