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Library director says Fort Atkinson residents checked out 162,000 items in 2024; library estimates $3 million in community savings
Summary
Library Director Lippert reported 162,000 checkouts in 2024, more than 400 programs and roughly 84,000 visits; staff said library use saved community members about $3 million compared with buying items individually.
Library Director Lippert told the Fort Atkinson City Council on Feb. 20 that the library recorded 162,000 checked-out items for 2024, and that the system estimated community savings of more than $3 million compared with purchasing those items.
Lippert said the library offered more than 400 programs across ages; the highest-attended program for children was the 4K art gala with 254 attendees and the highest-attended adult program was a presentation by David Ferrari. The library added more than 1,000 new cardholders in 2024 through a partnership with the school district that delivered more than 200 student cards. Lippert reported more than 84,000 library visits in 2024; the busiest day was April 17 with 611 visitors and 21 meeting-room bookings.
The library also recorded more than 40,000 digital checkouts, with roughly three-quarters through Libby/OverDrive. Lippert told the council that overall physical audio-visual circulation is declining as fewer households use DVD players.
Council members thanked Lippert for the report and asked questions about trends, the methodology for the “savings” calculation (Lippert said the system assigns a new-item retail price to each circulation to compute estimated savings) and program demand. Lippert said the 2024 numbers are “healthy” though checkouts declined modestly from the prior year.
Ending: Lippert invited council questions and said staff would continue to monitor program and circulation trends as formats shift toward digital content.
