Happy New Year!
When compared to other years, our numbers for 2020 are down significantly. I’m not particularly concerned by this downturn – 2020 doesn’t really compare to any other years, after all – but I am anxious to see our statistics climb back up.
In 2020, we checked out almost 28,000 items (down about 20,000 from 2019) to our 12,000 patrons. If we translate that into money saved (from not having to buy the items checked out), we saved our patrons almost $409,000 in 2020! Our top patron saved almost $8,000 by using the Library.
These numbers don’t include the 25,000 ebooks/downloadable items our patrons checked out, so in truth, we have saved everyone a lot more money than that.
In terms of what people are checking out from our physical collection, here’s the breakdown:
Picture books:
- Cat secrets by Jef Czekaj
- Little Taco Truck by Tanya Valentine
- Alphabreaths: the ABCs of mindful breathing by Christopher Willard
J nonfiction (for kids in elementary school – ish):
- The ultimate book of sharks: your guide to these fierce and fantastic fish by Brian Skerry
- Dinosaur: dinosaurs and other amazing prehistoric creatures as you’ve never seen them before by John Woodward
- The dinosaur book by John Woodward
J fiction (for kids in elementary school – ish):
- Klawde: evil alien warlord cat by John Bemelmans Marciano
- Movie madness (part of the Three Horses series) by Cari Meister
- The sky unicorn by Paula Harrison
Middle Grade fiction (for kids in middle school – ish):
- Diary of a wimpy kid: the getaway by Jeff Kinney
- Pegasus: Olympus at war by Kate O’Hearn
- Into the wild by Erin Hunter
Young Adult fiction (for teens in high school – ish):
- One of us is lying by Karen M. McManus
- To all the boys I’ve loved before by Jenny Han
- Percy Jackson & the Olympians: the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Adult nonfiction:
- Killers of the Flower Moon: the Osage Murders and the birth of the FBI by David Grann
- If you tell: a true story of murder, family secrets, and the unbreakable bond of sisterhood by Gregg Olsen
- The Pioneer Woman cooks: the new frontier: 112 fantastic favorites for everyday eating by Ree Drummond
Adult fiction:
- One good deed by David Baldacci
- Long range by C. J. Box
- Bloody genius by John Sanford
Audiobooks (all ages):
- Long range: a Joe Pickett novel by C. J. Box
- Moral compass by Danielle Steel
- The night fire by Michael Connelly
Movies, Documentaries, and TV Series (all ages):
- Jumanji – Welcome to the jungle
- Abominable
- Knives out
Comic books & Graphic novels (all ages):
- Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas by Dav Pilkey
- My hero Academia Vol. 1 by Khei Horikoshi
- Immortal Hulk 1 by Al Ewing
Here’s hoping 2021 offers some relief from the struggles and devastation wrought by 2020. I am cautiously optimistic about this new year.