Fayetteville Public Library — Attraction in Fayetteville

The Fayetteville public library continues to be one of the best places in NW Arkansas. Access to thousands of books, DVDs, Ebooks and E-Audiobooks lead the way. Meeting rooms, study rooms, and a wide variety of other resources keep it relevant.

In November, the newly built extension is going to make it even more useful with a top of the line teaching kitchen, full theater stage, art/movement room for dance, yoga, and art classes, a tool lending library, audio recording, video recording, and the list goes on. It's going to be the premiere destination spot in the city for free access to a world of information and entertainment.

It's gonna' rock. Seriously. Check it out.

Update: So, obviously the expansion is done and FPL has once more proven itself to be a world class library... Right here in little 'ol Fayetteville.

Children's areas (preschool level 1R, grade school on level 2R, designated Teen area also on level 2R) have been expanded by about twice their previous size. The new 641 Deli (located on level 1R) serves sandwiches, salads, and delicious snacks and features beans, rice and veggies for only $1 dollar per cup and only $3 dollars for a huge bowl. Definitely worth checking out. The new Center For Innovation is the tech hub and features driving and flying simulators, virtual reality, a battalion of 3d printers, laser engraving, a photography studio, video recording studio, and sound recording studio as well as a podcast booth and professional level editing software. The Event Center features a full stage and comfortably seats around 700 people. I could go on but you really have to visit the place to fully grasp it. It's genuinely kind of amazing.

You can check out their website at faylib. org and scroll through the list of programs that they run. The variety is wide and quality is a certainty. Educational and entertaining.

Best of all... Amazing staff to help you with all your questions and... Yep, it's free. Taxes you're already paying keep libraries open. Donations are VERY helpful, though. If you've got a couple extra bucks and you have a bit to give, every dollar helps libraries do what they do.

Libraries are amazing. Support your local library. They...

For locals: The Fayetteville Public Library is an award-winning, state-of-the-art facility with incredible programming! If you're not on the monthly email list, look at the website and fill out the request so you are on top of monthly happenings. There are emails specific to your area of interest: teen, children, adult, etc. You can also look at the calendar of events on the website, and scroll ahead to the next month to register for events that fill up quickly. I believe there are four different areas of the library used for rotating art displays, which have been incredible. For folks visiting the NWA area: When we're traveling, we often will go hole up in a local coffee shop for an hour or two to check email or do some work. If you're looking for a place like that, the FPL is perfect! Free wifi, an expansive deli space with affordable food and drink, and a beautiful space that is sure to provide relaxation and inspiration. You might also be in town just in time to take advantage of a free Sunday afternoon Mountain Stage concert in the event center. Park in the garage or parking lot, enjoy the library, and then take a short stroll through the nearby Ramble hike/bike trail. It has beautiful water features and design, along with some specially scheduled events. The annual summer reading club kick off is a huge event full of family fun, and the FPL routinely hosts top-ten authors for visits and talks. Cooking classes, simulators on which to learn how to drive a car, operate an excavator, a forklift; audio and digital recording equipment, photo space to use for commercial, hobby, or entrepreneurial purposes, a maker space with laser printers, books, and many things...

I waited a long time to post this review, as I was hoping against hope that things would improve with the expansion. Sadly, my suspicions were confirmed. The remodel of the library is terrible. There is a complete lack of interior "warmth" to the entire space; it feels more like a prison or a poorly-designed high school inside. As another reviewer mentioned, they seemed to add more space for...space. Holdings have DECREASED, shockingly, and the layout of the holdings that have remained is burdensome to navigate, counterintuitive, and just plain confusing. The website is even more of an embarrassment. For something that has been "in the works" for almost FOUR YEARS, the number of missing and broken links, outdated information, poor design and accessibility issues, and essentially the awful user experience in its entirety, is an example of what happens when all your resources are spent on a building instead of on PEOPLE...which brings me to my last point. The amount of money the people who work in the library make is a joke. The Library Pages, most of whom hold Master's degrees in library science, make... wait for it... $11 an hour. No benefits, no nothing. This is ludicrous when one considers the millions and millions of dollars spent to expand the library. Suffice to say, it does not surprise me that all of the services the library offers (those that require people) have suffered. (I gave the library an additional star because the people that work there are clearly engaged in a labor of love. They're certainly not in it to support themselves.) For the "world-class" library that could've been, The Fayetteville Public Library falls far short. And that is a...