Photo: Dj1997 · CC BY-SA 3.0Fairgrove’s library runs 13 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Fairgrove District Library serves 2,996 people in and around Fairgrove. Last year it lent 6,981 print books and media and logged 4,286 visits.
What Fairgrove’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Fairgrove District Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Well funded, but lightly used
Fairgrove District Library spends $74 per resident, more than 81% of similar-size libraries. Use doesn’t match: visits per resident are lower than at 79% of them. What your card is worth ↓
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; Fairgrove District Library serves 2,996 people in and around Fairgrove, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Fairgrove’s civic life grade
Fairgrove 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Fairgrove District Library serves 2,996 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Fairgrove District Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
6,981 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
40 programs a year
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
Fairgrove District Library, 1959 Main Street, Fairgrove.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Fairgrove District Library branch.
New in Fairgrove? 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 Fairgrove cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $223K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $112K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $223K 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 1,232 cardholders ÷ 12.
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. Fairgrove District Library serves 2,996 people in and around Fairgrove, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Fairgrove.
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 Fairgrove
Does Fairgrove have a public library?
Yes. Fairgrove District Library, 1959 Main Street, serves 2,996 people in and around Fairgrove (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fairgrove District Library 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 Fairgrove’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 2.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Fairgrove’s civic life grade?
Fairgrove 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 Fairgrove.
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.