How popular is the library?

More and more people are making use of the Butte County Library. Here are some figures library Director Derek Wolfgram noted in a recent essay.

During the past two years:

27 percent more items have circulated, despite the fact that funding for purchasing books has not changed;

25 percent more people have visited library branches;

35 percent more people have used library computers; and

53 percent more children and teens have come to library programs.

Here are the projected usage statistics for the current fiscal year, based on the period from July 1–Dec. 31, 2008:

942,576 Circulation

820,301 Visitors

34,605 Children’s and Teen Program attendents

121,888 Computer users

A community survey done in September 2008 by the consulting firm Godbe Research had the following results, among others:

93 percent expressed overall satisfaction with the library; and

97 percent expressed satisfaction with library staff.

Despite these high levels of satisfaction, respondents “expressed a strong desire for three particular improvements to library services: more books, more hours, and more computer time,” Wolfgram writes. “As funding is reduced, these are the exact elements of library service that will suffer most.”