Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainFairbury’s library logs 4.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Fairbury Public Library serves Fairbury’s 3,832 residents. Last year it lent 22K books, movies and e-books and logged 16K visits.
What stands out about Fairbury’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Fairbury’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Fairbury is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #34 of 55 in Nebraska. Fairbury’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
42 community nonprofits are registered in Fairbury
10.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.3%
5.3% of Fairbury’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical Nebraska 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 Fairbury’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1985
Fairbury Public Library, 601 7th Street, Fairbury.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Fairbury? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Fairbury Public-Carnegie Library
Fairbury Public-Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sep 12, 1985. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the state level. Its architecture is described as Neo-Classical Revival.
The Fairbury Public Library is a library in Fairbury, Nebraska. Its building was constructed in 1908-09 as a Carnegie library with funding from the Carnegie Corporation. It was designed in the Classical Revival style by Tyler and Son, an architectural firm co-founded by English-born James Tyler and his son, James Tyler Jr.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Fairbury Public Library serves 3,832 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
22K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 21K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
6,854 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
53 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Fairbury last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fairbury cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $253K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $357K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $253K 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 1,479 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Fairbury
Does Fairbury have a public library?
Yes. Fairbury Public Library, 601 7th Street, serves Fairbury’s 3,832 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fairbury Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Fairbury’s library?
It logged 4.1 visits and lent 5.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Fairbury’s civic life grade?
B Fairbury is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on civic life, #34 of 55 in Nebraska. 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 Fairbury.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.