Popular! Kentucky Public Libraries Had a Record Breaking 2011, 20 Million Library Visits & 30 Million Borrowed Items

From the AP:

Kentucky’s public libraries reached new heights of popularity in 2011.
For the first time, the libraries recorded more than 20 million visits by people who checked out more than 30 million books and other items from their collections, according to statistics from the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.
Almost 2.5 million Kentuckians are registered to use library services.

More via the Official News Release:

Among the variety of services available, public libraries provided 4,127 computers free-of-charge for public use. During nearly 5 million computer sessions in 2011, Kentuckians used library computers for creating resumes, searching and applying for jobs, accessing e-government resources, doing homework for school at all levels, obtaining information for small business applications and searching for information on a variety of topics. Classes at libraries provided instruction for 35,000 Kentuckians in using electronic resources.
The 20,119,053 visits to the libraries in 2011 was a nearly 2 percent increase over 2010.
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ooks remain the most popular service in libraries. The number of books checked out in Kentucky’s public libraries increased by 170,000 to more than 20 million. In addition to printed books, the number of e-books checked out by public libraries increased dramatically to more than 200,000.
Kentuckians also attended programs in libraries in record numbers. More than 1.22 million attended programs planned especially for children, an 8 percent increase over 2010, in addition to Kentuckians of all ages who attended the 58,000 programs held in libraries.

Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, Jobs, Libraries, News, Public Libraries