Grand Island Public Library, (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND — The year-long period from Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2023, was a busy one, according to Celene Swan, director of the Grand Island Public Library.
She gave a presentation about the report at the Feb. 27 City Council meeting.
“This year the library went fine-free as of Oct. 1, 2022, held our first Naturalization Ceremony and Mexican Consulate Clinic, partnered with others in the city for the Welcoming Initiative and provided activities such as a multilingual storytime here in four languages. These achievements were the result of a year of collaboration and partnerships,” Swan wrote.
Some statistics about the 2022-2023 year. The library:
- *Has 140,997 books, of which 96,030 are print and 44,967 are digital.
- *Has 50,088 audios, of which 45,657 are digital and 4,731 are physical.
- *Has 12,539 videos, of which 10,502 are physical and 2,037 are physical.
- *Had 116,946 visitors.
- *Had 1,357 meeting room reservations.
- *Has 35,454 registered borrowers.
- *Had 23,697 computer sessions.
- *Had 15,290 people attend programs.
- *Had 532 Makerspace users.
- *Saw patrons save $6,344,157 by using library services.
- *Had a $2,157,631 budget, of which 94.8 percent was spent.
“The library is not just a place with books. It is a community center that also offers pub lic services, programs, and technology; we want everyone to feel welcome,” Swan wrote.
The library partnered with the Hall County Historical Society, Convention and Visitors Bureau, and others to celebrate Grand Island’s 150th sesquicentennial and also with them for the Humanities Nebraska Chautauqua that too place at the library and at Stuhr Museum.
“Children’s programs such as story times, Bear Fair, school breaks, school outreach, Railside Christmas, 4th Street Festival outreach, Breakfast with Santa, and summer reading programs have all grown in number of participants,” Swan wrote.
“Twenty years ago, we had a bookmobile with routes around Grand Island and Hall County. It served a lot of people, many of whom could not make it to the library. We must once again find ways to serve our patrons that can’t make it to the library,” the library director wrote.
Over the years, the library has adapted to many changes in technology.
“Twenty years ago, we had ten public computers, and no Hoopla, Libby-Overdrive, or Wi-Fi. Not everyone was on a cell phone or device. In the past two decades, the library has kept up to date with technology, offering a great catalog, self-checkout machines that display four languages, hardware/software, a new kiosk, copier, and online resources,” Swan wrote.
