Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Fairfield

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Fairfield Washington 7-27-2013Photo: Richard Bauer · CC BY 2.0
Fairfield Library · part of Spokane County Library District

Fairfield’s library is a branch of Spokane County Library District, which lends more per resident than 54% of systems its size

Fairfield’s library is the Fairfield Library, a branch of Spokane County Library District, which serves 312,530 people and lent 2.9M items last year.

305 E Main, Fairfield 99012 · about 26 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Directions (509) 893-8320 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
2.9M
9.1 per resident
Visits a year
740K
2.4 per resident · Above typical (2.1)
Programs & events
4,913
about 94 a week · 84K attended
Cardholders
46%
143,001 cards
Open
26 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Fairfield Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Big on e-booksFine-freePart of a bigger system
Civic life grade

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 lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Fairfield’s overall grade.

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 →

★ What stands out · What people borrow

63% of borrowing is digital

2.9M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

2.9Mloans
Books & media (adults) 9%Kids’ books & media 29%E-books, audio & streaming 63%
From your couch

1,788,264 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.4 visits · typical 2.1Higher than 59%
Borrowing per resident 3.4 print items · typical 3.2Higher than 54%
Digital borrowing 5.7 e-items · typical 1.4Top 10%
Kids’ borrowing 2.6 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 72%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.2Higher than 64%
Programs offered 15.7 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Higher than 80%
Cardholders 46% of residents · typical 41%Higher than 61%
Spending $56 per resident · typical $36Higher than 73%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Spokane County Library District serves 312,530 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

A year at Spokane County Library District

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Spokane County Library District system. The library’s own count.

740K
visits
2.4 per resident
2.9M
loans, print + digital
9.1 per resident
4,913
programs & events
84K attended
143K
library cards
46% of people served
Every week1,624people at a program
Every week14,222visits
136 staff (full-time equivalent)147 public computers
Kids & programs

About 51 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Fairfield →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5957
Ages 6–111,686
Teens659
Adults953
All ages658
Little ones
18.4

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

817K
kids’ books & media borrowed
84K
people at programs
4,913
programs
The building

Find it

Fairfield Library, 305 E Main, Fairfield.

Directions(509) 893-8320
26
hours open a week
2,700
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Spokane County Library District branch.

New in Fairfield? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.37 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fairfield cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
1
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$384
a year at retail prices · $32 a month

Who pays for it
$56 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $18M.

Local taxes 96%Federal 0%Gifts & other 4%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $42M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $18M 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 143,001 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Fairfield Library is one branch of Spokane County Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 312,530 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 Fairfield

Does Fairfield have a public library?

Yes: Fairfield Library, 305 E Main, is a branch of Spokane County Library District, which serves 312,530 people. The branch is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Spokane County Library District 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 Fairfield’s library?

It logged 2.4 visits and lent 9.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ 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.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.