When we look at the numbers, we know they only tell part of the story; we can’t count the joys and connections at the Library this year, but we can count how the Library was used. So are some of these numbers from you? Share your Library story with us!
By The Books
How Many Books Were Checked Out?
From our Main Branch and our Codrington Branch, we clocked over 57,000 checkouts. That includes books but also things like magazines, Lego kits, AudioBooks and parks passes. That’s a lot of reading, playing and enjoying new experiences! We don’t have self-serve checkouts in our branches, so these numbers also represent a lot of chats at the check-out desk and hearing about what our community is reading and enjoying. More than checkouts, these are opportunities to check in with each other.
Does that Include InterLibrary Loan?
Yes, it does! Public libraries across Ontario work together to share our books, DVDs and audiobooks through the InterLibrary Loan system. That means that even if Thunder Bay is the only public library with a large-print edition of that book you love, you can still ask for it to be sent to Brighton. We brought nearly 1000 items to Brighton this year, giving people access to all kinds of unique titles that we would not be able to house in our branches. And, we returned the favour by sending out about the same number of items across the province. Libraries love sharing!
But What About eBooks?
That doesn’t include Libby! We use Libby to give our community access to eBooks, AudioBooks and digital magazines. The collection in Libby is something we share with a large group of libraries across Ontario, giving us all access to far more titles than we would otherwise be able to afford – it’s another way Ontario public libraries cooperate to give our communities more! Brighton members checked out over 25,000 items through Libby in the past year, bringing our total number of checkouts to over 83,000! How many of these were yours?
How Many New Items Did The Library Buy This Year?
We bring in new items every week, and this year we saw about 40 items every week for a total of 2,023 new items! Sometimes we purchase items that our members request, but most of our purchasing is done by examining what authors, genres and topics are popular with our members, keeping up to date on best sellers and award winners, and keeping in touch with needs in the community. We also rent extra copies of books that we think are going to be really popular, and these go on our Lucky Day shelf. When their popularity dies down, we send them back to their publisher and save our permanent shelf space – we need that real estate when we’re adding thousands of items to the collection!
By Events & Programs
How Many People Came to Programs and Events at the Library?
Every program and event at the Library is free, and you don’t need a Library card to join in! We run seven different ongoing programs, serving babies through centenarians with hands-on and community-building activities. We also run several special events every month, ranging from local history presentations to arts activities – so we see a lot of people through our Program Room! In the past year, we saw nearly 5,000 attendees at our programs and events, covering a wide range of ages and interests. What was your favourite event this year?
How Do People Know About What’s Happening at the Library?
Since January of 2020 we’ve been sending out a monthly newsletter with all our events, programs and library news so our community can keep in touch. When we look at the data, we know that our newsletter is the most reliable and most-used way for people stay up to date! We continue to add more subscribers every week, and now send that newsletter to over 800 inboxes every month. If you’re not already subscribed, jump on the list!