Photo: Dough4872 · Public domainBrigantine’s library is a branch of Atlantic County Library, which lends less per resident than 63% of systems its size
Brigantine’s library is the Brigantine Branch Library, a branch of Atlantic County Library, which serves 214,422 people and lent 671K items last year.
Brigantine’s library, in brief
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 85% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 37%. The building also logs about 225 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. 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; Brigantine’s library is a branch of Atlantic County Library, so they cover the whole system (214,422 people), not just the Brigantine branch.
What’s behind Brigantine’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Brigantine is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns, #243 of 466 in New Jersey. Brigantine is graded on two of the three inputs. Brigantine’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($73K–$122K) 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 →
44 community nonprofits are registered in Brigantine
5.7 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.
4.8%
4.8% of Brigantine’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.2% in the typical New Jersey 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 Brigantine’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Atlantic County Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Atlantic County Library serves 214,422 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
671K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
134,299 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 24 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
Brigantine Branch Library, 201 15th Street, Brigantine.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Atlantic County Library branch.
New in Brigantine? 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 $1.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brigantine cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $8.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.9M 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 25,287 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic City | Atlantic City Free Public Library fine-free | 0.9 | 51 | C |
| Brigantine | Brigantine Branch Library | — | 52 | C+ |
| Galloway Township | Galloway Township Branch Library | — | 56 | 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.
- Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Brigantine Branch Library is one branch of Atlantic County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 214,422 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 Brigantine
Does Brigantine have a public library?
Yes: Brigantine Branch Library, 201 15th Street, is a branch of Atlantic County Library, which serves 214,422 people. The branch is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Atlantic County 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 Brigantine’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Brigantine’s civic life grade?
C+ Brigantine is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns on civic life, #243 of 466 in New Jersey. 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 Brigantine.
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.