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Mountain View Library midyear report shows steady visits, strong program attendance and new resource tracking
Summary
Library staff presented FY24–25 six-month performance measures showing roughly 76,000 visits in six months, strong circulation and high program attendance; trustees asked for clearer year-over-year comparisons and discussed space and staffing implications.
The Board of Library Trustees reviewed the library’s FY24–25 six-month performance measures on Feb. 24 and heard staff describe usage trends, program attendance and new metrics intended to help the city manager’s office assess workload and staffing needs.
Library staff reported about 76,000 visits in the first six months of the fiscal year and said the library is on track to meet a target of roughly 350,000 visits for the year. Physical circulation in the six-month period was described as about half a million items, and electronic circulation of ebooks and eaudiobooks continues to increase. The library’s typical annual circulation in recent years has exceeded one million items, staff said.
Performance measures introduced this year separate performance-related indicators from workload measures; city staff asked departments to add a column identifying whether each metric is workload-related so the city manager’s office can spot unmet staffing needs. Trustees asked for previous-year actuals to be included in future reports to make year-over-year comparisons easier.
Other figures discussed included: the percentage of new items processed and made available within 10 days; the library’s automated material handling system and policies for ordering additional copies when holds grow; study-room utilization (about 66% booked overall, with higher use during after-school hours); and a rise in library card registrations — about 12,000 new cardholders in six months, including roughly 4,500 student-connect cards added in September through agreements with local school districts. Staff also said about 2,500 inactive card records were purged in December under routine data-cleanup rules.
Staff described new physical and lending resources tracked by the library, including state park passes, three telescope kits (circulation exceeded 100 holds early on), pedometers and other “library of things” items. Board members and staff discussed whether high-profile initiatives such as Silicon Valley Reads make anticipating demand harder and the inventory consequences of author events or bundled promotions that increase short-term demand.
Trustees discussed hours of operation, staffing and scheduling challenges. Staff explained the typical library schedule (10 a.m.–9 p.m. weekdays, shorter Sunday hours) and noted that extending hours creates scheduling and labor challenges because a second shift is required to cover evening service. Staff said the library has maintained its existing hours and is recruiting to restore full-time positions and fill vacancies.
Votes at a glance: The board approved the minutes for the Jan. 27, 2025 special meeting at the start of the Feb. 24 session. The meeting transcript records a motion to approve the minutes and affirmative responses from the presiding members.
What’s next: Staff will include prior-year actuals in future performance-measure packets and will continue to track new items, materials turnaround times and study-room usage to inform future staffing and space decisions.
