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Libraries more important than ever, research shows
By Jim Kilpatrick, Staff Writer
According to research by the Texas Library Association, libraries are valuable to Texans during these challenging economic times.
“We have seen a huge influx of people coming to the library since the start of the fiscal year, like all those other libraries you have heard about,” said Coppell Library Director Kathy Edwards.
A survey conducted for the TLA reported that a majority of Texans believe that libraries are as important as classroom education. The survey added that Texans believe school libraries are essential to education on all levels.
“We are kind of the people’s university,” Edwards said. “There are many adults that are using us during these economic times.”
Edwards pointed out that adults are looking for new jobs.
“People have been released and they need to retool, so they go back to the community college,” Edwards said. “We are here to support them in their efforts.”
She said the library has an e-branch that helps to support those students right through the first two years of college.
The Coppell library has become a “destination” for the community, according to Edwards.
“We have found that people want to come to the library,” Edwards said. “We (the library) are a place to be and we are very proud of that.”
Edwards said that the Coppell library has one of the highest circulations per capita in the state.
The circulation per capita in the state is 4 percent, while Coppell’s is 14.5 percent.
“People really use our library,” Edwards said.
Although the Coppell library is limited in physical space, the e-branch has helped to expand the number of books available to the community.
“We have a very active e-branch where you can go online and read books, do research, and look at databases,” Edwards said. “I’m not talking about just googling; we are talking about factual databases.”
She said that people who are busy can do their work at home and get online to do research or just read a book. The residents can also place requests online and then will be informed when the requested book is available at the library so they can pick it up.
“We did 65,000 requests last year,” Edward said. “They (residents) made their requests from home and picked them up when they had time.”
The circulation at the library has continued to go up, according to Edwards, even with the increasing numbers of computers.
“Having good information isn’t the same as having four billion hits on Google,” Edwards said. “We have found as our e-branch usage has gone up; so has our physical walk-in-the-door use.”
To use the e-branch, residents must have a library card and go into the library and set up an account. Once that is established, the user can get online from their home.
Last year, more than 560,000 items were checked out of the library.
“There are those that want to actually have a physical book in their hands,” Edwards said.
Contact Jim Kilpatrick at jkilpatrick@acnpapers.com
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