Report: Walk-ins, digital checkouts up at library

Library visits and digital checkouts are two areas that increased from the previous fiscal year as Greenfield Library Director Danica Clayton presented her annual library report to the city council last Tuesday.

Many in attendance congratulated Clayton for how busy the library is and the positive role it plays in the community.

Clayton told the newspaper her goal is to always try to make the library so visible there are are fewer and fewer people saying “I had no idea” that this or that was at the library or a service the library does.

“We had an exciting fiscal year and I feel it was a year where we were able to settle into a groove or routine — this month is two years since I became director — and get some things figured out,” Clayton said in a separate interview. “How busy we are excites us and it is gratifying, but it also reminds us of how many more people could be coming to the library. While we’ll never be able to combat all of the ‘I had no ideas,’ that’s our goal, to combat the ‘I had no idea’ so the library is one of the first places people come when they move to town or the first place parents want to bring their children.”

Clayton’s report shows there were 13,390 library visits in FY 2024, a 10% hike from last year. There were 22,978 total checkouts. Digital checks totaled 5,901, an 18% increase.

There are 33,130 items in the library’s collection, including books, cake pans, audiobooks, movies, puzzles, hot spots and more.

As an open access library, patrons of other participating libraries are able to use services at Greenfield’s library otherwise restricted to its own patrons.

In the past year, the library put on 261 on-site or off-site programs that serviced 3,158 attendees, which is a 48% jump. These range from things like toddler time to holiday parties, recurring clubs/events and the summer reading program.

Seventy-seven percent of the money needed to run the library comes from the city of Greenfield while the next-highest amount (14%) is funded by the county.

Teen area enhancements and the installation of an automatic door opener were two capital projects the library performed, totaling $6,394.

“The last couple of years we’ve had a lot of programs, but last fiscal year, I feel like we had more return for our effort. We may have technically had fewer programs but more attendees,” Clayton said. “We’re hoping to keep that going and perhaps build on that.

“We’ve also seen a good uptick in the number of patrons we’re adding each month,” Clayton noted. “We had 120 patrons added in, and it’s pretty typical for us to add in about 10 patrons or so each month. That’s pretty significant for a library our size.”

The library has additionally been able to extend its reach outside its four walls, making visits to the school and making items from its collection available for checkout by Greenfield’s nursing home residents. The library also engages in community events like Adair County Health Systems’ Senior Fun Day at the county fair and a community bridal shower hosted by Parents as Teachers.

A Friends of the Greenfield Public Library group was restarted just before FY 24 began and enjoys a core group of a handful of members. They are always looking for more people to help by volunteering their time or sharing ideas for events and initiatives that support the library and literacy in the community.

A Junior Librarian Program that began one year ago has encouraged young readers to try reading books that their peers recommend.

Library board members include Marilyn Nickel, Julie Derby, Zack Valentine, Marilyn Dolan, Melissa Larson, Kevin Nelson and Marie Warner.

“I’m really excited because we’re working on our 5-year strategic plan. I’m hoping we can have some pretty beefy goals that we can work on,” Clayton said. “We finished up some bigger projects with the furniture and the door opener, so we’ll be looking for our next big projects as that 5-year plan guides us.”