Cedar Rapids library circulation on the rise

CEDAR RAPIDS - When historic floodwaters washed out Cedar Rapids' downtown public library in 2008, use plummeted and the library organization saw its circulation numbers drop more than 50 percent.

But the Cedar Rapids Public Library system - thanks to the growing popularity of its expanded Westdale Mall branch and a temporary facility on Third Street SE downtown - is making a comeback, according to a new report cataloging library use in the 2010-11 budget year.

The two locations combined for a total circulation of 810,115 items in the fiscal year that ended June 30, the report shows. Although that still trails the 1.14 million circulation tally counted in the 2007-08 budget year - before flooding wiped out the library's old location on First Street SE - it's edging nearer the pre-flood numbers and is 54 percent above circulation totals in the 2008-09 budget year, when use dropped to 524,719 items.

It's also 15 percent above last year's count of 703,636, according to the report.

“We sort of expected, at some point, that the numbers would plateau and level off, but they haven't done that yet,” library spokeswoman Amber Mussman said. “This just shows the need.”

Circulation numbers count all the materials checked out from the library system, Mussman said, including books, CDs, DVDs and downloadable material like e-books. Foot traffic at the two locations also is up this year over last year, with 502,366 people entering the facilities in the 2010-11 budget year compared with 367,295 the previous year.

The steady increase in circulation and traffic through the library organization shows both an overall rise in demand for public library services and a call for more services on the west side of town, Mussman said.

“A lot of the people who have come through our doors are from the west side,” she said. “That shows there was a need on this side of town for a larger presence.”

A much smaller version of the Westdale Mall branch existed before the 2008 flood. Library officials expanded the west location after the flood to make it the interim main branch pending construction of a new downtown location. That facility is scheduled to open across Fourth Avenue SE from Greene Square Park in summer 2013.

Considering the circulation and traffic growth since expanding the west side branch, Mussman said, library officials have vowed to maintain a strong presence at the mall location.

“Users on the west side of town are going to want a branch that they can get to conveniently,” she said.

Because the library system's collection is being housed in two smaller facilities for now, it has a temporary capacity of 100,000 items, which could keep circulation from growing much more in the current budget year, Mussman said. The two facilities had to remove almost 29,000 items from the collection in the budget year that just ended to make room for 26,113 more relevant ones, Mussman said.

“It is a sort of cleanup process,” she said. “You have to make room for things that people want and people use.”

One newer aspect of the library's services that doesn't require space and doesn't have a capacity is its electronic book program. Cardholders have been able to check out e-books and other materials on the library's website since June 2010, and Mussman said the library adds virtual users as it enhances its online collection.

“Every month it grows,” she said.

Public library officials expect circulation numbers will be back on the rise once the new state-of-the-art facility debuts downtown in two years, Mussman said. The library will have a capacity for 250,000 items.

“We anticipate going higher than the pre-flood numbers,” she said.

Josh Carter, 32, said he just moved within three blocks of the Westdale Mall library and already frequents it with his 2-year-old daughter, Makenna. He said he's relieved to hear the Westdale location will stay, as is Carrie Kruse, 37, of Atkins, who has made the west-side library a regular part of her week since its expansion.

“It's more convenient with the parking situation and the traffic,” Kruse said Friday as her 7-and 5-year-old children read books at a kid-sized table in the mall location. “It just gives us another option.”