Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0Bridgewater Town’s library runs 20 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Bridgewater Public Library serves Bridgewater Town’s 28,780 residents. Last year it lent 82K print books and media and logged 63K visits.
What Bridgewater Town’s library is like
Every town next door borrows more
Bridgewater Town’s library lends 2.8 items per resident. Each of the six neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by West Bridgewater at 6.2. Libraries next door ↓
Programs lean toward adults
61% of the 568 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 141 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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 Bridgewater Town’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bridgewater Town is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns, #220 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($84K–$141K) 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 →
95 community nonprofits are registered in Bridgewater Town
3.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.1%
7.1% of Bridgewater Town’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical Massachusetts 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 Bridgewater Town’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Bridgewater Public Library serves 28,780 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
82K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 62K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Bridgewater Town last year.
Find it
Bridgewater Public Library, 15 South St., Bridgewater.
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 Bridgewater Town? The Handbook →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 $1.65 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bridgewater Town cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $915K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $915K 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 8,156 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Bridgewater Town ranks 7th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Bridgewater | West Bridgewater Public Library | 6.2 | 42 | B+ |
| Middleborough | Middleborough Public Library fine-free | 4.8 | 51 | C− |
| East Bridgewater | East Bridgewater Public Library fine-free | 4.5 | 48 | C+ |
| Raynham | Raynham Public Library | 4.4 | 47 | C |
| Raynham Center | Raynham Public Library | 4.4 | 47 | — graded as part of its town |
| Halifax | Holmes Public Library fine-free | 4.4 | 39 | B− |
| Bridgewater Town | Bridgewater Public Library fine-free | 2.8 | 54 | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. Massachusetts libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Bridgewater Town
Does Bridgewater Town have a public library?
Yes. Bridgewater Public Library, 15 South St., serves Bridgewater Town’s 28,780 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bridgewater 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 Bridgewater Town’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 2.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bridgewater Town’s civic life grade?
C Bridgewater Town is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns on civic life, #220 of 283 in Massachusetts. 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 Bridgewater Town.
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.