Date: 11-8-05
To: RCPL Board of Trustees
From: G. Chapman
Re: Statistics Overview
- New patron cards are down from August. We believe that this mainly reflects the drop in Access Card sign-ups by tourists. The same trend is reflected in the lower gate count and patron contacts, although patron contacts are on the rise again as school assignments increase.
- Computer use hours are up. Several new computers have been added per equipment plan, 6 in Youth Services and 4 in Reference.
- Outreach to schools has been heavily emphasized this year, and that has contributed to the upswing in homepage hits.
- Circulation is also up in October. We have had a continuing rise in renewals since the policy was changed to allow patrons to renew items up to three times. Electronic circulation is also up as students get into the swing of the school year and assignments come due.
- Adult programming is under review. We are struggling with low turnout for most adult programs. Youth services programming has begun a new emphasis toward Young Adult patrons.
- While Materials Added appears to be on track compared to the previous year, we know that last year’s acquisitions were behind our normal ordering schedule due to the conversion. We believe the slower pace this year is due to longer waits between materials being ordered and received, as well as the switch from a ten-month to a twelve-month spending cycle.