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Library · Bridgeport

Sullivan Free Library

Sullivan Free Library serves 14,794 people in and around Bridgeport. Last year it lent 54K books, movies and e-books and logged 60K visits.

8979 North Road, Bridgeport 13030 · about 51 hours a week
Borrowed a year
54K
3.7 per resident
Visits a year
60K
4 per resident · Above typical (3.1)
Programs & events
395
about 8 a week · 6,492 attended
Cardholders
42%
6,256 cards
Open
51 hrs
a week

What stands out about Sullivan Free Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.32 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bridgeport cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$0
a year at retail prices · $0 a month

Who pays for it
$45 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $670K.

Local taxes 88%State 5%Gifts & other 6%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $885K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $670K 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 6,256 cardholders ÷ 12.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

60K
visits
4 per resident
54K
loans, print + digital
3.7 per resident
395
programs & events
6,492 attended
6,256
library cards
42% of people served
Every open hour1items borrowed
Every week125people at a program
Every day4Wi-Fi sessions
11 staff (full-time equivalent)11 public computers52K books & media on the shelves
How it compares

Close to typical for its size

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.

Visits per resident 4 visits · typical 3.1Higher than 66%
Borrowing per resident 2.8 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 64%
Digital borrowing 0.8 e-items · typical 1.1Lower than 60%
Kids’ borrowing 1.2 kids’ items · typical 1.8Lower than 65%
Program attendance 0.4 attendees · typical 0.4Higher than 50%
Programs offered 26.7 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Higher than 57%
Cardholders 42% of residents · typical 40%Higher than 54%
Spending $45 per resident · typical $43Higher than 52%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
In New York
#331 of 757

library systems for visits per resident.

Size group

Sullivan Free Library serves 14,794 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

54K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

54Kloans
Books & media (adults) 46%Kids’ books & media 31%E-books, audio & streaming 23%
How hard the shelves work
0.8×

Each of the 52K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.

From your couch

12,285 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 3 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Bridgeport →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5139
Ages 6–1142
Teens13
Adults133
All ages68
Little ones
2.7

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

17K
kids’ books & media borrowed
6,492
people at programs
395
programs
The building

Find it

Sullivan Free Library, 8979 North Road, Bridgeport.

51
hours open a week
3,250
square feet
52K
books & media
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Bridgeport? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

Next door

Libraries next door

Bridgeport ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHours
CiceroNopl @ Cicero fine-free7.550
BridgeportSullivan Free Library fine-free3.751
SullivanSullivan Free Library fine-free3.754

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.

About these numbers

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
  • Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
  • 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.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Bridgeport.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is Sullivan Free Library one of the best things about Bridgeport?

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Start a conversation

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.

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