The State of the Library, 2021
- In 2021, the number of books, eBooks, audiobooks, large print books, etc., borrowed by our community grew by 15% to a total of 511,935 check-outs system wide, including:
| Bowling Green - 342,250 | Walbridge - 42,022 |
| Bookmobile - 8,273 | WC Jail Library - 5,373 |
| E-books/Digital Content - 114,017 |
- Number of cardholders is 22,842.
- We offered 448 programs attended by 12,098 people:
• 103 adult programs with 1,570 attendees.
• 345 youth programs with 10,526 attendees. - The library owns a collection of 198,589 physical items.
• 12,537 physical items were added.
• Plus, 3,112 digital items were added.
• 8,114 physical items were withdrawn.
2021 Highlights:
- The Foundation’s No-Show Novel Night appeal raised over $110,000 for the purchase of new books, audiobooks, eBooks, large print books, and picture books.
- Author visits: Carole Lindstrom & Michaela Goade, Nancie McDermott, Hannah Dennison, Susan Meissner, Beth Harbison, David Biedrzycki
- Over 9,000 COVID-19 Test Kits were distributed to the community.
- Expanded outreach services and home delivery throughout our service district.
- Creation of our digital collection, WCDPL OverDrive.
- We continued to serve the community during uncertain delivery situations by partnering with local Woodlink libraries and forming our own hub for sharing materials.
- New ways of getting books to patrons included book bundles and personalized reading suggestions.
2021 Revenue:
| Source: | Amount: | Percentage: |
| State Public Library Fund | $1,806,373 | 57.16% |
| Local Levy | $1,113,628 | 35.24% |
| Fees, Misc. | $25,332 | 0.80% |
| Foundation & Friends | $214,997 | 6.80% |
| Total | $3,160,330 |
2021 Expenditures:
| Category: | Amount: | Percentage: |
| Personnel | $1,684,934 | 62.01% |
| Print & Digital Materials | $449,552 | 16.55% |
| Supplies | $44,943 | 1.65% |
| Services | $444,084 | 16.34% |
| FFE & Technology | $77,906 | 2.87% |
| Other | $15,607 | 0.57% |
| Total | $2,717,026 |
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- 0.8 mill, 5-year levy passed in November 2010 with 58% approval.
- Levy RENEWED for 6 years in November 2014 with 70% approval.
- Levy RENEWED for 6 years in November 2020 with 73% approval.
- Levy funding accounts for 40% of the library’s tax revenue support.
- The current levy will next be on the ballot in November 2026.
- State funding for libraries is set at 1.70% of General Revenue.
- As the economy improves and state revenues grow, so does support for libraries. As General Revenue decreases (or is cut), so does support for libraries.
- State funding accounts for 60% of the library’s tax revenue support.
You may download PDFs of the current and previous States of the Library from the links below.