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Fairchild Public Library

Fairchild’s library lends 5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size

Fairchild Public Library serves 902 people in and around Fairchild. Last year it lent 5,385 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,457 visits.

208 Huron St., Fairchild 54741 · about 25 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
5,385
6 per resident
Visits a year
2,457
2.7 per resident · Below typical (3.5)
Programs & events
37
about 1 a week · 272 attended
Cardholders
24%
220 cards
Open
25 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Fairchild Public Library

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

Civic life grade

What’s behind Fairchild’s civic life grade

Fairchild isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Fairchild’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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.7 visits · typical 3.5Lower than 62%
Borrowing per resident 5 print items · typical 3.9Higher than 62%
Digital borrowing 1 e-items · typical 1Higher than 51%
Kids’ borrowing 2 kids’ items · typical 1.4Higher than 64%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.7Lower than 72%
Programs offered 41 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Lower than 62%
Cardholders 24% of residents · typical 54%Lower than 84%
Spending $50 per resident · typical $54Lower than 54%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Fairchild Public Library serves 902 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Fairchild Public Library system. The library’s own count.

2,457
visits
2.7 per resident
5,385
loans, print + digital
6 per resident
37
programs & events
272 attended
220
library cards
24% of people served
Every open hour4items borrowed
Every week5people at a program
Every day14Wi-Fi sessions
1 staff (full-time equivalent)6 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

5,385 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

5,385loans
Books & media (adults) 49%Kids’ books & media 34%E-books, audio & streaming 17%
From your couch

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

Kids & programs

37 programs a year

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

Schools in Fairchild →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–520
Ages 6–110
Teens5
Adults12
All ages0
Little ones
0.4

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

1,831
kids’ books & media borrowed
272
people at programs
37
programs
The building

Find it

Fairchild Public Library, 208 Huron St., Fairchild.

25
hours open a week
1,894
square feet
With a card

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

New in Fairchild? 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 $2.17 worth

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

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
2
Your card saves you about
$420
a year at retail prices · $35 a month

Who pays for it
$50 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $46K.

Local taxes 76%Gifts & other 24%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $99K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $46K 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 220 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. Fairchild Public Library serves 902 people in and around Fairchild, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Fairchild.

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 Fairchild

Does Fairchild have a public library?

Yes. Fairchild Public Library, 208 Huron St., serves 902 people in and around Fairchild (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Fairchild 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 Fairchild’s library?

It logged 2.7 visits and lent 6.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Fairchild’s civic life grade?

Fairchild 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 Fairchild.

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.