Fa molt temps que vull anar a la biblioteca.

Yes, fa is the 3rd person singular of fer (to do / to make), but in time expressions Catalan uses fa in a special way.

Fa + time expression means ago or, with que, for/since depending on the sentence.

In Fa molt temps que vull anar a la biblioteca, the structure means:

• I have wanted to go to the library for a long time
• literally something like It makes a long time that I want to go to the library

This use is very common in Catalan:

• Fa dos anys que visc aquí. = I’ve lived here for two years.
• Fa molt que no el veig. = I haven’t seen him for a long time.

Fa molt temps que is a very common expression meaning:

• for a long time
• it’s been a long time that...
• sometimes close to for ages

So in this sentence:

• Fa molt temps que vull anar a la biblioteca
  = I’ve wanted to go to the library for a long time

Breakdown:

• fa = marks elapsed duration
• molt temps = a lot of time / a long time
• que = links that duration to the following clause

Because Catalan often uses the present tense after fa...que where English prefers the present perfect.

So Catalan says:

• Fa molt temps que vull...
  literally: For a long time that I want...

But natural English is:

• I have wanted... for a long time

This is a very important pattern:

• Fa tres mesos que treballo aquí.
  = I’ve been working here for three months.

Catalan keeps the verb in the present if the situation is still true now.

Usually not in this structure if the wanting is still true now.

• Fa molt temps que vull anar a la biblioteca means the desire started in the past and continues into the present.
• He volgut is the present perfect of voler, but it would not normally be the natural choice here.

With fa...que, Catalan normally uses:

• present for something still continuing now
• imperfect for something that continued in the past

For example:

• Fa molt temps que vull anar-hi. = I’ve wanted to go there for a long time.
• Feia molt temps que volia anar-hi. = I had wanted to go there for a long time / I’d been wanting to go there for a long time.

Because anar normally takes the preposition a when you say where someone is going.

So:

• anar a casa = to go home
• anar a Barcelona = to go to Barcelona
• anar a la biblioteca = to go to the library

This is very similar to Spanish ir a.

In your sentence:

• anar = to go
• a la biblioteca = to the library

Catalan normally uses the definite article in many cases where English also does:

• la biblioteca = the library

So:

• anar a la biblioteca = to go to the library

The article agrees with the noun:

• biblioteca is feminine singular
• so the article is la

Examples:

• el banc = the bank
• la universitat = the university
• la platja = the beach

In this sentence, molt temps means a long time.

Both molt temps and molt de temps can be heard, but fa molt temps is the standard fixed expression here and is extremely common.

So learners should remember:

• Fa molt temps que... = For a long time... / It’s been a long time that...

Examples:

• Fa molt temps que l’espero. = I’ve been waiting for him for a long time.
• Fa molt temps que no plou. = It hasn’t rained for a long time.

Here que connects the time expression to the clause that follows.

Structure:

• Fa molt temps que + clause

So:

• Fa molt temps = for a long time / it’s been a long time
• que vull anar a la biblioteca = that I want to go to the library

You do not translate que word-for-word in natural English every time. It is part of the whole Catalan pattern.

Think of fa...que as one chunk:

• Fa dos dies que...
• Fa una setmana que...
• Fa molt temps que...

Yes. A common alternative is with des de fa.

For example:

• Vull anar a la biblioteca des de fa molt temps.

This also means:

• I’ve wanted to go to the library for a long time.

Difference:

• Fa molt temps que vull anar a la biblioteca is a very common fronted time structure.
• Vull anar a la biblioteca des de fa molt temps puts the main clause first.

Both are natural, but the original sentence is especially typical Catalan.

Then Catalan would usually shift away from the present and use a past form.

For example:

• Feia molt temps que volia anar a la biblioteca.
  = I had wanted to go to the library for a long time.
  or I’d been wanting to go to the library for a long time.

Compare:

• Fa molt temps que vull anar a la biblioteca.
  The wanting is still true now.
• Feia molt temps que volia anar a la biblioteca.
  The wanting belonged to a past situation.

So:

• fa + present = still true now
• feia + imperfect = true over a period in the past

Vull is pronounced roughly like bool, but with a Catalan v/b sound, which in most dialects sounds like b.

A simple learner-friendly approximation:

• vull ≈ bool

The ll here does not sound like English l-l. In modern Catalan pronunciation, it is usually a palatal sound similar to the lli sound in some versions of million, though the exact pronunciation depends on the dialect.

So the sentence begins approximately:

• Fa molt temps que bool aná a la biblioteca

That said, pronunciation varies by region, especially between Central Catalan and Valencian varieties.

Yes, very often.

For example:

• Fa molt temps que no vaig a la biblioteca.
  = I haven’t gone to the library for a long time.
• Fa molt temps que no el veig.
  = I haven’t seen him for a long time.

This is one of the most useful Catalan time patterns, both in positive and negative sentences.

So it is worth learning as a full structure:

• Fa + time + que + present/imperfect clause