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Demand for digital services booms at libraries, print materials level off

Richard Barnette from Middletown looks through the DVD racks 2012 inside the Middletown Public Library in Middletown.

Staff photo by Gary Stelzer Richard Barnette from Middletown looks through the DVD racks 2012 inside the Middletown Public Library in Middletown.

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Staff photo by Greg Lynch Richard Prather fills out job applications at the Hamilton Lane Library.

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By Hannah Poturalski, Staff Writer 8:29 PM Friday, February 10, 2012

Circulation at local libraries has leveled off for the first time in the past 10 years, but digital downloads continue to increase, library officials said.

More than 2.1 million items were circulated in 2011 at both the Lane Public Libraries and Middletown Public Libraries.

While the Middletown area libraries recorded a 2.5 percent increase in circulation over 2010, the Lane libraries had a 2 percent drop, officials said.

“The last five years have been historic highs and it’s leveled (out) but continues to be high,” said Joe Greenward, director of Lane Libraries.

Library circulation has increased 27 percent since 2001 at the locations in Hamilton, Fairfield and Oxford, Greenward said. The record is 2.4 million items in 2009.

Both libraries issued more than 9,000 new cards to patrons last year — about 9,500 at Middletown and just under 11,000 at Lane, according to officials.

“It’s gotten so confusing with Internet, cable, streaming; all this stuff costs money,” said Anita Carroll, director of Middletown libraries. “People are becoming more savvy consumers and we’re part of that marketplace.”

Both public library systems have seen large increases in consumers wanting digital and downloadable services.

In the past year at Lane, computer usage increased 15 percent and electronic and audio book usage increased 169 percent (400 percent in the past two years), according to Lane officials.

“We all see the need to shift with society; not so much the information but the way they receive it,” said Carrie Mancuso, Lane public relations manager.

Both library systems had levies approved by voters in 2010, which has increased the ability to buy new materials.

Lane libraries recorded a 48 percent increase in its materials budget — rising from about $866,500 in 2010 to more than $1.28 million last year, according to Mancuso.

At the Middletown libraries, digital offerings didn’t become available until last March due to budget constraints prior to the levy, Carroll said.

Since the levy, the Middletown libraries will now spend about $1.2 million this year in its collections budget, with $200,000 dedicated to downloadable materials, according to Cari Hillman, public relations manager.

“We’ve committed 10 times the money for downloadable material (than in 2011),” Carroll said. “We’re doing a better job of getting what (patrons) want and it keeps us relevant.”

In the past year, about 12,400 digital checkouts have been recorded, Hillman said. As well, computer usage has increased by 24 percent at the locations in Middletown, Trenton and West Chester Twp.

“Every month we see an increase in usage, as patrons become more aware of downloadable options and the popularity of e-readers grows,” Hillman said.

Katrina Bate, collection development manager for Lane, said the major increase in e-book usage is the result of growing popularity in e-readers such as Amazon Kindle, for which the library became compatible in 2011. But Bate said e-books can be accessed on any computer, smartphone, or tablet such as iPad.

“I love the e-books available for Kindles as my sons read a book one time and then they are done,” said Emily Joesting of Hamilton.

Doug Evans, executive director of Ohio Library Council, said public libraries have always been adaptable to changing needs, from VHS and cassette tapes to DVDs and now e-readers.

Evans said the popularity of libraries within communities remains strong because of the variety of services, from after school tutoring, resources for new business and digital content.

“It gives libraries an opportunity to respond to an ever-growing market,” Evans said. “Libraries are keeping up with the times.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2179 or Hannah.Poturalski@coxinc.com.

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