See the full Annual Report Here!
Looking back on the past year has shown an amazing number of changes inside our library spaces! After learning that patrons want something different from libraries than they may have previously, we were excited to be able to adapt our spaces to meet those new needs. Not only behind the scene projects occurred to use our staff spaces smarter and accommodate new positions, but all of our physical buildings saw change.
The May Memorial Library has an additional meeting room for use, two new small study rooms, and an abundance of study areas and comfortable seating options for those who need to have a place to work privately on our Wi-Fi. The teen section rearranged the collection and computers to create a new seating area that provides a safe place for teens to hang out. And the Children’s department created multiple spaces for kids and families to engage with activities and socialize.
The Graham Library moved almost every piece of furniture in the library to create a children’s area that’s safer for children, further from the entrance to help reduce the noise level but also prevent the youngsters from making a run for the automatic doors. The new adult space has an abundance of new tables and chairs as well as two new single booths and two private study booths, which is a first for Graham. There’s also now a teen section with colorful, comfortable seating and tables.
The Mebane Library rearranged and added engagement opportunities to their children’s space creating separate areas for young children and elementary children and was also able to add a teen space to the second floor as well. The adult section on the second floor saw quite a few improvements, including sound reducing paneling in the existing meeting rooms, adding two additional meeting rooms, new tables for personal study areas, and additional comfortable seating throughout.
The North Park Library also saw an abundance of change with the addition of the Discovery Lab, a makerspace filled with multiple hands-on opportunities including sewing, tools, 3D printers, coding devices, and more!
With all of these changes we still served 299,200 visitors and checked-out 468,820 items. Our offered programs and attendance with 1,650 programs that brought in 46,111 attendees, which is a 25% increase from fiscal year 2022-2023. Creating more welcoming space also resulted in a large increase in our computer and Wi-Fi usage with 88,781 uses in FY 23-24 compare to 68,804 in FY 22-23. Almost all of that increase was in the Wi-Fi use which saw a 61% increase.
We welcome feedback from our patrons and are grateful to have received special funding which made implementing change possible. Offering opportunities for the community to live a larger life and nurture their heart and mind is our priority!