Photo: Jason W. Smith · CC BY-SA 3.0Fair Bluff’s library is a branch of Columbus County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 73% of systems its size
Fair Bluff’s library is the Fair Bluff Community Library, a branch of Columbus County Public Library, which serves 50,389 people and lent 110K items last year.
Fair Bluff’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
The Columbus County Public Library system offered 154 programs last year, 3.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
46,274 cards for 50,389 people, or 92%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
The Columbus County Public Library system records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, below 92% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 2 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 8% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 92% of similar-size libraries. 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; Fair Bluff’s library is a branch of Columbus County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (50,389 people), not just the Fair Bluff branch.
What’s behind Fair Bluff’s civic life grade
Fair Bluff 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 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Columbus County Public Library serves 50,389 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Columbus County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
110K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
8,734 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
Fair Bluff Community Library, 315 Railroad St., Fair Bluff.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Columbus County Public Library branch.
New in Fair Bluff? 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 $1.11 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fair Bluff cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 46,274 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Fair Bluff Community Library is one branch of Columbus County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 50,389 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 Fair Bluff
Does Fair Bluff have a public library?
Yes: Fair Bluff Community Library, 315 Railroad St., is a branch of Columbus County Public Library, which serves 50,389 people. The branch is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Columbus County 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 Fair Bluff’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 2.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Fair Bluff’s civic life grade?
Fair Bluff 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 Fair Bluff.
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.