West Miami’s library is a branch of Miami-Dade Public Library System, which lends less per resident than 89% of systems its size
West Miami’s library is the Fairlawn Branch Library, a branch of Miami-Dade Public Library System, which serves 2,406,299 people and lent 3M items last year.
What stands out about Fairlawn Branch Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind West Miami’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, West Miami is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns, #263 of 273 in Florida. West Miami is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; West Miami’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($46K–$77K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in West Miami
1.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.6%
2.6% of West Miami’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.6% in the typical Florida town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where West Miami’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Miami-Dade Public Library System serves 2,406,299 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Miami-Dade Public Library System system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
3M print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for West Miami’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 116 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.
Find it
Fairlawn Branch Library, 6376 Southwest 8 Street, Miami.
No late fees. Good at every Miami-Dade Public Library System branch.
New in West Miami? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Miami cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $94M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $58M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $94M 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 1,619,192 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Miami | Fairlawn Branch Library fine-free | — | 56 | D− |
| Coral Terrace | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Fairlawn Branch Library is one branch of Miami-Dade Public Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 2,406,299 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 West Miami
Does West Miami have a public library?
Yes: Fairlawn Branch Library, 6376 Southwest 8 Street, is a branch of Miami-Dade Public Library System, which serves 2,406,299 people. The branch is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Miami-Dade Public Library System fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is West Miami’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 1.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is West Miami’s civic life grade?
D− West Miami is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns on civic life, #263 of 273 in Florida. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in West Miami.
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.