Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0Bristol’s library is a branch of Northwest Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 72% of systems its size
Bristol’s library is the Liberty County Library/Harrell Memorial Library, a branch of Northwest Regional Library System, which serves 216,657 people and lent 453K items last year.
What stands out about Liberty County Library/Harrell Memorial Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Bristol’s civic life grade
Bristol isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Northwest Regional Library System serves 216,657 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
A year at Northwest Regional Library System
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Northwest Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Books and media off the shelf
453K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Bristol’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 11 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.
Find it
Liberty County Library/Harrell Memorial Library, 13016 Northwest County Road 12, Bristol.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bristol cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $3.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.6M budget.
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 55,785 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Liberty County Library/Harrell Memorial Library is one branch of Northwest Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 216,657 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 Bristol
Does Bristol have a public library?
Yes: Liberty County Library/Harrell Memorial Library, 13016 Northwest County Road 12, is a branch of Northwest Regional Library System, which serves 216,657 people. The branch is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Northwest Regional Library System fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bristol’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 2.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Bristol’s civic life grade?
Bristol isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. 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.