W3 Main: A Productive Star Formation Factory by Smithsonian on Flickr

Did you know that 60,071 items were checked out in July?  1,225 audio books were checked out in June, and 359 e-books downloaded. These statistics are useful in showing how well-used the library is, to find out which materials are the most popular, and to track which days and months of the year are busiest.  But circulation stats only show part of the picture.  The library of today is also about inspiring people, and it’s hard to keep statistics on THAT.

Claudia H., art teacher at Jefferson Elementary, told me she comes to the library weekly, finding inspiration and ideas in books for relating the art she teaches to history, culture, an idea, a place, or a person.  It’s important to her as a teacher to immerse herself in what she’s teaching that week – maybe Alexander Calder’s mobiles and wire sculpture, or masks from around the world – so that she can transmit the ideas to the kids.
Some people come to write and are inspired by the books they come across while browsing.   Local author George E., for example, has been working on his book The Shape of the Eye–a memoir about raising a daughter with Down syndrome– for nine years (it will be published by SMU Press next spring) and the parts that weren’t written at home or at Starbucks were written on the library’s second floor. George told me that he loves working in the library’s light-filled, mostly quiet spaces. Though his book is a memoir, it also required research.  Many of the books on genetics, disability, and the history of science he found most useful were those he stumbled across while browsing, which he called one of the true pleasures of libraries.

We don’t always know how people use the library but we love to hear your stories when you do share them.

Posted by Alex, a second floor librarian

Libraries and librarians  use census data in two ways, and in both we cases we are using it to better serve you, our community.

This is an image of the 1880 Census taken in Corvallis. It’s incredibly valuable data for all sorts of people, including local history researchers and genealogists, of whom we see a lot at the public library. You can access census data like this yourself from home, by logging into HeritageQuest, which the library subscribes to. You can also access census information through the library’s subscription to Ancestry.com, which you can use in the library.

Librarians help people access contemporary information about our community by using statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. For example, you can get all sorts of detailed information about Benton Co. through American FactFinder. Here’s a screen shot about the education levels in our community:

Libraries don’t just help provide access to valuable census data to researches. We also use it ourselves when making decisions about our services. When I asked the library management about how they use census data to do their jobs, I heard back from our library director, Carolyn Rawles-Heiser. She said that the library benefits from census data in two ways.

One is that we use population and demographic information to determine what services we provide where, and for whom. It gets used most often when planning future library services.

Census data also affects the library financially. We use census data to apply for grants, and some of the funding we receive is based on population numbers. For example, funding for the Ready to Read program is allotted partly based on population data, collected by the census.

So get that form turned in! Doing so means that the library is able to serve you more effectively, along with many other public agencies.

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

Thanksgiving turkey, by wishuponacupcake on Flickr

…is how much the average American consumed in 2007.

Cranberry production for 2009 is estimated at 709 million pounds.

250 million is the estimated number of turkeys raised in the US this year, down 8% from last year. That is about 1.2 turkeys per person in the US.If you would like some more weird and wonderful statistics to inject into the conversation lulls at your Thanksgiving dinner, the US Census’ Thanksgiving Day Press Release is for you! Impress your family and friends with your intimate knowledge of these agriculture and economic statistics.

But seriously, sometimes you do need to find statistical information online. And in cases like that, one good source is the statistics page we second floor librarians have put together, giving you a starting point for your research (and of course, you can always ask us for help, too.) (You’ll find the page by going to our homepage, clicking on Databases, and then on Statistics.)

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone! Don’t forget that the library will be closed Thursday (11/26) and Friday (11/27), but we’re back with our usual hours on Saturday (10-6) and Sunday (12-6).

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian