Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Bridgehampton’s library runs 302 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
The Hampton Library in Bridgehampton serves 3,190 people in and around Bridgehampton. Last year it lent 32K books, movies and e-books and logged 38K visits.
What Bridgehampton’s library is like
Nine times the programs of a typical library its size
The Hampton Library in Bridgehampton ran 962 programs last year, about 19 a week. That’s 302 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 13,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Most of the library’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 52% of loans, more per resident than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 48%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The Hampton Library in Bridgehampton logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 96% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 4.8 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
The Hampton Library in Bridgehampton spends $428 per resident a year, about ten times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (89%) 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; The Hampton Library in Bridgehampton serves 3,190 people in and around Bridgehampton, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Bridgehampton’s civic life grade
Bridgehampton isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
About 8 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.
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.
The Hampton Library in Bridgehampton serves 3,190 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole The Hampton Library in Bridgehampton system. The library’s own count.
52% of borrowing is digital
32K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
16,517 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
The Hampton Library in Bridgehampton, 2478 Main Street, Bridgehampton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every The Hampton Library in Bridgehampton branch.
New in Bridgehampton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bridgehampton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $674K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 2,263 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgehampton | The Hampton Library in Bridgehampton fine-free | — | 55 | — graded as part of its town |
| Water Mill | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Sagaponack | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Noyack | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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.
- System-wide. The Hampton Library in Bridgehampton serves 3,190 people in and around Bridgehampton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Bridgehampton.
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 Bridgehampton
Does Bridgehampton have a public library?
Yes. The Hampton Library in Bridgehampton, 2478 Main Street, serves 3,190 people in and around Bridgehampton (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is The Hampton Library in Bridgehampton 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 Bridgehampton’s library?
It logged 11.8 visits and lent 10.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Bridgehampton’s civic life grade?
Bridgehampton isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Bridgehampton.
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.