It’s that time of year when libraries compile their annual statistics. We thought you would enjoy seeing some numbers of what happened at the library in 2012.
Total Books and Magazines, 68,289
Electronic Materials, 915
Other Materials, 4,129
Grand Total Holdings, 73,333
Magazine Subscriptions, 105
Items Added to the Collection, 3,881
Borrowed from other libraries, 13,556
Loaned to other libraries, 7,386
Grand Total Circulation, 168,597
Reference Questions, 2,396
Internet Users, 11,691
Annual Visits to Library Website, 62,584
Public meetings, 81
Library sponsored programs: Adult, 74 with attendance of 429; Children’s programs, 425 with attendance of 4,801
Library Card Holders, 9,217
2012 Budget, $663,663
We compile lots and lots of statistics for the state and federal government each year, and I always find it so interesting to see what the trends and changes are from year to year. Electronic books are steadily growing in popularity. Currently, all data entry is completed online, which saves hours and hours of work from the way we used to do it by manually typing everything. Completing the forms online even allows for the data to be automatically totaled. What a time-saver.
The program goes so far as to tell you if there are any errors. It’s rather interesting to have a one-sided conversation with the computer when it tells you there is a mistake, and you ask, “What do you mean there’s a mistake? Where?” The answers aren’t always obvious and the computer just doesn’t speak up with an answer. Sometimes the easiest way to deal with the problem is to get up and walk away for awhile. Although the program doesn’t fix itself when you’re away, it does help to look at it again with refreshed eyes. I much prefer having a computer at my disposal than having to add columns and columns of numbers manually as I had to do when I first became a librarian. Those were the days.
WINTER READING
German mystery author Nele Neuhaus has millions of books in print worldwide. Her first book to be published in the U.S. is “Snow White Must Die.” The team of Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver von Bodenstein are called to a traffic accident. It appears that a woman has fallen from an overhead pedestrian bridge onto a passing car underneath. But a witness states she may have been pushed. The team travels to the victim’s home in another village, only to discover even another unsolved mystery case from a decade earlier. Could the two cases be related?
Travel back to the 1980s in Thomas Maltman’s “Little Wolves.” There is widespread drought in Minnesota causing difficult times for farmers. On top of that, a father must deal with a horrible crime that his sons committed. A former resident has returned to town for unknown reasons and when you combine all these and other happenings, you have a portrait of life in a small town and an interesting story.
“On My First Day” by Steve Jenkins shows what animals can do on the first day they are born. Some can’t do anything, so their mothers protect them, while others can swim, run, kick, climb and more. Children will enjoy learning about all the different animals and their abilities.
Library Hours: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday.
Marie Bruni is director of Huntington Memorial Library in Oneonta. Her column appears in the community section of The Daily Star every Thursday. Her columns can be found online at www.thedailystar.com/librarycorner.
