When people ask how the library is doing these days, the answer is simple: we’re busy. Very busy. For example, we just had 89 programs for kids alone during our 8-week summer reading program.  Combined, those events had over 1,200 participants! But if you compare our usage to pre-COVID times, the story is more a little more nuanced and a lot more interesting (at least to me). 

Before the pandemic, the majority of our visitors came to check out books, DVDs, or music CDs. Our physical checkout numbers were strong with over 290k items checked out in FY19. DVDs in particular were flying off the shelves. But like many things, the way people consume media has changed dramatically. Streaming platforms have taken over much of the demand for movies and music. That shift has caused a noticeable drop in those physical checkouts (now down to 190k per year), especially for DVDs in both our adult and children’s sections.

At the same time, our digital checkouts like ebooks, audiobooks, and streaming media have soared. We added the Hoopla app during the pandemic to support remote access, and usage has grown every year since. Combined with long-standing services like Libby and CloudLibrary, digital materials are now a major part of what we offer. Just prior to the pandemic we had 22k digital checkouts per year.  Now that number is north of 80k per year.

But numbers don’t tell the whole story. The library has become more than a place to check something out, it’s a place to engage. Community demand for events, enrichment, and educational opportunities has never been higher.

Take our recent Robotics Club Info Session as an example. We had 45 people attend just to learn more about enrolling their child in a club that only had space for 16 participants. Even if we had the room, staffing, and funding to double that number, we still couldn’t meet the full interest. This kind of turnout is no longer rare, it’s typical.

Our programs routinely fill up. We’re using every room we have, and then some. Outdoor spaces like our activity area or Thoman Park have become vital to help meet demand. But adding new events requires careful balancing. There are only so many hours in the day, and only so many hands on deck.

That’s not the only space crunch we’re navigating. Study room use is at an all-time high thanks to a new reservation system we implemented post-COVID. These rooms are booked constantly by students, job seekers, remote workers, and small groups. Hours of study room use have increased from just 4,500 annually before the pandemic to over 11,000 this past year.  Likewise, we’ve seen more people using their own devices in the library to print, research, or attend virtual meetings. Even though traditional computer use has declined, overall use of library services has not.

Our foot traffic continues to climb, even if it’s not quite back to FY19 levels. And that makes sense, many things that once required a library visit (renewing cards, placing holds, printing) can now be done from a phone or laptop. But what keeps people walking through our doors are the things you can’t get online: storytimes, community programs, human connection, and a sense of belonging.

In short, we’re not the same library we were before the pandemic, we’re something more. And while the way people use us has changed, one thing hasn’t: the library remains a vital, evolving part of the O’Fallon community.

Ryan Johnson
Library Director