Public Library Adds Value to a Community in Several Ways

Debbie Aden, Director of the Fairbury Public Library, presented the library's annual report to the Fairbury City Council on Tuesday, February 7, 2023.Aden said, “Last year, the number of items on our collection of physical items that we manage remains pretty steady.”The major exception to that is Overdrive, a digital distributor of eBooks, audiobooks, online magazines and streaming video titles. The company provides digital rights management and download fulfillment services for publishers, libraries, schools, corporations, and book retailers.“The Library Commission maintains that and it's got about 6,000 more items,” said Aden. “And Overdrive remains one of our most used and popular resources.”Aden noted, “Generally, our circulation numbers have remained steady, or increased, with the exception of children's materials. That can probably be attributed to one family with four kids, who used to check out 30-40 books a week, and moved out of Fairbury last year.”Legislature“Last March, I attended the Nebraska Library Association's Advocacy Day at the Capitol, where librarians have the opportunity to meet with their legislator and discuss library-related bills that might currently be in the legislature,” said Aden. “I will be doing that again this year. There are several bills that affect freedom of speech, freedom to read. We are fortunate that our representative, Tom Brandt (District 32), is an advocate of libraries.”Notable Events for the YearAden noted in her report, “Last summer we had a very successful Summer Reading Program. The theme was Oceans of Possibilities and Linda went all out decorating with ocean and water related scenes, even adding 'water' with fish to all the windows on the children's side, making it appear like we were looking into a large aquarium.“The library sponsored two programs at the Bonham Theater, Dinosaur Dimensions and Jeff Quinn, the magician, with about 150 people at each event.“There were also craft events, a drawing for two individual pool passes in May, and prizes for everyone who finished the reading program, including another drawing for two tablets.“The library sponsored several other programs last year. In February, we held a 'Chocolate Lover's' night at the Bonham Theater, where guests were encouraged to bring their favorite chocolate recipes to share and listen to Humanities Nebraska speaker Jose Garcia's presentation about the history of chocolate.“Last spring at the library, we had a Planting for Pollinators presentation, where a speaker from Nebraska Extension educated guests about the importance of pollinators and how to create a garden to attract them. And in June, the library partnered with the city for a program at the Community Building, bringing back local favorite and Humanities Nebraska speaker Charlotte Endorf, for her presentation of 'Kind Nebraskans: A story of World War II and the Holocaust.'”ExpendituresLast winter, a new gas heating and air conditioning unit was installed on the Carnegie side of the library. Per Aden, the old electric unit was not cost-effective, considering maintenance and heating costs and that the building was still always cold.Other building repairs included a clogged drain in the bathroom, two different leaks in the underground sprinkler system during the season, and continued repairs and modifications of the heating and cooling system on the north building. GrantsThe library received two grants last year. The Library purchased a new projector and two new laptops with a Library Improvement Grant through the Nebraska Library Commission.Also through the Nebraska Library Commission, Aden received a Continuing Education Grant that allowed her to attend the National Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL) conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she had the opportunity to network and learn about things other small and rural libraries around the country are doing.StaffLast year saw a number of staffing changes. Between graduating seniors heading to college, and others moving out of state, the library had a revolving door of part-time employees before finally finding the three currently working at the library.Aden said, “Sadly, the end of this year also brought the retirement of children's librarian Linda Dux. Her dedication to the library and the children of the community cannot be measured. She will be missed.”Community ValueIt can be difficult to illustrate all the ways in which a library adds value to a community. To demonstrate at least some of the ways, Aden presented the council with a Library Use Value Calculator.Aden explained, “This library calculator attempts to put an actual dollar amount on the services a library contributes to a community. If the library was not an option, it is the amount of money patrons would spend on the materials and services they would need to find elsewhere. For example, the calculator sets average price of an adult book purchased from Amazon at $22.00, putting the value of the 9,938 adult books checked out last year from the library at over $169,000. The estimated total value of the Fairbury Public Library to the community was right about $390,000, or about 1.5x the expenditures put into the library from the city.”

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