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Corona library: youth collections make up two-thirds of holdings; circulation driven by children’s materials
Summary
Children's and teen materials account for about two-thirds of the Corona Public Library's physical collection and more than 80% of circulation; librarians outlined collection growth, world-language holdings, and space challenges for board members.
Denise, the library's children's librarian, told the board Corona Public Library holds 67,373 physical items and that youth collections—children's and teen books—compose 66.7% of the total.
"We have a total of 67,373 physical items currently in our collections across adults teens children's and the heritage room. Our youth collections make up a combined 66.7% of these items with 41,313 children's books, and 3,593 teen books," Denise said.
The library presented circulation figures showing 295,231 total circulations over the last year; children's materials accounted for roughly 77% of that total and youth collections more than 81% of circulation. Staff noted the library serves a sizable population of young people: the latest census data cited during the presentation estimated roughly 37,800 children and teens living in Corona.
Librarians described several recent collection investments and trends: addition of about 500 new picture-book titles and roughly 400 early-reader (easy reader) titles (a 13% growth in that category), purchase of 156 new STEM titles in areas such as robotics and coding to support maker programs, and expanded graphic-novel and manga holdings driven by high checkout rates. Denise said the graphic-novel section was so active that twice the previous budget allocation was designated for it in the current fiscal cycle.
World-language holdings are part of the children's collections: staff reported more than 2,000 Spanish titles curated to support Corona-Norco Unified School District dual-language immersion programs, a small Mandarin collection the team wants to expand, and an Arabic collection that recorded nearly 1,000 circulations in the last year.
Librarians said they have integrated Accelerated Reader (AR) level and point data into catalog records to help students and families find grade-appropriate titles; they also noted space limitations—board books are in particularly high demand and the catalog vendor's recommendation to add many more board books exceeds current shelving capacity.
Trustees asked about story times and volunteer opportunities; librarians said multiple story-time formats are offered and volunteers support book-cleaning, tutoring and the heritage room.
Ending: Staff listed next steps for collection adjustments, signage and small remodeling to free shelf space and to support growing graphic-novel and manga sections; trustees praised the circulation statistics and encouraged continued outreach to schools.
