Yes, time does fly.
It’s fun to look back over the years and see how my daughter has changed and grown. Washington-Centerville Library does the same thing.
Every 10 years or so, the library takes the opportunity to reflect back on how things have changed and progressed and then issues a written ‘status’ report to local taxpayers in Centerville/Washington Twp.
Residents can expect this report in their mailboxes soon.
However, I thought I would give you sneak preview in this week’s column.
Evolution. That’s been the big theme during the past 10 years.
Back in 2001, the library didn’t offer blu-ray discs, videogames, or eBooks, but now those items make up some of our biggest growth areas.
In fact, checkout of non-print items has grown 20 percent during the past decade and overall checkouts have grown by 22 percent.
Conversely, items like books on tape and VHS movies are being eliminated from the collection to make more room for these newer formats.
Demand for online library service has grown as well.
In 2001, the library website had 130,000 visits annually.
Today that number is approaching a half million.
One may think that the online service has displaced personalized service, but that is not the case.
In fact, visits to the library in the past 10 years have increased by more than 30 percent!
While much of the library’s evolution has been to proactively meet the changing needs of patrons, some of it has been in response to economic conditions. Just 10 years ago, the library depended primarily on the state of Ohio to fund its operation.
A depressed economy and a series of cuts to public library funding have changed all that.
Today, local residents fund almost 60 percent of the library’s budget via a 10-year operating levy passed in 2002.
Without this local support, the library would not have been able to weather ongoing state cuts.
In addition, the library has had to look for ways to cut costs and collaborate to make operating money stretch even further.
Good financial stewardship has always been a library strength, but we’ve had to get even more creative in the areas of private fundraising and grant requests.
It’s been a decade of change, but one thing remains the same – top notch library collections and service and the pride citizens feel for their local library.
To view the complete 10 year report, visit www.wclibrary.info/.
Georgia Mergler is the community relations manager at the Washington-Centerville Public Library.
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