Photo: Ken Gallager · CC BY-SA 3.0Bristol’s library runs 141 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Minot-Sleeper Library serves Bristol’s 3,269 residents. Last year it lent 44K books, movies and e-books and logged 26K visits.
What Bristol’s library is like
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Minot-Sleeper Library ran 461 programs last year, about 9 a week. That’s 141 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
44% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 44% of loans, more per resident than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 56%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Top 10% in New Hampshire for borrowing
Bristol ranks #9 of 120 New Hampshire towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 7.5 items per resident, more than at 83% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Minot-Sleeper Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1988. Today’s library there has 4,000 square feet. The building ↓
People come to Minot-Sleeper Library a lot
Minot-Sleeper Library logs 7.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 7.5 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
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 Bristol’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bristol is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #7 of 126 in New Hampshire. 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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Bristol
5.2 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.1%
11.1% of Bristol’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical New Hampshire 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 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 Bristol last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Minot-Sleeper Library serves 3,269 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.
44% of borrowing is digital
44K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
19,147 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 1988
Minot-Sleeper Library, 35 Pleasant Street, Bristol.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. 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.
Minot-Sleeper Library
Minot-Sleeper Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sep 15, 1988. It is significant for its education at the local level. Its architecture is described as Late Victorian.
The Minot–Sleeper Library is the public library of Bristol, New Hampshire. It is located at 35 Pleasant Street, in an 1885 brick building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The library was the first in the state's Lakes Region to have a purpose-built building. The library offers borrowing service, as well as Wifi, Internet-accessible computers, and a variety of programmed activities.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.63 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bristol cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $262K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $690K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $262K 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 1,398 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Bristol 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | Minot-Sleeper Library fine-free | 13.3 | 42 | A |
| Hill | Hill Public Library fine-free | 4.6 | 32 | C |
| New Hampton | Gordon-Nash Library | 3.2 | 47 | B |
| Bridgewater | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Alexandria | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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. Minot-Sleeper Library, 35 Pleasant Street, serves Bristol’s 3,269 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Minot-Sleeper 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 7.8 visits and lent 13.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Bristol’s civic life grade?
A Bristol is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #7 of 126 in New Hampshire. 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. 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.