Fairfax Public Library
Fairfax Public Library serves Fairfax’s 4,444 residents. Last year it lent 15K books, movies and e-books and logged 18K visits.
What stands out about Fairfax Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fairfax cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $215K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $262K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $215K 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 1,293 cardholders ÷ 12.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Close to typical for its size
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.
library systems for visits per resident.
Fairfax Public Library serves 4,444 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
15K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 24K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Fairfax last year.
Find it
Fairfax Public Library, 313 Vanderbilt St., Fairfax.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfax | Fairfax Public Library fine-free | 3.3 | 42 |
| Cedar Rapids | Cedar Rapids Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 64 |
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 Fairfax.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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.