Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Bristol’s library runs 19 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Bristol Public Library serves 61,601 people in and around Bristol from 2 locations. Last year it lent 276K books, movies and e-books and logged 167K visits.
What stands out about Bristol’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Bristol’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bristol is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns, #133 of 155 in Connecticut. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($59K–$99K) 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 →
158 community nonprofits are registered in Bristol
2.6 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 (35 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.6%
6.6% of Bristol’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.5% in the typical Connecticut 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 Bristol’s residents live; 2022.
About 9 kids’ programs a week
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Bristol Public Library serves 61,601 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 45 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
276K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 232K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
42,741 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Bristol
Bristol Public Library, 5 High St., Bristol.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bristol? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Bristol
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.12 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bristol cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.2M 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 14,239 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Bristol ranks 5th of 8 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farmington | Farmington Library fine-free | 13.2 | 60 | B+ |
| Southington | Southington Public Library | 7.2 | 55 | C |
| Burlington | Burlington Public Library fine-free | 7.2 | 50 | B |
| Plainville | Plainville Public Library fine-free | 6.8 | 56 | C+ |
| Bristol | Bristol Public Library fine-free | 4.5 | 62 | C− |
| Plymouth | Terryville Public Library fine-free | 4.4 | 39 | B− |
| Terryville | Terryville Public Library fine-free | 4.4 | 39 | — graded as part of its town |
| Wolcott | Wolcott Public Library | 3.5 | 49 | C |
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.
- 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.
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 Bristol
Does Bristol have a public library?
Yes. Bristol Public Library, 5 High St., serves 61,601 people in and around Bristol (the survey’s count) and is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bristol Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bristol’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 4.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bristol’s civic life grade?
C− Bristol is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns on civic life, #133 of 155 in Connecticut. 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 Bristol.
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.