The next chapter: How libraries are adapting to users' changing needs

On any Tuesday afternoon, the Selby Library in downtown Sarasota hosts a diverse group.

A 76-year-old woman meets a friend regularly to study Russian and Italian literature. High schoolers kill time after school and laugh together in comfy chairs. A young woman studies real estate at a table by the window. A man who helped build that very library nearly two decades ago sits in the atrium, where he comes every day to read. A grandmother spends time with her grandson.

These are snapshots of the people who use Sarasota County’s libraries. But,  a growing number of county library patrons aren’t showing up in any of the nine physical locations, but they may be visiting online.

In 2016, the libraries saw more than 1.8 million visitors — down about 12% from 2012.

When looking at data for Sarasota County’s libraries between 2012-2016, some of the numbers are down: visitor count, items borrowed, requests for information, computer sessions, website visits. But some things are up: number of media downloads, reservations made, number of programs offered and attendance, number of summer reading programs and attendance.

A Pew Research Center study showed that in 2016, young adults 18-29 were more likely to have visited a library in the past 12 months than any other group. The study found 40% of adults 65 and older had done so, while 53% of young adults had. While data in Sarasota County don’t reflect the library patrons’ ages, the numbers can help paint a broader picture.

For example, Sarabeth Kalajian, director of Sarasota County’s library system, said much of what the libraries offer today can be taken advantage of digitally or remotely — whether it’s free computer access, free Wi-Fi, or downloadable books, music and movies.

Between 2012-2016, the number of book and media downloads more than tripled in the county, to top 150,000 in 2016.

“There are quite a few people who are using the library resources but not actually driving to the library to enter the building,” Kalajian said, emphasizing that digital natives, or those who were raised with technology like the internet, love to download media and have it instantly. However, they rarely use the library in the traditional sense.

Additionally, she said, libraries have maintained their importance as a social or meeting place. Active learning opportunities, like coding classes, arts and culture discussions and yoga sessions, are offered at libraries, helping to make them “social centers,” Kalajian said.

Between 2012-2016, the libraries began offering more programs and saw attendance increase as well. That is especially noticeable with the summer programs — there were 400 more programs offered in 2016 than in 2012, and attendance more than doubled.

“There are folks who have talked about libraries being the last great civic space in our society, where anyone can walk in and take advantage of this incredible resource,” Kalajian said. “And the way people use the resources is very customizable.”

“The basic core mission of the library hasn’t changed. It’s just the way we’re providing our services that have changed.”

That’s one of the reasons a new library in Venice is exciting to Kalajian — the opportunity to customize the building to the area, and the residents. Demolition began on Venice’s library in March of this year, and the new library is set to open in fall 2018.

Even as the county gets started on construction of a new library, the future of the system is hazy. While the library’s budget has increased slightly each year in recent memory, the County Commission will soon consider where to cut as it works to rebuild reserve funds exhausted in balancing the budget. Last time there were budget cuts, library hours were reduced.

Although the Selby Library’s patrons came to the library for different reasons, and many of them never came to the library at all, the “last great civic meeting spaces” still work to provide the same opportunities as always.

“The basic core mission of the library hasn’t changed,” Kalajian said. “It’s just the way we’re providing our services that have changed.”