Every January, libraries across the state participate in an annual tradition known as the ‘Annual Report.’ It’s a thorough 16-part document filled with hundreds of questions about every aspect of our facilities, covering everything from funding to attendance, and literally everything in between. Though tedious and a bit out-of-date by the time of reporting (our fiscal year ends May 31), it is a helpful tool to examine quantitative data and see where we stand compared to previous years.

To sum up, I put a bunch of numbers in a bunch of spaces, and now I get to give those numbers context and share them with you. What fun!

I recognize that not everyone loves to look at a spreadsheet. Luckily, I know how to convert the data into charts! From building these and looking at them closely, they all share a common shape and thread. Well, except this one, which I’ll get out of the way first: Electronic Material Circulation, or Libby usage!

Over the last few years, eBook and eAudiobook checkouts through Libby (formerly Overdrive) have grown significantly. Ease of access coupled with an increase of funding system-wide bring in more titles and lessen wait time. Hopefully, advocacy efforts across the State (like this one) result in lower prices with more reasonable terms from publishers so that this service will continue to grow. Note: The spike in usage at 2021 is a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. In almost all the other charts, this hill becomes a valley.

Above represents the total number of books, DVDs, ice skates, American Girl Dolls, magazines, museum passes, and all the traditional material we check out of the building. In the years before Covid, there was a steady increase in usage overall year-to-year, and it’s taken us longer to return to that trend than other measurable outcomes. Our collection is constantly changing and shifting, and we’ve just integrated an online mapping system for every item in our collection that will make searching for our items more efficient and fun!Above is the total number of programs offered every year. This chart, and the Program attendance chart that follows, illustrate the effect of Covid more than any other statistic. But they also show a quicker response and gradual improvement since then. Despite having a number of different Program Coordinators (about one per year), you all are coming out in droves to storytime, yoga, run club, writing club, book club, trivia nights, and so much more!Below is an accounting of all the public computer terminals throughout the building. It’s official: no one liked using computers during the pandemic. And no one liked using them when we covered them with plastic wrap or sprayed them down, either. Once we lifted Covid protocols, usage grew over time. We’re not quite to pre-pandemic numbers, but lately it seems more kids are using the computers after school than ever before, to the point where we’re putting in more new workstations every year. Finally, one of the more optimistic numbers I saw from all the data collection is the number of new library card holders issued every year. Not only is it the only data point (aside from electronic resources) higher than pre-Covid levels, but it shows significant growth overall. This is an indicator that the other numbers will continue to grow, and that the word is out - you all like the library!

Of course these few charts are a sample of the full report, but they show that we’re improving our commitment to our community in a number of measurable ways. For those of you that are interested to see the financial side of things, that’s going to have to wait until next month!

Thank you for reading and using the Library.