Here are some numbers from the Chapel Hill Public Library.
The number of visits to the library, 394,147, was down just slightly in 2007-08, from about 1,087 per day to about 1,080 per day.
But the number of books and other items being checked out per visit was up.
Circulation was up 3.6 percent in 2007-8.
That's about twice the
growth rate of recent years, says director Kathleeen Thompson.
Children's circulation was up 5.8 percent.
Total circulation was 911,084. "That's huge," says Thompson.
Reserves -- the library recently eliminated its reservation fee -- were also up, 12.9 percent.
You may remember Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy asked for -- but did not get -- any more money from the county in this year's budget process.
About 40 percent of library users live outside Chapel Hill, and the county's funding has remained frozen at $250,000 for several years.
As for the coming expansion, look for it sometime in the spring of 2009. The library is going to more than double in size, from 27,000 to 68,000 square feet.
Comments
Library in Carrboro
Tue, 08/05/2008 - 12:48 — Anonymous (not verified)Its likely that many of the "40 percent of library users living outside Chapel Hill" live right down the road in Carrboro, a town without a freestanding library of its own.
For nearly 15 years, The Friends of the Carrboro Branch Library, a dedicated group of community-minded citizens, including my mother, has expended its own money, personal time and resources to open and operate a small library located in McDougle Middle School with limited hours of operation that cannot sustain a town of at least 20,000.
http://carrborocommons.org/2008/02/14/carrboro-wants-freestanding-library/
For years, I have observed local leaders pass the buck on this issue and investing in this project. What a shame that the idea of a freestanding library isn't a priority for a town that claims to be so "forward thinking" and "progressive".