Popularity of library’s digital collection is on the rise

by Joni Astrup

Associate Editor

Great River Regional Library card holders’ use of the library’s digital collection — including e-books and e-audiobooks — continues to grow, making it the second largest library in the GRRL system.

“People are using the library in many different ways, and that digital circulation is something that’s continuing to grow exponentially, especially since COVID. We’ve been investing in that platform because there’s a lot more interest in it,” GRRL Executive Director Karen Pundsack said in an update to the Sherburne County Board of Commissioners on April 2.

Besides e-books and e-audiobooks, the library also has some streaming video and music available.

Overall, the St. Cloud Library is the largest circulating library in the GRRL system with 497,854 physical items like books, DVDs, CDs and so forth checked out in 2023. That’s followed by the digital library with 396,974 digital materials accessed and the Elk River Library with 205,653 items borrowed.

GRRL is a six-county system with 32 libraries in Sherburne, Wright, Stearns, Benton, Morrison and Todd counties. Throughout the system, a total of 2.4 million physical items were checked out in 2023.

Other highlights from 2023:

• A record number of children and teens — 12,973 throughout GRRL — participated in the library’s summer reading program.

• GRRL worked with Georgi Page of the Page Foundation to bring a pop-up banner version of the TESTIFY: Americana from Slavery to Today exhibit to GRRL and other library systems in Minnesota. The photo gallery exhibit displays art and artifacts from the Diane and Alan Page collection. Three of the banners are on display now at the Elk River Library.

• EPIC (Exploring Potential Interests and Careers) partnered with GRRL to turn an EPIC event experience into take-home kits representing different industries to help kids and families learn about career paths.

Elk River Library has 10,000 card holders

Four library locations primarily serve Sherburne County residents, Pundsack said. They are St. Cloud, Becker, Big Lake and Elk River.

There are 95,058 active card holders in the GRRL region. The Elk River Library has about 10,000, the Big Lake Library has nearly 3,000, and the Becker Library, 2,500.

During the library update, Sherburne County commissioners also heard from Hilary Dawson, library services coordinator for Becker and Big Lake, and Margot Barry, library services coordinator at the Elk River Library.

Barry said they hired, trained and developed staff members at the Elk River Library in 2023. Seven of their 11 staff members were new in 2023; two others were hired in November 2022.

“It was really important to lay a good foundation to continue the good work that had already been done in Elk River,” Barry said.

Elk River Library staff members also did outreach last year at the Elk River Farmers Market, Elk River Fest and Project Community Connect and have been working to make some “small but significant changes” to the library to improve the accessibility and the visibility of the collection, Barry said.

The Great River Regional Library is overseen by a 15-member board of trustees. Representing Sherburne County on the board are Sherburne County Commissioner Lisa Fobbe, of Princeton; Jayne Dietz, of Elk River; and Laura Kangas, of Clear Lake. Mary Eberley, of Elk River, recently got off the board after serving nine years, Pundsack said.

Fobbe said she’s in her eighth year on the GRRL board.

“Every year it’s just so clear to me how critical these services are for our community,” she said.

Great River Regional Library: By the numbers

Here’s a rundown of Great River Regional Library statistics for 2023:

• 95,058 card holders.

• 987,740 estimated library visitors.

• 19,090 new library cards.

• 166,868 reference questions answered.

• 2,399,921 physical items checked out.

• 308,405 e-books downloaded.

• 396,974 digital materials accessed.

Great River Regional Library: Most-borrowed books in 2023

Adult

1. “The Boys from Biloxi” by Grisham, John

2. “Mad Honey” by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

3. “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver

4. “It Starts With Us” by Colleen Hoover

5. “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus

6. “Someone Else’s Shoes” by Jojo Moyes

7. “Desert Star” by Michael Connelly

8. “A World of Curiosities” by Louise Penny

9. “Our Missing Hearts” by Celeste Ng

10. “Hello Beautiful” by Ann Napolitano

Teens

1. “The Final Gambit” by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

2. “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” by Suzanne Collins

3. “The Inheritance Games” by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

4. “It’s Not Summer Without You: A Summer Novel” by Jenny Han

5. “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” by Holly Jackson

6. “A Court Of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas

7. “We’ll Always Have Summer” by Jenny Han

8. “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins

9. “The Hawthorne Legacy” by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

10. “The Giver” by Lois Lowry

Kids

1. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Big Shot” by Jeff Kinney

2. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End” by Jeff Kinney

3. “Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy” by Tui Sutherland, Barry Deutsch, and Mike Holmes (Graphic Novel Version)

4. “Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea” by Dav Pilkey

5. “Dog Man: Grime and Punishment” by Dav Pilkey

6. “Cat Kid Comic Club: Collaborations” by Dav Pilkey

7. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball” by Jeff Kinney

8. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Diper Overlode” by Jeff Kinney

9. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling

10. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway” by Jeff Kinney