This week at Airdrie Public Library (APL), we’re going to talk about numbers.
Every year, our eager number crunchers gather statistics to show how the library is doing in your community. While these stats are just numbers, they do tell a story. If you come to the library regularly, you’ll probably 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, 26,480 Airdronians have a library card, which resulted in 170,047 visits to the library in 2022.
These library card holders borrowed 581,447 items, which equates to seven check-outs per person for every one of the 80,222 people counted in the 2022 Airdrie census.
We lent out 53,509 items to other libraries and borrowed 93,508 items from other libraries for our patrons.
Our Customer Service team fielded 18,987 reference questions, which amounts to six questions per hour for every hour we were open.
29,138 Airdronians attended 901 in-person programs, 390 virtual programs, and 138 digital literacy programs.
In addition to the 52 public computers and 20 mobiles devices available for loan, our digital resources saw 39,108 downloads of e-content, 123,123 visits to our website, and 173,475 Wi-Fi connections.
APL’s physical collection had 16,444 items added to it in 2022, bringing the total to 73,358 books, graphic novels, literacy backpacks, musical instruments, DVD/Blu-rays and much more to our already crammed space.
We and our patrons can hardly wait for the new library that is set to open in 2025 at the site of the former fire hall on Main Street.
Finally, all of what you’ve just read was delivered by 57 dedicated staff and 58 amazing volunteers.
To learn more about your library and to get your free library card, visit us at airdriepubliclibrary.ca
