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Rockford Register Star
Rockford's non-library users should speak up
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Dec. 2, 2013 12:48 p.m.

These are exciting and uncertain times for the Rockford Public Library.
On one hand, you have the addition of cool features like Hoopla, which lets library card holders watch movies and TV shows, check out books and listen to music on their computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones, all for free.
On the other hand, you have a looming environmental cleanup project that's expected to cause major service disruptions at the system's hub of operations – the main branch downtown.
On one hand, you have the opening of the Nordlof Center, a newly remodeled theater/technology/community center just a stone's throw away from the main library building on Wyman Street.
On the other, you have fewer checkouts of print materials, fewer visitors and less computer use.
In these tough economic times, you'd think that library use would be increasing, right? It's not. Well, not traditional use.
Digital checkouts are increasing and more people are using the library's Wi-Fi. I suppose that's to be expected. More and more people have laptops and tablets and e-readers these days and are seeking new ways to use them.
The library had 541,700 visitors from January to August this year, down from 564,199 for the same period in 2012. That's not unique visitors. That's a door count compiled from all six branches. That accounts for people using the library who don't have cards.
After I write about the library I typically hear from a handful of people, which is nice because people should care about libraries. They provide a vital service to our community. Mostly, I hear from regular library users, people who go to the library at least once a week, and library workers. I hardly ever hear from people who use the library electronically. And I pretty much never hear from people who do not use the library at all.
Yet the folks who don't use the library make up nearly two-thirds of the city's population.
Is it because the branches aren't open on Sundays or late enough at night? Do libraries just not have what they want? Do they just not have a need for a library?
The library did a community survey in 2012. Of the 420 completed telephone surveys, less than half of the people interviewed said they had stepped foot in a library the past year. The top two reasons for not going: "no need/not interested" and "too busy/no time."
One thing is certain: declining usage numbers – coupled with that shocking statistic that 65 percent of the collection hasn't been checked out in five years – are not reflective of a system that people value. Services that people do not value that serve a smaller and smaller segment of the population over time tend to shrink until they disappear.
Now is a great time to start talking about what the public library means to our community, and what that should look like in the years to come. There are changes coming that will affect everyone that have a lot to do with how much it costs to run libraries and how they're being used.

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