Norris district librarians report nearly 100,000 checkouts, renewed emphasis on curated collections

Rebecca Bean, the district'level library leader, delivered the end'of'year library report and detailed circulation, acquisitions, and collection management practices.

Bean told the board the district circulated "almost a 100,000 books" across five campus libraries during the year and renewed almost 10,000 loans. She said the district added about 3,400 items to library collections this year and discarded roughly 4,500 items through a "weeding" process to maintain a manageable, browsable collection — aiming for an approximate 15,000'item "sweet spot" on each site.

Why this matters: Bean framed the libraries as curriculum support and community hubs that help create readers, support vulnerable students, and provide choice in formats and interests. She said maintaining attractive, durable "library bound" materials costs more, and rising book prices have reduced purchasing power: "From the 15'16 year to this year, we bought about 320 less books with the same amount of money." She noted lottery funds, grant money and donations as the primary purchase sources.

Key points from the presentation: - Circulation: nearly 100,000 books checked out districtwide; about 264 books remained unreturned by the final count. - Acquisitions and weeding: ~3,400 books added; ~4,500 discarded; the middle school had the highest activity in both adding and discarding. - Funding: "In all of these acquisitions that we make, lottery funds are our main funding source," Bean said; she cited additional one'time funding streams such as ESSER and block grants that helped supplement purchases. - Collections strategy: Libraries keep multiple formats and use tools such as QR codes and e'book platforms (Sora) to increase access. Database subscriptions supplied by the state were noted as preserved in the current budget outlook. - Staffing and transitions: Bean announced part'time staff member Ali Avery accepted a full'time position replacing retiring staff member Dawn Jordan, who served since 2018.

Board members and presenters praised the work. Board member Gordon Miller thanked Bean and said he enjoyed visiting the middle school library and witnessing student engagement. The superintendent and trustees commended the library team's staffing qualification and the program's contribution to reading culture.

Bean also highlighted outreach activities (author visits, Battle of the Books participation, summer book distribution) and programs that increase engagement such as novel effects apps for read'aloud sessions and AR incentives. She noted the district had nearly 1,000 ebooks available through district subscriptions and a partnership with the Kern County Library to expand digital access.

The report closed with a reminder that trends outside the district like declining adult reading to young children could affect future literacy work; Bean said district programs aim to offset such trends by making books and reading appealing to students.