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Sunnyvale library reports rising visitors, steady book borrowing and a shift in digital and media use
Summary
Library staff told trustees that visitor counts have rebounded after the pandemic, children's and teen materials now make up about 70% of circulation, and a corrected spike in ebook checkouts reflected a past card-issuance loophole that has since been closed.
Sunnyvale library staff presented an annual report to the Board of Library Trustees on Nov. 3, saying overall visitor numbers have climbed back after pandemic lows and that programming — including a new early learning hub — is a major draw.
The presentation, led by Michelle, a library staff presenter, showed a modest overall decline in total circulation from the previous year but explained that decrease was driven largely by falls in nonbook physical media (such as CDs and some DVDs) while print book borrowing remained “quite consistent.” Michelle said children’s and teen titles accounted for roughly 70% of total circulation, and staff emphasized the importance of continuing investment in youth collections.
Michelle said last fiscal year’s unusual spike in ebook usage stemmed from temporary changes to library-card issuance during the pandemic that allowed some nonresidents to obtain Sunnyvale cards and access ebooks. “We saw a huge spike,” she said, and after tightening issuance rules the library saw ebook checkouts decline to more typical levels. Staff characterized the corrected numbers as more accurate for the community the library serves.
The report introduced a new metric, “e-resources non-checkout use,” to capture database and streaming activity that vendors count differently; Michelle cautioned year-to-year comparisons must account for changes in vendor reporting methods. She also highlighted the library’s Library of Things — items like story-time kits, 3D pen kits and camera kits — which, while a small share of total circulation (about 5,000 checkouts), has items with very high checkouts per copy.
Staff reviewed outreach and programs: cultural programming attendance roughly doubled year over year, the summer reading program logged more than 3,000 signups with high engagement from top readers, and the library’s homebound delivery serves about 36 clients monthly (staff reported delivering just over 2,100 books last fiscal year). Michelle also described an adult literacy program supported by a partly grant-funded coordinator with 22 active tutor-learner pairs and a need for additional volunteer tutors.
Board members pressed staff on measurement and comparisons. A trustee asked whether Sunnyvale’s visitor growth reflected population change or demographic shifts; staff said the trend tracks closely with programming increases and noted statewide benchmark data are trailing and not always directly comparable. Trustees also discussed streaming platforms such as Hoopla, vendor measurement differences, and the library's practice of reviewing and canceling underused subscriptions.
The presentation closed with staff offering to publish more of the statistics and with trustees encouraging continued focus on children’s services, outreach and careful data reporting. The board did not take policy action on the presentation itself but used the numbers as a basis for later discussion about library modernization.
