Damascus CCC Camp, Co. No. 3781 Historic District · Photo: Valis55 · CC BY-SA 3.0Damascus’ library is a branch of Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 69% of systems its size
Damascus’s library is the Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library, Damascus, a branch of Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System, which serves 143,767 people and lent 566K items last year.
The short version on Damascus’s library
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 76% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 31%. A year at the library ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
The Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System ran 3,775 programs last year, about 73 a week. That’s 26 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
44% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 44% of loans. Print still makes up 56%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
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; Damascus’s library is a branch of Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (143,767 people), not just the Damascus branch.
What’s behind Damascus’ civic life grade
Damascus 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 38 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 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System serves 143,767 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 36 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
44% of borrowing is digital
566K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
249,619 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library, Damascus, 17379 Hwy 65, Damascus.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System branch.
New in Damascus? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Damascus cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.8M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 62,734 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library, Damascus is one branch of Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 143,767 people it serves.
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 Damascus
Does Damascus have a public library?
Yes: Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library, Damascus, 17379 Hwy 65, is a branch of Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System, which serves 143,767 people. The branch is open about 27 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Damascus’ library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 3.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Damascus’ civic life grade?
Damascus 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 Damascus.
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.