Photo: Lucien P. Burleigh (1853-1923) · Public domainBridgton’s library runs 44 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Bridgton Public Library serves Bridgton’s 5,683 residents. Last year it lent 30K books, movies and e-books and logged 18K visits.
Bridgton’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
68% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 32%. What your card is worth ↓
Bridgton out-borrows every town next door
At 5.2 loans per resident, Bridgton leads the six towns here. The closest is Harrison, at 3.9. Libraries next door ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Davis, Dalton Holmes, Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989. Today’s library there has 5,000 square feet. The building ↓
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 Bridgton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bridgton is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #32 of 143 in Maine. Bridgton’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
47 community nonprofits are registered in Bridgton
8.3 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.5%
9.5% of Bridgton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 9.0% in the typical Maine 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 Bridgton’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1989
Bridgton Public Library, 1 Church Street, Bridgton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bridgton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Davis, Dalton Holmes, Memorial Library
Davis, Dalton Holmes, Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan 5, 1989. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival. It was listed as part of Maine Public Libraries MPS.
The Bridgton Public Library, formerly the Dalton Holmes Davis Memorial Library, is the public library of Bridgton, Maine. It is located at 1 Church Street, in an architecturally distinguished Classical Revival building designed by Harry S. Coombs and built in 1913. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Bridgton Public Library serves 5,683 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
30K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
2,805 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. 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 Bridgton last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.83 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bridgton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $295K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $539K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $295K 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 3,108 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Bridgton borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgton | Bridgton Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 29 | A− |
| Harrison | Harrison Village Library fine-free | 3.9 | 25 | B+ |
| Naples | Naples Public Library fine-free | 3.5 | 28 | B+ |
| Waterford | Waterford Library Association fine-free | 2.5 | 17 | A |
| Fryeburg | Fryeburg Public Library fine-free | 2.0 | 36 | B |
| Denmark | Denmark Public Library fine-free | 1.6 | 15 | B |
| Sweden | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 Bridgton
Does Bridgton have a public library?
Yes. Bridgton Public Library, 1 Church Street, serves Bridgton’s 5,683 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bridgton 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 Bridgton’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 5.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Bridgton’s civic life grade?
A− Bridgton is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life, #32 of 143 in Maine. 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 Bridgton.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.