Corona Public Library reports year‑end usage growth, strategic plan progress

Community Services Director Donna Finch told the Corona Public Library Board of Trustees that the library finished fiscal 2025 with year‑over‑year growth in patron visits, program attendance and digital use, and that staff are now implementing the library’s strategic plan approved by City Council in November 2024.

The library manager, Danielle Whittington, and literacy and community engagement supervisor Jennifer Bauserman presented numbers showing 296,946 door counts (an increase of about 25% from the prior year), 1,690 registered readers for the summer reading challenge and more than 1.6 million minutes logged in the summer reading program. Whittington said, “ReaderCon starts at 1 on September 28,” and encouraged community participation in the free author event.

Why this matters: the figures show growing use of library space and services, which staff said is guiding where to focus outreach, programming and capital requests.

Library staff framed the results around the library’s four strategic goals—strong collections and services, innovative spaces, community gathering and library visibility—saying the board’s roadmap will guide work through fiscal year 2029. Finch said the plan is a multi‑year effort and staff treat its goals as “bite sized” tasks to complete each year.

Key statistics and program notes presented to the board: - Total visits: 296,946 (about 25% increase). - Library collection size: more than 80,000 physical items. - Database uses: 499,040 (31.86% increase for Brainfuse and other databases compared with prior year). - Passport applications processed: 6,135; passport revenue: $299,071. - Volunteer hours (including Friends): 16,454 for the year. - Summer programming: 208 programs, 11,280 attendees, and 1,690 readers registered for summer reading. Staff reported 1,600,000+ minutes read for the summer challenge.

Staff credited the Friends of the Library for underwriting Hoopla and other digital services; Whittington said Hoopla would not be possible at the same scale without that funding. Bauserman described programming growth across age groups, including a coding class for ages 10–15 and the second annual Corona ReaderCon, which she said expanded from about 14 authors and 150 attendees in its first year to 66 authors for the second year.

Trustee questions and staff responses Trustees asked about whether collections meet demand (particularly homeschool resources), how people on waiting lists are notified for sold‑out events, and what prevents faster completion of strategic plan goals. Whittington said the plan’s structure and staff capacity—“we need a 48‑hour day,” she joked—are the primary constraints and that staff will prioritize goals each fiscal year. On outreach, staff noted plans to expand electronic library card access via the Aspen Lita app and to place cards and QR codes at partner locations including coffee shops, health centers and laundromats.

Votes at a glance Minutes of the July 22, 2025 meeting and the consent calendar were approved by roll call after motions from trustees. A motion to approve the 07/22/2025 minutes was made by Trustee Heinemann and seconded by Trustee Tyler Hayes; a subsequent motion to approve the consent calendar was made by Trustee Tyler Hayes and seconded by Trustee Heinemann. The roll call recorded Chair Kennerly, Vice Chair Leonard, Trustee Tyler Hayes and Trustee Heinemann voting to approve each item.

What’s next Staff said the board will receive the library’s yearly budget report and policy updates at its September 23 meeting and reminded the public that ReaderCon will be held Sept. 28 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.