Urbana Free Library reports 678 programs, more than 21,000 attendees in FY26

Pat Kane, archives manager for the Champaign County Historical Archives at the Urbana Free Library, and Rose Barnes, the library’s collections manager, presented the library’s FY26 annual report to the City Council on Aug. 24.

Barnes said the library provided 678 programs during the fiscal year that ran July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, drawing “more than 21,000 attendees.” She also told the council the library invested in equipment to provide more accurate counts of visitors, which staff believe contributed to the reported increase in patron visits. “As you have the full report to review at your convenience, we are only gonna highlight a few portions of the report and other information from FY26,” Kane said.

Barnes told the council the library discontinued Hoopla at the end of December 2025 because of “untenable cost,” and reallocated that budget into purchasing titles in Libby, the OverDrive consortium app, to reduce wait times for Urbana patrons. “As an alternative to Hoopla, Urbana patrons have access to Libby, Comics Plus, and Kanopy and TumbleBooks,” Barnes said.

The presentation included circulation highlights: the adult top circulating book was Parable of the Sower (68 circulations), hotspots averaged about 100–110 circulations each, and children’s top titles had more than 100 circulations. Staff also described expanded services including a visible Library of Things display, collaborations on the Journey to Freedom traveling exhibit and local heritage projects, and plans for FY27 that include roof replacement, expanded teen engagement and outreach to reach residents who do not visit the downtown library regularly.

Councilors praised the staff and suggested exploring satellite or pop‑up services and increased technology classes to reach residents away from downtown. Kane and Barnes said the library is studying who it is not reaching and will use findings from outreach to guide future programming.