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Library director reports increased usage, new services and facility upgrades
Summary
Tula City Library Director Chase Randall reported growth in visits, active cardholders and circulation, and outlined projects including online payments, new printing system, HVAC upgrades and study pods. The council received the report and offered support.
TULA — Library Director Chase Randall presented the Tula City Library annual report on June 3, telling the council staff and patrons are seeing steady growth in both physical and digital use.
Randall reported the library holds 44,751 physical items; Libby and other electronic resources account for tens of thousands of digital titles. For fiscal year 2026 the library logged 163,053 visits (about 13,387 per month), 10,347 active card holders (a 10% increase), 178,770 checkouts or renewals and 114,438 digital checkouts. Summer reading participation increased with 1,671 active participants and 3,185,738 total minutes read during summer 2025.
Randall highlighted recent and ongoing projects: a new patron printing system, the ability for patrons to pay fees online (including nonresident registration), water-wise landscaping on the library’s north side with planned tree plantings in coordination with parks, new HVAC thermostats and actuators with anticipated cost savings once a new chiller is installed, a minor remodel of the children’s area, new study pods for quiet study and a new black-and-white patron printer. He also noted two staff hires in the past year (one internal promotion to full-time, one new part-time library tech).
Financials and operations
Randall said the library reported $38,142 in total revenue for the prior fiscal year (a 15% increase over the previous year), primarily from nonresident circulation fees and miscellaneous service fees. Technology utilization rose about 10% year over year, with 22,159 uses of public computers and library Wi-Fi. He noted one item — Wi-Fi support at parks — will no longer appear next year because the external support system is being discontinued.
Council reaction
Council members thanked Randall for the report; no council action was required beyond receiving the report.
Why it matters
The statistics indicate growing community engagement with library offerings, expanding digital use and incremental revenue gains. Ongoing capital and technology projects aim to improve access and reduce operating costs.
