Tuesday, October 30, 2007

A great event...

I went to a wonderful event last Friday...the opening of the Bradford Co. Public Library. The new building, much needed, is 20,000 sq.ft. What a difference from the 4,000 sq.ft. building that the county had. This new building is a great asset to the Bradford County community.

The building is beautiful. Plenty of room for books, magazines, videos and their new DVD collection. It has an expanded children's area with computers for little fingers, and a room where programs can be held.

There are additional computers for public use and a classroom that will be used by Santa Fe Community College. That will be a nice partnership.

Pictures as soon as I get some.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Floridians Value Their Public Libraries

Florida residents really enjoy reading...102 million items were borrowed from public libraries in fiscal year 2005-2006. Fifty one percent of Florida residents have library cards; that's more than 9.2 million people.

Library staff can help you find what you are looking for. Over 24 million questions were asked and answered by library staff. These are questions about finding information that you need, such as information on health or jobs, or information for student reports. Over one half million of those questions were answered online, either by email or through Ask a Librarian, an online chat service with a librarian available Sunday through Thursday 10am to midnight, and Friday and Saturday 10 to 5pm.

Monday, October 15, 2007

What is your library worth to you?

How much monetary benefit do you get from the library? How much money do you save by borrowing a book from the library instead of buying it?

The State Library of Florida has provided us with on online calculator that helps you calculate the value of library items that you borrow. It is based on one devised by the State of Maine and modified a bit for Florida use.

Plug in some numbers and see how much the library is worth to you.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Did you know...?



There are other things that you might not know about libraries.

  • Florida's public libraries return $6.54 for every $1.00 invested. Florida's libraries contribute to the state's economy through jobs created and a positive impact on Florida's gross regional product. (From Taxpayer Return on Investment Report, January 2005)