Item 3CCITY OF
SOUTHLAKE
TEXAS Southlake Public Library
Board Report — October 2010
Services
• Virtual Events —The Library hosed the first of many virtual events in October. Cynthia, our Public
Services Librarian, posted videos and pictures on the Library Facebook page from her trip to Salem,
Massachusetts where she spent time learning about the Salem Witch Trials. The Library Facebook
account saw a huge increase in the number of customers accessing it during her trip. We plan on hosting
a number of these events over the next year; and next on tap will be Kerry, our City Librarian's, trip to
Florence in March.
• Interlibrary Loan Did you know that the Southlake Public Library can get almost any book that has
been printed and is being held in a library? As with any library, we have limited resources, which
means we can't buy everything that is available. Therefore, we participate in a consortium and can get
access to just about anything that has been printed. Last year we borrowed close to 800 items that were
not in our collection to satisfy customer needs. Keep us in mind if there is ever anything you need, but
can't find.
• Electronic Resources Expanded The Library is focused on developing on -line resources for our
customers to use from the convenience of their own home. We will be providing a number of on -line
resources for adults and children this year. We are also upgrading the Library Catalog as part of our
initiative. The upgrade will allow for a browsable catalog, which will help our virtual branches and
allow us to adapt our catalog to a more web friendly environment.
• Cultural Passes- We have just kicked off our cultural pass program. You check out a pass like you
would a book for a two week period. Some passes allow discounts for attending a performance and
others allow free access to a facility. Our current partners are the Amon Carter, The Modern, Dallas
Museum of Art, Dallas Zoo and we are just finishing up a deal with the Dallas Symphony to get a half
price ticket to any available seat in the house and $5.00 for each of two children. Contact Kerry
McGeath (8384) for more information. We will continue to add new partners as they become available.
Visitor Stats — Year to Date
Checkouts - The Library has seen an 8% increase in checkouts for the 2009/10 year with approximately
324,000 items checked out vs. 300,000 last year. We had seen a 12% increase last year, so the
percentage of items checked out continues to rise. We are also close to reaching maximum limits on our
traffic levels due to space limitations and parking. Despite those limitations, though, traffic for the year
is up with over 200,000 customers visiting the library this last year.
Programming - Storytimes and youth programming attendance increased this year with an estimated
34,000 - 38,000 attending for this fiscal year. This is about an 11% increase over a very strong year last
year - quite an accomplishment given our limited space. We have had a 50% increase in volunteer hours
with over 2,086 volunteer hours thus far this fiscal year.
Any questions please contact Kerry McGeath (8384)
Respectfully submitted by the Southlake Public Library Board:
Cheri Ross
Brenda Flores
Lori Burr Emily Galpin
Kim Roberts June Koelker
Southlake Public Library - Board Report - 10/26/10 Page 1 of 1