Library in a Shopping Mall: Learn About The Mall Library Connection in Vancouver, Washington

Vancouver, WA is a suburb of Portland, OR.
From The Oregonian:

Judging from the rate of circulation since the library reopened in March, other visitors like it, too. Patrons checked out a total of 18,484 items in April, compared to 23,715 in April of 2012, a sign that the small branch is quickly bouncing back from its three-month closure.
Library administrators were forced to make changes in the library after Westfield refurbished the mall and nearly doubled rental rates, says Nancy Tessman,  executive director of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, which has a $20 million operating budget this year.
[Clip]
They didn’t want the branch, an initial contact with the library system for many of the region’s newcomers, to leave the mall, says Tessman. So they cut the mall library space in half, holding the rent to $72,000 a year, about the same as last year. While cutting space, they also gave the interior a much-needed makeover.
Administrators also changed the name from the Vancouver Mall Library to the Mall Library Connection  to emphasize its importance in connecting the public to other branches in the system.
Although the mall library’s book collection dropped from 58,000 to 20,000 volumes , Tessman says the collection will stay fresh and renewed on a regular basis.

Read the Complete Article
Visit The Mall Library Connection Web Page
 

Filed under: Libraries, News, Patrons and Users