Fairbanks North Star Borough Public Libraries
Fairbanks North Star Borough Public Libraries is a county public library system based in Fairbanks (Fairbanks North Star Borough), Alaska, serving a legal service area of 95,972 residents through two library buildings and one bookmobile. Among the 42 profiled systems in Alaska, it ranks second for population served, second for operating spending, second for public computers and second for print volumes, but ranks second-lowest for visits per resident.
Against the median system of its size class, it records only 43% of the program attendance per resident and 82% more operating spending per resident.
Fairbanks North Star Borough against the 559 systems of its size class
Fairbanks North Star Borough, building by building
The two buildings cover 93,410 square feet in total, 0.97 square feet per resident against a median of 0.62 for the size class. The largest building is Fairbanks North Star Public Library at 75,000 square feet; the smallest is North Pole Branch Library at 18,410. The longest hours are at North Pole Branch Library, 49.3 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairbanks North Star Public Library | Central library | Fairbanks | 36.9 | 75,000 |
| North Pole Branch Library | Branch | North Pole | 49.3 | 18,410 |
| Bookmobile | Bookmobile | Fairbanks | 33.2 |
Fairbanks North Star Borough in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 134,261
- Physical checkouts
- 235,101
- …of children's materials
- 140,935
- Electronic checkouts
- 163,422
- …of e-books
- 53,991
- …of e-audio
- 79,298
- Registered users
- 33,932
- Program sessions
- 460
- Program attendance
- 11,804
- Print volumes
- 273,772
- Audio items (physical)
- 22,825
- Video items (physical)
- 38,835
- Public computers
- 50
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 5,842
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 49.0
- Operating spending
- $6.4 million
- …on books and other materials
- $703,598
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Fairbanks North Star Borough gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $6.4 million, or $67.09 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 42 profiled systems in Alaska.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Fairbanks North Star Borough since FY 2019
Visits were 63% below the FY 2019 count of 367,512 (size-class median: −29%). Physical checkouts moved 60% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Fairbanks North Star Borough programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 70% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 26 people each.
County libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, five record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Calvert Library in Maryland.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conyers-Rockdale Library System | Conyers, GA | 96,730 | 0.62 | 1.20 | $19.31 |
| Flathead County Library Kalispell | Kalispell, MT | 96,606 | 2.32 | 3.82 | $25.86 |
| Roanoke County Public Library | Roanoke, VA | 96,546 | 3.49 | 7.85 | $50.83 |
| Lancaster County Library System | Lancaster, SC | 96,016 | 1.72 | 2.18 | $13.41 |
| Lafourche Parish Public Library | Thibodaux, LA | 95,342 | 4.47 | 4.17 | $58.06 |
| Calvert Library | Prince Frederick, MD | 93,928 | 3.72 | 7.98 | $82.10 |
Nearest in size within Alaska
- Wasilla Public Library · Wasilla · 51,796 residents
- Anchorage Public Library · Anchorage · 289,653 residents
- Juneau Public Libraries · Juneau · 31,549 residents
- Palmer Public Library · Palmer · 26,978 residents