How Much Does It Cost to Fax at the Library?

With an ocean of information available instantly through our desktops and smartphones, libraries may feel a little antiquated to some.

But they shouldn’t!

Libraries are incredible resources available to communities everywhere, and you should get all of the value and joy out of them that you can.

If you venture into any library, you will be pleased to see they are still appreciated by people everywhere, from all walks of life, in pretty big numbers. These last bastions of study and research are still a central part of the community, and long may they continue! 

Multiple Services

They remain popular not just because of the peaceful, studious atmosphere they provide, but also because of the wide range of additional services they offer. One of which is the ability to send and receive a traditional analog fax.

Despite the decline in popularity of traditional ‘analog’ fax machines (you might remember those big bulky contraptions that would take up a whole corner of the office), the need to send or receive faxes remains popular and essential for lots of very good reasons. 

The fact is, most people in a work or business environment need to send a faxed document either occasionally or regularly. For most people, sending a fax online has replaced traditional analog faxing. 

And with services such as our very own FaxBurner, you can send a free fax from your desktop or smartphone in mere seconds.

Using a Library Fax Machine

Downloading the FaxBurner app is easily the most straightforward, fastest, and cheapest way to send a fax online. But if, for some reason, you feel the library fax machine calling out to you – and you are compelled to tip-toe inside and very quietly pay to use the service – we figured a quick guide on how to fax from a library might be useful.

So that’s what we have for you: How much it costs to fax from the library the traditional way, and how to actually use the service. 

What Are the Charges?

It’s difficult to say with any accuracy because the charges seem to differ quite wildly from library to library. That said, we do have approximates for you. 

Now, we didn’t spend all day researching this (calling multiple libraries to ask about their faxing rates is not the most thrilling use of our time), but we did ring a few dozen libraries up and down the country to ask the question, “How much does it cost to fax at the library?”

In short, the cheapest we could find was 10 Cents per fax page, although the softly spoken assistant did stress, “Unless you are sending a fax with lots of images, then we might charge 15 Cents”. Good to know (if not a little unfair).

The most expensive we could find was an incredible $1 per fax page, of which (alarmingly) there were quite a few in that price range. That is an almost jaw-dropping amount to send a fax, especially if you are looking at multiple pages.

We would state the average price at somewhere in the region of 50 Cents per fax page. That seemed to be the most common price we were given, consistent with around half of the libraries we asked. 

However, that does not include the cost of actually getting to the library, sticking a few dollars into the parking meter, and paying for that overpriced, room-temperature coffee from the vending machine they have at the entrance. 

How To Fax From The Library?

As noted, libraries all employ old-style analog machines. While you can send a free fax online far more easily, these machines are not particularly difficult to use. 

Just place your document into the tray – multiple pages are fine – and punch in the recipient’s fax number. Hit ‘send,’ and wait while the machine does its screechy, beepy, whirly thing. It should only take a few minutes, usually. 

Then wait for a printed page showing confirmation (or failure) of the transmission, and don’t forget to take your papers out of the tray.

Why Use a Library to Send a Fax?

Most people have a smartphone or access to a computer these days, which means almost everyone is literally walking around with a virtual fax machine in their pocket.

However, sending a fax machine from a library used to be quite a handy service. Maybe one day, you’ll end up needing to do it, too!

What’s more, through our service, you can send up to five pages at no charge whatsoever. 

Simply download the FaxBurner app for iPhone (or visit FaxBurner on a desktop), upload an image of the document you want to send (or take a photo of it from your smartphone camera) and follow the on-screen instructions. 

It’s laughably simple, takes mere seconds to complete, and makes far more sense than visiting a library.

You can even have your own fax number, which lasts 24 hours. If you need a permanent number – or wish to send faxes more frequently – we have affordable plans available starting at just $12.95, allowing up to 500 inbound and outbound pages per month. With a free plan, you can send 5 pages (total), and receive 25 pages per month.

That works out to just over 2 Cents per fax, which is Infinitely cheaper than using the library and almost effortless, in comparison.

Wrap Up

So, can you fax at a library? Yes indeed. But let’s be honest – with a free fax service like FaxBurner right there at your fingertips, we have no idea why you would ever want to. Maybe you just like the peace and tranquility of a library. And who can blame you for that? A healthy dose of nostalgia never hurt anyone, after all. 

But if ‘fax machine nostalgia’ isn’t high on your list of priorities, and you want to save a whole heap of time and money, you really should give FaxBurner a try. 

And you can make as much noise as you like.