Photo: J.B. Chandler · CC BY-SA 3.0Fairfield’s library logs 1.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Fairfield/Teton Public Library serves 1,895 people in and around Fairfield. Last year it lent 8,565 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,240 visits.
What Fairfield’s library is like
Open only about 21 hours a week
The Fairfield branch keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 70% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 61% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Fairfield/Teton Public Library spends $21 per resident, less than 91% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). What your card is worth ↓
40% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 40% of loans, more per resident than at 70% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 60%, 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; Fairfield/Teton Public Library serves 1,895 people in and around Fairfield, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Fairfield’s civic life grade
Fairfield 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 →
40% of borrowing is digital
8,565 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,428 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Fairfield/Teton Public Library serves 1,895 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Fairfield/Teton Public Library system. The library’s own count.
47 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
Fairfield/Teton Public Library, 14 North 4th St., Fairfield.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Fairfield/Teton Public Library branch.
New in Fairfield? 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 $3.34 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fairfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $39K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $130K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $39K 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 924 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Fairfield/Teton Public Library serves 1,895 people in and around Fairfield, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Fairfield.
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 Fairfield
Does Fairfield have a public library?
Yes. Fairfield/Teton Public Library, 14 North 4th St., serves 1,895 people in and around Fairfield (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fairfield/Teton Public 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 Fairfield’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 4.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Fairfield’s civic life grade?
Fairfield 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 Fairfield.
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.