Photo: Skye Marthaler · CC BY-SA 3.0Fairview’s library is a branch of Williamson County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 70% of systems its size
Fairview’s library is the Fairview Public Library, a branch of Williamson County Public Library, which serves 161,569 people and lent 1.3M items last year.
Fairview’s library, in brief
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 67% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 83% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
69% of the 1,509 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 15 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Fairview’s library is a branch of Williamson County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (161,569 people), not just the Fairview branch.
What’s behind Fairview’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Fairview is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #23 of 150 in Tennessee. Fairview is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
41 community nonprofits are registered in Fairview
4.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (17 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.3%
8.3% of Fairview’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.7% in the typical Tennessee 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 Fairview’s residents live; 2022.
About 20 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Williamson County Public Library serves 161,569 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 87 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Williamson County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.3M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
491,580 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Fairview Public Library, 2240 Fairview Blvd, Fairview.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Williamson County Public Library branch.
New in Fairview? 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 $5.27 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fairview cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $3.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $19M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.6M 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 33,483 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Fairview Public Library is one branch of Williamson County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 161,569 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 Fairview
Does Fairview have a public library?
Yes: Fairview Public Library, 2240 Fairview Blvd, is a branch of Williamson County Public Library, which serves 161,569 people. The branch is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Williamson 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 Fairview’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 8.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Fairview’s civic life grade?
B Fairview is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on civic life, #23 of 150 in Tennessee. 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 Fairview.
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.