Director outlines digital resources, Libby usage trends and plans for Spanish-language acquisitions

Library Director Corey Bridal gave a summary of the library's digital services and usage trends. She identified Libby as the library's largest digital expense and said circulation has shifted over the past five years from more ebook checkouts to proportionally more eaudiobook checkouts. Bridal said the library's physical-circulation figures and e-material checkouts are tracked separately and that recent annual figures approximate 30,000 physical items and about 6,000 electronic checkouts, though she said she would bring a fuller breakdown at the next board meeting. The director reviewed other digital services the library offers through the CCRLS consortium and vendors, including Kanopy for films and documentaries, Ancestry.com for genealogy research and Comics Plus. She described Kanopy's credit system (items consume a small number of credits and some items have a 48-hour viewing window) and noted that the library curates resources for school-aged users to give an alternative to open web searches. Bridal also described longstanding outreach programs: through the library foundation the library provides a free book to every kindergartner in the Newberg-Dundee School District, a program the director said has been in place for about 25 years and helps the library connect with classrooms. She said staff are exploring a grant to fund attendance at the Guadalajara Book Fair so library staff or a Spanish-speaking district representative can purchase Spanish-language materials directly from publishers; the board heard that Library staff member Bobby will attend Guadalajara if the grant is funded. Bridal said she would provide more granular usage statistics at the next meeting and that the library continues to monitor digital purchasing and hold lists to match acquisitions with patron demand.