A free library card is all Fair Lawn residents need to borrow (either in person or electronically) books, CDs, DVDs, and books on CD, and access newspapers and periodicals from any library in the Bergen County Cooperative Library System (BCCLS). The Fair Lawn library started as a 300-book, one-room private library attached to the office of Dr. Maurice M. Pine, a dentist, in February 1933. By 1934, the library moved to the second floor of the municipal building, and in 1942 it took up three rooms in the municipal building, but was still a private library. Fair Lawn voters passed a referendum for a public library in 1944, and after over 20 years in a small storefront on River Road, the library—which had over 47,000 books by 1960—finally opened in its current building on Fair Lawn Avenue in 1967.  With a 2010 budget cut of $376,812, the library is closed on Fridays until the end of this year. 

The Rosen Children's Room is the center for all children's activities at Fair Lawn's public library. Daily programs for grades K and up include Discovery Day, Craft Day, Super Stories, Movie Day, Book Bingo and Game Day. Programs for older kids, such as family computer training and teen book discussion groups, are also available.