Library director reports 2024 usage gains and explains unique income-tax funding

Cody Flood and Jeanne Roberts presented Hancock Public Library’s 2024 annual highlights to the school board, reporting higher card signups, strong summer reading participation and a funding structure driven primarily by local income tax.

Flood said the library issued more than 3,000 new library cards in 2024 (a 9% increase) and saw a 68% rise in renewals in an election year, noting more than 8,000 renewals. Door counts totaled roughly 490,000 visitors and circulation remained high; the library ranked 12th in the state for overall circulation, Flood said. Summer reading had more than 3,800 participants and about 7.5 million minutes read.

Flood explained the library’s funding differs from other libraries in the state: Hancock County’s library receives local income-tax revenue from a consolidated pool (local income tax) rather than the typical local property-tax funding model. He said the ceded fund established in 1999 and income-tax arrangement aim to provide countywide library service, and that property-tax backup would fund the library if income-tax funds were ever unavailable.

Flood also described partnerships with schools: since February 2018, the library has issued digital-only access cards to students at all four county schools; more than 2,700 students who received digital cards later signed up for physical cards and checked out more than 13,000 items. The library reported adding resources such as newspapers.com, new self-check machines, a replaced sorter and HVAC equipment work; upcoming projects include paving and a website redesign slated for later in the year.

Board members thanked Flood and Roberts for the presentation. No board action was required; the report was informational.