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St. Charles Parish Library reports rising digital use, plans makerspace and Hanville branch changes
Summary
Library Director Lillian Benedict told the St. Charles Parish Council the system is expanding digital services and programs, planning a staffed makerspace at West Regional Library and preparing a new Hanville branch while program attendance and digital circulation increased in 2024.
At its March 24 meeting, the St. Charles Parish Council heard an annual report from Lillian Benedict, director of the St. Charles Parish Library System, who said the system now operates six branches, employs 86 team members and serves more than 40,000 registered borrowers.
Benedict told the council that while physical circulation dipped slightly in 2024, digital borrowing rose sharply: "we had a fairly significant increase in circulation of digital materials," she said, noting the library has more than 71,000 digital resources and over 93,000 items in its physical collection.
The report outlined why the library's services matter locally: the system provides free library cards to residents, Wi-Fi and computers at branches, outreach through a bookmobile, a planetarium at West Regional Library and program offerings that have regained and exceeded pre‑pandemic attendance in some categories.
Most important details
Benedict said the system has 53 full-time and 33…
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