This week at Airdrie Public Library we’re going to talk numbers.
Every year, our eager number crunchers gather statistics to show how the library impacts your community.
While these stats are just numbers, they do provide a small window into the story of your library.
If you’re a regular library user, you’ll be nodding your head in agreement at what you’re about to read.
Children laughing, reading, and playing on computers, parents reading to their newborns, adults and teens studying or visiting, Makerspace exploration, diverse programming for all ages, art exhibits, clubs, and a whole lot more paint the picture of a well-used community hub.
For instance, 28,519 Airdronians have a library card, which resulted in 202,209 visits to the library in 2023.
These library card holders borrowed 625,120 items, which equates to eight check outs per person for every one of the 80,649 people counted in the 2023 Airdrie census.
We lent out 61,693 items to other libraries and borrowed 95,659 items from other libraries for our patrons.
Our Customer Service fielded 8,787 reference questions, which amounts to six questions per hour for every hour we were open.
48,624 Airdronians attended 1,108 in-person programs, 139 virtual programs, and 228 digital literacy programs.
In addition to the 51 public computers and 20 mobiles devices available for loan, our digital resources saw 52,964 downloads of e-content, 129,256 visits to our website, and 255,717 Wi-Fi connections.
APL’s physical collection had 16,810 items added to it in 2023, bringing the total to 77,643 books, graphic novels, literacy backpacks, musical instruments, DVD/Blu-rays and much more to our already crammed space.
Just imagine, the new library will have double the collection!
Finally, all of what you’ve just read was delivered by 58 dedicated staff and 68 amazing volunteers.
To learn more about your library’s services and programs, visit us at www.airdriepubliclibrary.ca.
