Library · Fairbanks
Fairbanks North Star Public Library
Fairbanks’s library is the Fairbanks North Star Public Library, a branch of Fairbanks North Star Borough Public Libraries, open about 37 hours a week.
IMLS Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024County system. Fairbanks’s branch belongs to Fairbanks North Star Borough Public Libraries, which serves 95,972 people. The yearly numbers below are for the whole system, not just this branch. A card works at every branch.
Your branch
Fairbanks North Star Public Library
1215 Cowles Street, Fairbanks 99701
37 hrsopen a week
75,000sq ft
Fine-freeNo late fees on books returned late
E-books & audiobooksBorrow from home with your card
Research databasesOnline courses, journals, genealogy and more
Fiscal year 2024
A year at Fairbanks North Star Borough Public Libraries
134K
visits
1.4 per resident
399K
loans, print + digital
4.2 per resident
460
programs & events
12K attended
34K
library cards
35% of people served
How it compares
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people
Per-resident numbers, compared only with libraries of a similar size across the country, because a tiny town’s library always looks busier per person.
Visits per resident
1.4 visits · typical 2.6
Lower than most similar-size libraries (20th percentile)
Borrowing per resident
2.4 print items · typical 3.7
A little below typical (33th percentile)
Digital borrowing
1.7 e-items · typical 1.2
Higher than 65% of similar-size libraries
Kids’ borrowing
1.5 kids’ items · typical 1.7
A little below typical (45th percentile)
Program attendance
0.1 attendees · typical 0.3
Lower than most similar-size libraries (14th percentile)
Cardholders
35% of residents
A little below typical (41th percentile)
Borrowing & programs
What people use it for
What people borrow
399K loans last year
Books & media (adults)24%Kids’ books & media35%E-books, audio & streaming41%
Who the programs are for
460 story times, classes, clubs and events
Money
Who pays for it
$67 per resident a year
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $6.4M.
Local 99%State 0%Federal 1%Gifts & other 0%
About these numbers
How to read this page
Hours are an averageThe 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.
One year, the library’s own countLibraries report their own visits, loans and programs for fiscal year 2024. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
Source: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Distances are straight-line from the town center.