What it Would Cost You....

I have finished up my statistics for this past fiscal year and will include some in this column. Circulation actually means an item that is checked out by a person and it is our measure of materials used. From July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002, these are some of our circulation figures.

There were 13,899 adult books that were checked out during this time period. Paperbacks were 1,610 of this figure. If people went out and bought 12,289 hardcover books at an average of $25 per book, the total cost of all these books would be $307,225. If you add the 1,610 paperbacks at an average of $5 per book, the total cost of these would be $8,050 with a grand total of $315,275.

The children's book circulation was 12,908 with 3,644 of this number representing paperback books. If the average price for a hardcover children's book is $15, then it would cost you $138,960 for the 9,264 books. Add to that the 3,644 paperback books at an average cost of $5 for a total of $18,220. The grand total to go out and buy these children's books would be $157,180. So the library customers could have spent almost $500,000 to buy the books that were checked out this past year. Add to that the 2,075 audio books, tapes, and CD's, 1,089 movies, 2,204 magazines and 862 other items that were checked out and I'm sure we would be close to the million dollar mark.

Our eight public use computers were used 2,718 times with the library paying the Internet Service Provider each month so that the library customer could have access to the World Wide Web at no charge. Overall, our circulation was up 16 percent from last year.

It is interesting to look at these figures and see how the community uses the library. We continue to look at our services and change to meet our users needs and welcome suggestions. All you have to do is come in and get your free library card....