COLUMN: Owen County Public Library’s annual scorecard

Libraries throughout the state of Indiana are required to complete a survey each year, answering about 70 pages worth of detailed questions about our operations. Some of these questions are required by the federal government, others by the state library. The questions cover information about our library, about what services were offered in the past year and how many hours per week these services were available. They ask about our buildings, the Bookmobile, about our library users and basic information about our community.

They want to know all about what revenue we receive and how we spend it.  The state is so interested in this part that there is actually a second extremely detailed report that covers our finances much more thoroughly.

The report also covers the programs we offer, what ages we plan for and how many in each age group attend those programs.

They also want to know how often our computers are used, how often materials are checked out and how many materials and how much equipment we have available for you.

They ask about our Board of Trustees and information about our employees; how many we have, their level of education, experience and approximately what they are paid and what benefits we offer them.

And finally, there are about seven pages of state required standards which we must comply with, and in many instances, must show evidence of being in compliance with, to be considered “within Standards.” In all the years I have been here, we have always been ruled “In Compliance” with those standards, and I’m so happy to report, we have always exceeded many of those standards.

After completing the report in the past, I have usually shared some of the information that was revealed by the report for the public that I thought might be of interest; usually by means of a newspaper article.

The following information is our “scorecard” for 2024 based on those findings:

We currently have 5,604 Registered Library Card Holders. And as a side note, we do not charge Owen County residents for library cards. We only require that adults bring proof of address and a photo ID. If the photo ID has your correct, current address, no other information is needed.

We also do not charge a fine for materials that are turned in late.

While we encourage all Owen County residents to register for a library card, many frequent library users do not have a card because a card is not necessary for so many of the ways they use the library:

Cards are not necessary to use Wi-Fi from anywhere outside of the building.  Cards are not necessary to use Wi-Fi or the computers in the building, to use the annual free tax preparation service or the legal help kiosk, to attend adult education or language classes. A card is not necessary to access the newspapers and magazines or any of the books available in the library to be read while you visit here. A card is not needed to use the resources available in the genealogy vault. Many residents who do not have a card come in often to use the copy machines, the fax machines and to attend programs, exercise classes, educational classes; whether library-sponsored or one of the many programs or meetings held in library spaces by other groups or individuals. A library card is not necessary to reserve one of at least eight spaces available for meetings, events or study areas, in most cases without charge, or to shop the Friends of the Library monthly book sale.

So, while we are happy that more than a quarter of Owen County residents have a library card, that number does not come close to telling the whole story of library use here.

The library does not charge for the items that we are able to access for you through the state courier system. Last year we borrowed 537 items from other libraries for our patrons here. We also provided 480 items to other libraries around the state.

In 2024 we provided 350 library-planned programs in the library for children aged 0 to 5 and had a total attendance of 3,068 for all those programs combined.

We provided 188 programs for children 6 to 11-years-old with a total attendance of 5,106.

For young adults we provided 115 programs with an attendance of 944.

For adults we provided 129 programs for 3,152 attendees.

We also provided 266 programs of general interest for all ages and counted a total of 5,170 in attendance at those programs.

The meeting rooms here were used 659 times by outside groups.

While this number is never static, since we are always adding to our collection, we currently have 62,552 books available to check out; 6,719 audio materials, 9,148 videos and 62 other circulating items, including hot spots (these are new hotspots this year, and improved in quality from the ones we had previously). Last year 72,738 physical items were checked out, and 45,905 books, audiobooks and movies were checked out from the children’s collection. Other physical items, such as hot spots were checked out 402 times.

Our digital library includes books, audio, videos, research databases and online learning platforms. Especially popular with children are Tumblebooks and Worldbook online.

Our electronic collection is always expanding, but currently we offer about 13,183 downloadable e-books, 4,285 electronic magazines and 21,296 audiobooks. A total of 38,764 online materials were checked out in 2024.

The Bookmobile provided 1,152 hours of public use throughout the year, providing 186 children’s programs (ages 0 to 5), with a total attendance of 1,786 children; 144 programs for children (ages 6 to 11), with a total attendance of 4,188; 52 programs for adults with an attendance count of 1,778, and one general interest program attended by 123 people.

As usual, we exceeded the number of books that we are required to purchase per capita.

Our seven-member Board of Trustees all serve voluntarily without pay, as do our Friends of the Library.

The OCPL staff members have a wide variety of previous work experiences, and come to us with various levels of education, with three staff members holding a Master of Library Science degree.

The Owen County Public Library is open 59 hours in a typical week – Mondays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m, Fridays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Some regularly scheduled programs to look forward to in March:

• Tuesdays, 10 to 11 a.m., Cuddle Up Program for parents and their infants or toddlers.
• Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Homeschooled children from kindergarten and up.
• Wednesdays, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., Crafting with B.J.
• Thursdays, 10 to 11 a.m., Fun with Friends for children ages 3-5.
• The First Friday of each month, 2 to 3 p.m., Watercolor Painting
• Friday, March 8, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friends of the Library Book Sale in the Community Room.