Chadron Public Library Director Rosella Tesch delivered her annual report for the 2021-22 fiscal year to the Chadron City Council Monday, highlighting programming, accomplishments and material usage.
During that fiscal year, the library was visited by 27,682 adults and 21,013 young adults and children. There were also 11,493 visits to its catalog and website and 9,583 visits to its social media page. Staff also answered 1,764 reference questions.
Programming offered by the library ranges from yoga classes, chess tournaments and featured speakers to book club, movie nights, holiday events and citizen science programs. In addition, staff hosts Lego club, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Club, story time and summer reading. The annual Chadron Community Art Show and the Trading Stories Native American Film Festival also are two prominent events for the public. In all, 227 programs saw a participation of 2,874.
Major accomplishments Tesch featured included the completion of the maker space, a partnership with the Nebraska State Historical Society’s Wander Nebraska program and the addition of an outdoor table through a donation by the Hawk family. Seven family science backpacks, featuring a telescope and a map of the night sky, were assembled for patrons to check-out.
The library collections include more than 35,000 items, including books, DVDs, video games, CDs, kits and magazines. Combined usage on all materials totaled more than 28,000, with books leading the way at 15,857. Online services such as Hoopla and Overdrive are getting more use, Tesch said, with more than 7,000 checking out books, movies or music on the services. The library’s computers also stayed busy with more than 2,600 adults and 1,300 children using them.