Readers save $500k using library

Gibson Memorial Library is busier than ever according to their FY 2025 annual report.

During an October Creston City Council meeting, Director Danielle Dickinson Thaden shared library statistics spanning from July 2024 to June 2025. Despite extensive weeding last fall, Dickinson Thaden said checkouts have steadily increased.

“We went through our collection and got rid of what is no longer in use or that has become outdated. That always makes folks nervous because they think fewer books means fewer checkouts, but that actually proved the opposite,” Dickinson Thaden said. “We had 1,000 more physical checkouts than the previous year despite getting rid of a few thousand books.”

In total, the library had 31,651 physical checkouts in FY 2025, a 3.6% increase from FY 2024. Online checkouts, such as those from Libby, increased by 6.7% to a total of 10,505 checkouts. Based off all these checkouts, the library estimates patrons saved a total of $550,846 throughout the year by using the library instead of purchasing material.

Programs both at the library and away saw success. In fact, the library saw a 55% increase in attendance of outreach programs, with a total of 2,987 people attending. In-library programs saw a total of 3,674 attendees.

High levels of circulation and attendance are important for libraries. Not only does it show a community is benefitting from the library, but the more the library is utilized, the more state funding it receives. With the number of library card holders up 9% from last year, these rising numbers look to continue into coming years.

Programs and circulation aren’t the only items Gibson Memorial has been working on. Throughout FY 2025, the library added more spaces to encourage patrons to read, study or simply hang out on location.

“We would still love to have a bigger space, but we don’t, and so by weeding our old books, we have freed up space for our patrons to actually use to study, to meet, to gather. It’s really paid dividends for us in getting that space that can be used in other ways,” Dickinson Thaden said. “Our other more recent plan is focused very much so on our building, again, maximizing every inch of our current footprint, because that is the footprint we have.”

Location improvements include a new dual-purpose nursing and study room, improved lighting in the genealogy room, new carpeting and the official opening of the outdoor pavilion in July 2024, with fans and lights being more recently installed.

The library plans to continue this effort in upgrading their space, with the idea featured as one of three main goals in the libraries 2025-27 strategic plan. The other two goals are to support emergent literacy and to support the community through community resources and services.