Overall circulation holding steady at PCPL

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Director Grier Carson delivered a yearly statistics report during the Putnam County Public Library Board’s first regular meeting of 2018.

Overall circulation for the library was about 16,000 items per month and the average monthly door count was 10,500 patrons.

The highest circulating collections are DVDs, adult and juvenile print, while the lowest circulating are periodicals, juvenile e-audio and young adult books.

Overdrive saw its third straight year of monthly increases, but the library is troubled by a steady decline in registered borrowers -- from 9,500 in 2015 to 8,000 in 2018 -- which will inspire a push for library card registration this year.

In other news:

-- Claims: The board approved claims at a total of $83,681.62.

-- Community Bulletin Board: The community bulletin board has been moved from the circulation lobby to just outside youth services.

-- Community Help Desk: Director Carson announced that the community help desk will expand its hours in the near future.

-- Finance Committee: The Finance Committee will meet March 5 and May 7 at 4 p.m. in the Kiwanis conference room.

-- Finances: Although the cash balance was down from last year because of the parking lot project, the library ended 2017 with about $577,000 in net assets and saved $78,000 from its budget.

-- Greencastle Parks and Recreation: Director Carson announced a new partnership between the library and the Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department, which will inspire a series of co-hosted events at the library, such as the recently held Winnie the Pooh Day celebration.

-- PALS: Putnam Adult Literacy Services now has four students, but is ready to take more.

The Putnam County Public Library Board’s next regular meeting is schedule for Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. in the Kiwanis conference room.

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