With a new branch under construction, Vernon’s existing library continues to be a busy place.
There were 252,507 visits to the 32nd Avenue branch in 2010 or just under 5,000 a week. That was the second highest of Okanagan Regional Library’s 29 branches.
“It’s a well-used branch and people really appreciate it,” said Don Nettleton, ORL financial manager.
In 2010, 572,988 items were circulated at the branch, up four per cent from the year before. That was the highest circulation rate within ORL.
Computer workstations and wireless access were used more than 28,000 times (they are capped at one hour per customer per day).
Statistics also show that 14,607 people attended 722 programs in 2010, including story times, class visits, author readings and supervised exams.
There were about 1,078 reference questions answered per week.
“It’s continuing to be a real resource in our area,” said Shawn Lee, an ORL board member.
Presently, a new branch is being built on 30th Avenue.
The 30,000-square-foot building will be more than double the size of the existing facility.
“It will be a very impressive branch and we hope it will be a very well-used branch,” said Nettleton.
It’s anticipated the new branch could be open in February.
While Greater Vernon residents will have access to more physical space in the new building, they shouldn’t expect there to be additional hours of operation.
Nettleton says the number of hours a branch is open is based on the population of the community.
“During the winter, you are already at seven days a week. You are pretty much at the maximum for any of our branches,” he said.
ORL’s financial model is based on a provincial formula with half of it based on land values and half based on population.
Costs, including for the new Vernon branch, are shared by all member municipalities and regional districts in the Okanagan, Shuswap, Columbia and Similkameen regions.
“There is good value and efficiency,” said Nettleton.
“ORL operates at 20 per cent less than the provincial average.”
