Downtown Library Nearly Triples Usage
I'm not surprised, but it's still so good to see people respond to the new library. Not only are more people using the system, but the structure and its location serve the arts/municipal district well. You have a reason to stop and see the engraving on the county building. You can appreciate the library's tiered roof from the rooftop of the museum. It establishes a tunnel vision to frame City Hall looking westward on Park Avenue. Its lighting is a nice nighttime complement to the Chihuly tower of the Museum of Art.
To think it was the second location for the proposed MAPS library really makes you appreciate the way things turned out. I don't think the library would have gained such favor if it was situated at its original location on Sheridan facing the Myriad Botanical Gardens. It's more centrally located to where the downtown workers are.
Downtown library users triple initial predictions
By Karen Klinka
The Oklahoman
Twelve months after the doors opened to the Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library, officials said attendance numbers have shattered all estimates.
Nearly three times more people used the library in the first year than experts predicted.
Metropolitan Library System officials said these increases not only surpassed previous totals and the estimates used for internal planning purposes, but were large enough to surprise them.
The $24 million library opened to the public one year ago Wednesday.
Debra Spindle, manager of the Downtown Library at 300 Park Ave., said the past year has been a learning experience for her and her staff.
"We're thrilled, but we've had a lot to learn in dealing with a large number of customers while our staff had to expand," Spindle said.
"Librarians, as a rule, are planners and organized," she said. "I think we were ready, but we weren't prepared for how big a change the new building would make."
Funded by a one-cent Metropolitan Area Projects tax, the 112,000-square-foot library was the final component of Oklahoma City's 10-year MAPS program.
The four-story structure takes up a full city block, and houses a high-tech learning center, computer lab, a small auditorium, several meeting rooms and a soaring atrium.
"We were surprised," Spindle said. "I think we knew it was going to be an attractive space, but I don't think we ever realized how popular it would be."
One statistic alone dramatically summarizes the popularity of the new library.
During the 2003-04 fiscal year, 1,957 library cards were issued at the old Downtown Library at 131 Dean A McGee.
In contrast, 7,465 people signed up to be cardholders at the new location -- an increase of 5,508, Spindle said.
"We had more than 800 sign up for new library cards the first month we opened," she said.
Circulation also has jumped more than 113 percent.
In 2004, 158,371 books and materials were checked out, or renewed, at the old library, but the total circulation soared to 337,894 the next year in the new building, Spindle said.
The number of events at the library grew significantly, too.
Before the move, the library sponsored 218 events, with attendance totaling 5,498 for 2003-04.
At the new library in 2004-05, the number of library-sponsored programs reached 922 and attracted 19,744 patrons.
The amazing thing about these increases is they were achieved despite the Downtown Library being closed for several weeks during its eight-block move, the library manager said.
Spindle credits several factors, beyond the larger new building, with this growth in usage and participation.
The old building was open only one night a week and closed Sunday. The new library's hours have been extended to 9 p.m. four nights a week, and it is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.
The old library offered just two service desks and one floor of books, while the new library has two floors and six service desks.
In addition, only eight computers were available for public use on a walk-in basis at the old location. The new library has 35 computers, including wireless Internet access.
"It's nice to look around in the evening and see that so many students are using the library now to study," Spindle said. "Everything has been greater than we expected at the new library, and we've just had to go with the flow."
Even tours by local schoolchildren have become more frequent, she said.
"For some schools, a tour of the Downtown Library has become the end-of-the-year treat," Spindle said. "We feel very honored to be the reward."
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