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Seaside Library reports growth in circulation, cards and programs in 2024
Summary
The Seaside Library director told the City Council the library added 922 new cards in 2024, recorded about 54,800 visitors and increased programming that drew nearly 5,000 event attendees; she outlined planned outreach and a community reading program for 2025.
The Seaside Library director presented the library’s 2024 annual report to the Seaside City Council, saying the library added 922 new library cards and recorded about 54,796 visitors last year.
The report, presented by the library director, said roughly 622 of the new cards were Seaside residents and described the library’s participation in the countywide Libraries Reading Outreach Clatsop (ROC) program that provides access to library services for youth in Clatsop County. “In 2024, we added 922 total new cards,” the director said.
The director told the council the library logged nearly 53,000 total checkouts during the year and spent about $35,000 on print materials, $11,000 on digital content, and $3,000 on newspapers and magazines. The report noted the children’s collection circulates at a higher rate than the adult collections and that the library’s technology services — free public computers limited to 90 minutes per day and unlimited Wi‑Fi — continue to be heavily used.
Library programming drew substantial attendance: the director reported about 234 events in 2024 with close to 5,000 attendees (an average of about 21 people per event). Popular offerings included weekly preschool story time, teen programs that draw 10–15 participants weekly, summer reading with 326 participants who logged 4,313 hours collectively, and special events such as story time with local firefighters.
The director outlined outreach partnerships with Sunset Empire Parks & Rec, local preschools and schools, the Seaside Library Friends and Foundation, Beach Books, area businesses and the Nehalem Clatsop Tribe. She also announced the library’s first “One Book, One Seaside” community read for April 2025 (the chosen title is James by Percival Everett) and said the library plans to expand Spanish-language holdings bought through a statewide effort.
Councilors asked about bilingual staff. The director said the library currently has no bilingual staff or regular bilingual volunteers and that the library relies heavily on Google Translate; she said expanding Spanish-language materials is a priority.
The director thanked the library’s staff and seven regular volunteers, who contributed nearly 1,000 hours in 2024. She closed by urging residents to use library services and promote upcoming programs.
