PPL By the Numbers

Portland Public Library set a lending record for the July 2007– December 2007 period, reporting a 10 % increase over the same period last year. This is especially encouraging to me as it follows a record setting year that ended in July, and it now marks an 18 month period of record lending. Book circulation swelled by 10% and audio visual items grew by 11%, both exhibiting substantial increases.

For the year ending June 30, 2007, the Portland Public Library system lent 742,779 items and experienced 617,449 visits from users.

Lending of materials is one of the key statistics libraries use to gauge activity. Preliminary figures for January 2008 show an 8% increase over last January, continuing the strong positive trend. The renovation project at Monument Square once completed in mid 2010 should further increase lending rates.

What does it mean? I tend to worry about trends more than absolute numbers but the possibility of lending over 800,000 items this year is an impressive prospect. That level of activity seems to make the statement better than I can with hundreds of words that the PPL is alive and well. This evidence flies in the face of the casual observer’s conclusion that libraries are book warehouses, nobody cares about them, etc. Usually the population group assumed to not use libraries (or at least is pulling away from them) is Generation Y (ages 18-29). The recent Pew Internet & American Life Project report (December 30, 2007) "Information Searches that solve problems: How people use the internet, libraries, and government agencies when they need help” found that group “are the most likely library visitors for any purpose.” People are using public libraries right now and the prospect for future continued heavy use is bright.