The numbers are in, and in a sneak preview of the formal Report to the Community to follow later this spring, Thunder Bay Public Library shared key statistics today that describe increases in in-person attendance and the physical circulation of items from the collection.
“We saw almost 8% growth in in-person visits to our branches in 2024,” said Library CEO Richard Togman. “This is clearly tied to the surge we’ve experienced in program attendance in both the children’s department and adult services, and is a continuation of the multi-year growth we’ve seen in the use of our core service offerings.”
Total program attendance was up 34% over 2023, which included an increase of over 38%, or 10,000 visits, in children’s programming alone. Adult programming attendance grew by more than 30%. A significant increase was also tracked in the use of public computers across the Library’s four branches, which saw almost 16% more logins than in 2023. Meantime, the circulation of physical items from the collection also grew, with circulation increasing by over 13,000 uses - over 4% from the previous year.
“Demand is growing for the use of Library spaces and in-person services,” Togman said. “People are looking for personal, community-based services delivered by professionals. This is also reflected in our relationship with the business community, members of which come to us for market research help, information technology support and the use of unique databases and research tools to support business plans and growth strategies. We saw a growth of over 50% in that department.”
