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It's that time of year again. That time when I reveal my inner nerd to all of you. I do believe I get nerdier every year. Recently, I received a desktop document holder as a gift. It's an easel-like device (similar to a picture frame) with a clip that can hold multiple documents, along with a built-in ruler to help me keep my place. The easel design also helps prevent neck pain from constantly looking down. There's even a ledge where I can place my phone (my kids can tell you that I'm always searching for my phone). See I told you I am truly a geek. Anyway, on to the topic of this article. I love looking back on the year and seeing how Mifflin County Library fared in 2023. Trust me, in the world of nerds, it's all about the stats.
• 38, 950 books graced our shelves at our Lewistown branch.
• 13, 919 books graced our shelves at our Kish branch.
• 24, 539 digital books were available at what we call our third branch, or the Libby app.
• 54, 076 books checked out.
• 11,999 e-books checked out .
• 8,814 e-audio books checked out.
Sometimes our budget doesn't allow us to purchase all the books we desire; thankfully, we have a way of borrowing books from other libraries for our patrons to check out through the Interlibrary Loan Program.
• 1,032 books borrowed from other libraries.
Sure we have lots of books and can borrow books from others but patrons also come to the library to fax papers, make copies, and use our computers. We had many people visiting the library in 2023.
• 36,363 library visitors.
We would love it if all Mifflin County inhabitants owned, proudly displayed (on their keyring), and used their library cards.
• 13, 324 library card holders.
One new feature that we added in October 2023 is fingerprinting and electronic criminal background check services through IdentoGO by Idemia. Participants sign up for an appointment through their website www.IdentoGO.com or by calling the phone number 1-(844)-321-2124. Please note, we aren't equipped to accept walk-ins. Please don't stop at the library at your scheduled time, because due to upcoming renovations, the county has graciously offered a temporary room at the courthouse where the fingerprinting process will take place. We are thrilled to offer this service, and the community's response has been overwhelmingly positive.
• 426 people had their fingerprints processed, since we started this service in October.
I hate to say this but books just don't last forever. Why can't they make stuff like they did in the 70s? You know all those orange, yellow and avocado colored furniture pieces that are still going strong. Those items will never break no matter how much you want them to! I don't like to spend the library's money buying books that need replacing because they were "well loved". So with the help of our District Consultant Brady Clemens, we were able to up our repairing game a big notch.
In August, we purchased a Cover One Machine. So the nerd in me is obsessed with this machine. It is the BOMB. It's such a simple process, but, really helps us mend books so much more efficiently. Basically it's a big hot plate that melts the glue which is existing in the book and allows us to add new glue strips and then melts everything together to make the book look like new.
• $1,066.31 was saved last year by using the Cover One machine.
Okay, I'm done with statistics. Well almost, I bet you didn't even realize you hold the power to change these statistics. All it takes is a trip to the library, a check out of a book and boom you are part of our total count. You have the power to raise these stats to a higher level. Please help us achieve greatness by visiting the library this week and elevate our stats for 2024. The nerd in me thanks you.
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Shelly Sweigart is the Assistant Director of the Mifflin County Library. She is currently reading The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page.