Middletown Library reports rising Brookhaven usage, new AV room and community programs

Derek Boyer, representing the Middletown Library, briefed council on library services, volunteer programs and new facilities and said Brookhaven residents’ use of county libraries increased in 2024.

Boyer told the council the library — a nonprofit in Delaware County — completed an audiovisual room available for free up to four hours per day and launched upgraded in-library laptops with paid software including Adobe Suite, Canva Pro and ChatGPT Plus for patrons to use onsite. The library also completed Mark’s Park playground in November and reported a robust teen volunteer program that logged more than 1,100 volunteer hours in 2024.

Boyer said countywide physical circulation of items was down about 2 percent but that Brookhaven residents bucked that trend: a 6 percent countywide increase in Brookhaven resident checkouts and a 12 percent increase in items checked out by Brookhaven residents specifically from Middletown Library. He noted that the library does not require board members to be Middletown residents and invited interested council members and residents to apply for a board or advisory position after the recent passing of longtime board member Pat Finnegan.

Boyer also described Middlesex Library programs that have come to Brookhaven — Books on Blankets and musical programs — and said the library will provide magazines summarizing its programs, digital resources (Libby, Hoopla, Kanopy) and free services such as Wi-Fi hotspots and laptop loans.

Ending

Council thanked Boyer for the update and Boyer said the library will follow up with materials and welcomes collaboration on community programming.