Photo: T.S. Custadio ToddC4176 23:31, 14 March 2007 (UTC) · CC BY-SA 3.0West Bridgewater’s library logs 5.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
West Bridgewater Public Library serves West Bridgewater’s 7,625 residents. Last year it lent 48K print books and media and logged 43K visits.
What West Bridgewater’s library is like
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, West Bridgewater Public Library is above the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, with four in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
West Bridgewater invests in its library
West Bridgewater Public Library spends $95 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (95%) comes from local taxes. 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 West Bridgewater’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, West Bridgewater is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #101 of 283 in Massachusetts. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.
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 →
34 community nonprofits are registered in West Bridgewater
4.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.8%
7.8% of West Bridgewater’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 West Bridgewater’s residents live; 2022.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Bridgewater cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $722K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $789K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $722K 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 4,106 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
West Bridgewater Public Library serves 7,625 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
48K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 33K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 West Bridgewater last year.
Find it
West Bridgewater Public Library, 80 Howard Street, West Bridgewater.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in West Bridgewater? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
West Bridgewater borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. 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+ |
| Bridgewater Town | Bridgewater Public Library fine-free | 2.8 | 54 | C |
| Brockton | Brockton Public Library fine-free | 1.7 | — | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. West Bridgewater Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 West Bridgewater
Does West Bridgewater have a public library?
Yes. West Bridgewater Public Library, 80 Howard Street, serves West Bridgewater’s 7,625 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is West Bridgewater 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 West Bridgewater’s library?
It logged 5.6 visits and lent 6.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is West Bridgewater’s civic life grade?
B+ West Bridgewater is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on civic life, #101 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 West Bridgewater.
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.