Library commission: Danville to be added to self-service Sunday pilot after strong patron survey results

Nicole Gemmer, the Town of Danville's representative to the Contra Costa County Library Commission, reported to the council on Jan. 13 that the county conducted a 2025 patron survey with 11,138 cardholder responses and 509 nonuser responses. Danville accounted for 576 cardholder responses, the third-most among branch areas.

Gemmer said Danville respondents cited borrowing print materials (67%), ebooks (39%) and audiobooks (27%) as primary uses. She noted that "86.5% of Danville respondents were very satisfied with the customer service received at the library" and that Danville provided a net promoter score of 80. Gemmer also summarized Read Contra Costa attendance and local programming successes.

A major operational item in the report was the expansion of self-service Sundays. Gemmer described a pilot at Concord that allows registered and trained patrons to access limited services on Sundays by using a barcode-enabled card to open the library door; the county plans to expand the pilot to 10 branches, with Danville and Orinda confirmed for fiscal year 2026-27. Gemmer said the county recently lowered the age requirement to 13 and is working to simplify sign-up with an online orientation video.

In response to council questions, Gemmer outlined the sign-up process (library card and training, moving toward online orientation) and said some administrative details remain to be finalized before a confirmed start month for Danville. She also noted deferred maintenance closures at other county branches (some for nine months to a year) funded through Measure X and said Danville may see additional patrons and temporary staff reassignments when nearby branches close for repairs.

The council did not take formal action on library matters at the meeting but thanked the commissioners and encouraged continued county advocacy for hours and services.