Library Board Meeting Date: April 10th, 2024
To: Library Board Members
From: Natalie Draper, Library Director
Title
Library Annual Report Data.
Body
Action Requested:
Information/Discussion only.
Summary Report:
Library circulation totals for 2022-2023 are attached for discussion. If you look at the numbers for print circulation (highlighted top portion) you will see that children’s print circulation has declined considerably while the other collections have not. Upon closer examination of the juvenile circulation statistics for 2023 we found that certain collections performed better or worse than others but still did not add up to the sharp decrease we see in the statistics. Staff are looking for the source of the reporting error or how we came to this number. We do see, however, that some collection codes in particular do show a marked decrease in checkouts: easy readers (decreased by 1,100), picture books (-694), juvenile nonfiction (-692), and young adult (-807). By contrast, juvenile graphic novels, young adult graphic novels, and board books were among the collection codes that saw an increase. Juvenile graphic novels increased by 700 checkouts.
Last month we were able to move the young adult collection to a more accessible location next to the teen space so we hope that we’ll see a trend upward. We’ve also just added more shelving in children’s and moved some collections closer together (juvenile graphics near the easy readers) and as mentioned in the strategic plan update, we have added a sizable collection of decodable readers to our e-library. The circulation data for electronic collections is not separated by age so it is harder to tell what portion of that collection activity is attributed to youth.
Items for discussion:
• Possible contributing factors
• Questions we should be asking about this data
Alternative Options:
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Financial Impacts:
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Tentative Timelines:
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