Bridgeport Public Library
Bridgeport Public Library is a municipal public library system based in Bridgeport (Fairfield County), Connecticut, serving a legal service area of 148,028 residents through five library buildings. Among the 171 profiled systems in Connecticut, it leads on population served, public computers and print volumes and ranks third for operating spending.
Among the 360 profiled systems serving 100,000 to 249,999 residents, it ranks first for print volumes per resident and first for public computers per resident. Against the median system of its size class, it records only 32% of the physical checkouts per resident and 70% more operating spending per resident.
Bridgeport against the 360 systems of its size class
Bridgeport, building by building
The five buildings cover 127,120 square feet in total, 0.86 square feet per resident against a median of 0.51 for the size class. The largest building is Bridgeport Public Library at 75,320 square feet; the smallest is East Side Branch Library at 6,000. The longest hours, 46 a week, are shared by five buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgeport Public Library | Central library | Bridgeport | 46 | 75,320 |
| Black Rock Branch Library | Branch | Bridgeport | 46 | 11,000 |
| East Side Branch Library | Branch | Bridgeport | 46 | 6,000 |
| Newfield Branch Library | Branch | Bridgeport | 46 | 15,000 |
| North Branch Library | Branch | Bridgeport | 46 | 19,800 |
Bridgeport in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 220,145
- Physical checkouts
- 146,590
- …of children's materials
- 66,397
- Electronic checkouts
- 40,302
- …of e-books
- 10,059
- …of e-audio
- 18,132
- Registered users
- 19,337
- Program sessions
- 1,952
- Program attendance
- 22,544
- Print volumes
- 599,742
- Audio items (physical)
- 9,989
- Video items (physical)
- 36,323
- Public computers
- 336
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 11,961
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 59.2
- Operating spending
- $8.6 million
- …on books and other materials
- $406,937
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Bridgeport gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $10.1 million, or $68.35 per resident. The local-government share sits 15 percentage points above the combined share for the 170 profiled systems in Connecticut. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Bridgeport since FY 2019
Visits were 22% below the FY 2019 count of 281,171 (size-class median: −29%). Physical checkouts moved 24% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Bridgeport programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 34% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 12 people each.
Municipal libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, four record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Naperville Public Library in Illinois.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naperville Public Library | Naperville, IL | 149,540 | 8.63 | 16.14 | $111.13 |
| Rockford Public Library | Rockford, IL | 148,655 | 2.22 | 2.99 | $54.44 |
| Beaverton City Library | Beaverton, OR | 148,075 | 3.47 | 13.09 | $78.14 |
| Olathe Public Library | Olathe, KS | 147,461 | 4.15 | 8.47 | $59.79 |
| Mesquite Public Library | Mesquite, TX | 147,317 | 1.13 | 1.33 | $20.13 |
| Pasadena Public Library | Pasadena, TX | 146,716 | 0.90 | 2.50 | $21.84 |
Nearest in size within Connecticut
- Ferguson Library · Stamford · 136,226 residents
- New Haven Free Public Library · New Haven · 135,319 residents
- Silas Bronson Library · Waterbury · 114,990 residents
- Danbury Public Library · Danbury · 86,124 residents