Carmel Clay Public Library reports record visitation, expands digital and makerspace services
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Summary
Library director and board appointee told council that 2024 brought record visits, increased circulation, expanded digital media lab use and outreach; work on West Branch improvements and solar noted.
The Carmel Clay Public Library reported record visitation and expanded use of digital and makerspace services during an annual presentation to the Carmel Common Council on Feb. 17.
Bob Swinney, executive director of the Carmel Clay Public Library, told council members the library’s working budget is about $10 million, roughly 55% of which supports personnel and about 20% covers collection materials—figures he described as strong compared with typical library budgets. He said the library recorded about 2.1 million circulations in 2024 and a notable rise in digital checkouts through OverDrive (Libby), which grew about 24% year over year.
Swinney said meeting-room reservations, study-room use and the Digital Media Lab have surged since the main library opened. The Digital Media Lab drew high attendance for a recent 3-D printing expo and produced social-media content that reached millions of views. The library also reported about 9,000 new library cards in the most recent year—well above a long-term average of about 4,000–5,000 per year.
Swinney described several service highlights: a popular locker pickup system that operates 24/7, outreach programs including 63 off-site events and regular monthly homebound service for about 50 patrons, a gadget-lending collection that includes VHS-to-digital conversion kits, and a busy youth-services and teen studio program that supports portfolio work and community-service hours. He credited the library foundation—led by Liz Hamilton—for underwriting presenter fees and program costs.
Board appointee Hsiao Yuan introduced Swinney and emphasized that trustees focus on oversight and strategic direction rather than daily operations. Swinney said the library’s West Branch logged a record 52,000 visits in 2024 and that an improvement project is under way; the project team includes an owner’s representative from J.S. Held and aims to address building envelope, windows and HVAC work. He said the library is exploring bringing solar to the West Branch and that the main library’s 552-panel array is offsetting roughly 20–30% of power use.
Councilor Taylor asked about reciprocal borrowing across Hamilton County; Swinney said the county libraries have reciprocal borrowing in place for in-person services and room reservations, but digital collections remain limited to resident-card holders because of publisher agreements.
On programming, Swinney described the Digital Media Lab as a place for creation—3-D printing, podcast and video recording and Adobe Creative Cloud access—with staff available to assist users. He also highlighted teen services such as the teen studio residency and the Teen Library Council, which now includes about 100 teens and will provide a council representation opportunity.
Swinney noted the library’s interest in county participation in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program, which would mail age-appropriate books monthly to children from birth to age 5; Hamilton County had not enrolled in the program as of the presentation.
The presentation included budget and usage slides provided to council; no council action was required.
