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Home My WebLink About2007-07-23 Correspondence /,US 74" Iowa Citr Susan Craig, Director . Information (319) 356-5200 · Business (319) 356-5206 · Fax (319) 356-5494 DATE: TO: July 20, 2007 FROM: RE: City Council Susan Craig ~~ Library Update It's been a great year at the Iowa City Public Library. Since the expanded building opened three years ago our ability to provide services has been greatly improved, and the community has responded well. One of the most ambitious things in the past year has been the expansion of library hours. We added two hours, 6:00 - 8:00 pm, on Fridays in May of 2006, and last September extended Sunday hours by one hour. Circulation and the number of people in the building on Friday are both up 16% for the year that ended June 30. Sunday circulation is up 17% . The added hours helped us set new records for both circulation, 1,378,558, and the number of people entering the building, 680,568 in FY07. We are the busiest public library building in the state. We also set a new record for the number of people registering for our three summer reading programs, 2,781 children, 299 teens, and 614 adults. We worked with two other City Departments, Iowa City Transit and Parks & Recreation, on a strategic plan goal to keep children who attend Title 1 schools reading in the summer time. The Library Bus runs on a special route three days a week from 1 0:00a.m. to 3:00p.m. and brings riders directly to the Library. Routes are designed to visit schools and neighborhoods where children may not have transportation to the Library. The fare is free for people who show their library cards. Through July 12, 883 riders had been counted, about 52 each day the service was available. The service continues through the first week in August. We worked with Parks & Recreation to establish a deposit collection of materials aimed toward youth and families out at Mercer Aquatic Center/Scanlon Gymnasium. The materials are available in the lobby for people to take, read, and bring back. We have had several very productive partnerships this year, working with the Englert Theatre, Prairie Lights Bookstore, and Hancher Auditorium to name just three, that have resulted in programs attended by hundreds of people. Attendance at childrens programs in FY07 was more than 30,000. We are collaborating with the public libraries of Coralville and North Liberty to provide an online "homework help" service through a company called Tutor.com. This program is being used very successfully in several Iowa communities and it is great that we can offer it to all students of the Iowa City Community School District by partnering with the other libraries. Another joint project has brought R.E.A.D. dogs to the library on Sunday afternoons this summer. These specially trained dogs enjoy having children read to them. The children enjoy it too! Internet access is a very important part of modern library service. There were almost 135,000 forty-five minute sessions booked on the public access computers this year, and an additional 46,000 uses of our wireless network. For many years, the Internet was an option to deliver resources that were also available in print form, now it is increasingly becoming the sole source of vast amounts of information, and it is often the preferred, and sometimes the only, means by which government, agencies, and companies communicate with their constituents. It is also a "social networking" opportunity and the source of music and video entertainment, especially for young adults. This summer we are offering special "Teen Tech" hours in our computer lab where teens can have extended time limits while they enjoy a more social atmosphere than is possible at the public internet stations. This has been very popular. The computer lab was used extensively this year. Classes have been taught on how to use the Internet and library databases, some of them offered in Spanish. The University of Iowa Department of Rhetoric had an ongoing Community Writing Center where people could get help with whatever they needed to write - from resumes to poetry. For the first time our VITA volunteers helped people file their income taxes online in the computer lab. And, a community volunteer has offered a variety of computer and software basic instructional courses. We also worked this year to promote our web site and all of the information available there. We added some "social networking" features of our own such as our first staff blog that highlights items in our collections, and the ability for people to add reviews about items in the collection and receive RSS feeds. Online database usage increased by 40% the first month of the online promotion. If you have not used the Library's web site lately I urge you to look at it. The building is a great resource. We have counted almost two million people through the entrance gates in three years, and at that pace some furnishings are beginning to show wear and tear. But, overall, things are in good shape. We repainted some walls this year, and added some software to the HVAC controls. We also remodeled a space on the second floor for the Foundation's used book store, The Book End. They opened the first week in July and the volunteers and customers are enjoying it very much. PRIUT~ !'1y Card: Ask A Lih'.,tu-lt1IfJ : edt-dlu'J : Calendar: Sen.-eh ~ I<">,"Vc.l. <--::it.y .,.)..rs & L(Jl(dt.I()r.: Abol.Jt: ICPL -. ~Public J.jbrary Proyrd.us Services Inforlltot:ion COlnl"unlt:y ~-Kids.~ - _ Le..~III Office So~..-..e Free classes in vvordl Excell and Po.....erPoint:. _ Ne"", eAudlG Service eAudio ~ith overdrive begins in lat:e August:. _ VV.he A Revle_ Share your vie.....s of a recent: read. _ DGn..-.te BGGks Moving? Cleaning House? Give books to The Book End _ Need ..-. GG6.... BGok? NextReads booklist:s by ICPL librarians can help. 11,---===:--.-.::. =r ..l ItE -c.- . - I . ~:"'.~r Donate your time or a charitable ~ ~ift: to help t:he .~_..--i library today I help the libr.ary 0 I Online You Can: Pay a 'fIne m m C!l 1"0 Search the Ca~alog Use 'I~ G..Ii..e c..-.t..-.IGg to. .......1 .I.e .....-.1'08'. I..-.Is YG" need My Library Card Account LGtJiI.. ,OI.OVW he'I's. I~...~ce 1,0014Is. I~..~.j"o.. ..-.".. ".0..09 Ask a Librarian Get '.0011>> .0.1 thGse 1,..-...1 to. ..~..svwe. ."'6stIG"s Book a Meeting RoolT1 Rese~..~ 'GG.n .00' yo,... .oe..-.. GIu..-..liz..-..iGn 001 OY'ent ::I:.'-'-;..I'I~,:,,,,',r....I..r: C ~~~~~ns~g::~~Y :t:::i';oround near you. [more] C ~~~~~t-:~o~~~J'onit:ive psychology. [more] e ~~~~eki~-; 't'h':~~:':3t~Obe in the ne'-"Vs. rmorel ~ - 5:30p.......... - 9:00p.lTII. Responsible Ret:ailers Forum [full eveont info] 6:00p.......... - O:OOp.......... ReEnergize la_a March: Informational Meeting [full event: inf'o] CUrrent Dlsp13YS: Mu................". M"._~_.-i__ .3un 1 - .Jul 31 [full displ~y inFo] -- . ~ vie..... aI' pT"'CJgra'-",s- 0 See and commeni;O. on St:aff picks of great items in our collect:ion. - - ~_t I"'t9c.dlT>>~ 0 ~.,-t . ; 11"w:s=- t-Iolueo: About: ICPL. Library flou.-..: '\^J'ork 6t: t:h~ Library: Cit:y of" lo"..td cit.y' Cont..--.ct: Us I ~-~'-"''''-'''-I Cop.......-i.gh-t: ~ 2007~ Io..... CI"-.... Public: Llb...-.....-..... All RiO....",. R......-.....d. Il~-.:--;~- -I ,..-....~] lI!!:DI ~,.oil~.