605-394-4171
Ÿ www.rapidcitylibrary.org
Date: 2-20-06
To: Greta Chapman
From: Supervisors
Re: Annual Statistics Review 2005.
The attached graphs give a brief overview of our
statistics for the past year.
Circulation
and Borrowers
- The
number of new borrowers this year was lower than both the past years, but
we believe this involves two factors: in 2003 the new addition was
bringing in new patrons in higher numbers than any of the previous years,
and we now have around 50% of all possible patrons in both the city and
county. This means that we will see fewer new patrons since the majority
of prospective patrons already have cards.
- Following
on this idea, the total number of borrowers continues to slowly increase.
The large drop in city patrons in October 2004 is due to the conversion
process which dropped expired patrons rather than moving them forward to
the new system. This new baseline gives a better idea of the true increase
in patrons from 2004-5.
- Circulation
has no comparable data from past years, but does follow the same general
pattern from year-to-year, with peaks in March and June and drops in May
and December. March is when many final projects are researched, June
begins summer reading, and May and December are the ends of semesters.
Computer
usage
- Computer
usage has remained steady for the last three years. The addition of 4 more
internet computers in the adult area and 3 more upstairs in 2005 helped
raise the number of hours; however the number of hours per month remained
steady, with a slight dip in October. Patrons will use the internet
computers however many we provide.
Homepage
Hits
- Homepage
hits for 2005 were considerably higher than in 2003 and 2004. the
statistics rose steadily for most of the year with a dip in September and
around months with holidays. Such as November and December when patrons
interests are elsewhere. Adding interest to the homepage as well as
patrons becoming used to and able to use the OPAC and other resources has
helped in raising interest in visiting our homepage.
Programming
- The
peak in May represents Youth Service’s outreach to local schools to
promote the Summer Reading Program.
Attendance for these outreach events was not previously recorded in
the overall program statistics.
- For
most months, the overall Youth Services program attendance is down from
last year. This is due to a restructuring of the weekly story times that
are offered to children. Story Times
were becoming overcrowded in 2004.
Many patrons complained of the crowd sizes being a distraction to
the program. To make these programs
more efficient, Youth Services combined the age groups for Story
Times. This had the effect of
leveling out attendance. Attendance
for these programs is still very steady, while oversized crowds are less
common.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER