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Library director reports 2024 usage growth; Friends of the Library fundraisers and new program funds highlighted
Summary
Library Director presented 2024 statistics showing increases in checkouts, visits and active cardholders; Friends of the Library reported fundraising and a designated memorial fund that will support programming; staff reviewed services including room reservations, LibCal/LibCast catalog features and interlibrary loan procedures.
The Liberty Lake Library reported year-end statistics and program updates at its Jan. 7 meeting, with Director Jandy summarizing usage increases, service expansions and fundraising activity that support programming.
Jandy reported total 2024 checkouts at 119,344, an increase of about 11,000 from 2023. The library’s collection was described as roughly 27,000 volumes. Door-count visits for 2024 were reported at 69,575, up nearly 7,000 from the prior year. The library listed 7,428 active library cardholders; staff said roughly three-quarters of those cardholders are Liberty Lake residents and one-quarter are nonresidents who use the library under a reciprocal agreement with Spokane County.
The board also heard operational details: meeting-room and study-room reservations were recorded 455 times in 2024. Staff noted the study room opened in September 2022 and is frequently used for telehealth appointments, study sessions and small business meetings. The library offers three laptop kits (each with a laptop and hotspot) and 10 hotspot kits that circulate within the regional consortium; staff said laptop kits and hotspots are among the top-circulating nonbook items.
Top checkout items for 2024 included puzzles and game kits, a Mobius Discovery Center family pass, laptop kits, Kristin Hannah’s The Women (noted as a top adult title), hotspot kits, and popular children’s graphic novels and chapter-book series (including books by Dav Pilkey and Jeff Kinney). Staff noted that some high-demand titles circulate as part of a regional consortium and multiple copies can reduce wait times.
The Friends of the Library reported it installed officers at its December meeting and increased its budget for library programming. Officers named in the meeting report included Ron Beckettall (president), Sue Handel (vice president), Lola Dobbett (treasurer), Joanne Marabella (secretary) and Tim Olsen (member at large). The Friends are continuing two annual book sales (June and November) and a larger fundraising soiree hosted at Liberty Lake Winery; staff said each book sale raised close to $2,000 last year. The Friends have also established a designated memorial fund (referred to in the meeting as the Zahan memorial fund, named in the donor’s wife’s name) to support library programming; meeting remarks said the fund is structured to receive matched corporate gifts through a third-party platform.
Staff reviewed public-facing services the board may be asked to support or promote: the new online catalog (deployed October prior year) that allows patrons to place holds and receive pickup notices; LibCal event and room-reservation tools that manage registrations and waiting lists; and interlibrary loan procedures (via WorldCat) used to obtain items not available in the consortium. Staff said the library covers postage for interlibrary loans and maintains a modest budget line for that service.
Staff noted continuing training and trustee resources from the Washington State Library and invited trustees to review the state’s trustee guides and recorded trainings. The board will review the city’s community needs assessment and was asked to attend or view a BCRA presentation to City Council expected Feb. 18 on facility master planning.
