Library Levy Report: Year 5

Access to services and resources are central to our mission at Eugene Public Library. Whether in person or online, access to free materials helps create an informed community.

Our Levy Promise

Our levy promise was to increase hours (22 hours/week) at Bethel and Sheldon branches and restore Sunday morning hours at the Downtown Library. We did that, providing increased opportunities for cardholders to borrow materials and use resources.

COVID-19 restrictions, though, affected our open hours and access. Statewide restrictions closed our physical doors in mid-March 2020, and we quickly worked on increasing our digital access. To continue safely circulating materials, we began curbside pickup on June 15, 2020. We were able to reopen our physical locations Aug. 24, 2020 and returned the ability to physically browse the collection April 19, 2021.

One of the largest impacts of these restrictions was on physical visitors. In 2020, we had just under 189,000 visits to our three locations (118,000 downtown, 71,000 at the branch locations). In a typical year, the library system experiences more than 1 million visitors. As our hours return to pre-pandemic levels, we are seeing patron use increase, and the Library's average daily visitor count (for all three locations) almost doubled from September 2020 to June 2021.

During this year we added 4,455 new cardholders. The total number of cardholders in FY 2021 was 105,254.

EPL continues to reach beyond our building. Staff participated in a variety of outreach events and programs, including programs with Food for Lane County. Additionally, EPL supplied books to social service organizations such as the NAACP. In FY 2021, staff participated in 63 offsite programs that reached more than 1,500 people.

The Library also worked to increase access for vulnerable and unhoused populations by using the Library's van to provide temporary internet hotspots in other locations around our community to help folks apply for stimulus support and other pandemic-related aid. Every day, we continue to build partnerships to increase this access even more in the future.

Access Remains a Top Priority for EPL

During FY21, EPL collaborated with the Eugene Public Library Foundation and the 4J and Bethel school districts to expand library access to all district students, regardless of residency. Access for all students is a particular focus because a key indicator for future academic and professional success is the ability to read at or above grade level in third grade. Currently, approximately 50% of Eugene third graders read below grade level.

Starting in September 2020, every student in the Eugene and Bethel school districts became eligible for a free Eugene Public Library card, including those who live outside city limits. The Library has signed up more than 1,500 new students through this program.

This waiving of the usual non-resident library card fee was made possible by a three-year pilot partnership of the Eugene Public Library Foundation, Eugene Public Library, Eugene School District 4J and Bethel Public Schools. Because the cost of a non-resident library card is prohibitive for some families, some youth that attend Eugene schools have not been able to have a library card even though their classmates and friends do.

A Eugene Public Library card provides access to many resources that promote success in school and beyond. The Library offers students opportunities including ongoing development of reading skills, researching school projects, building study skills, working with live online tutors and more. In addition to serving as a key to a universe of information and educational support in print and online, a library card offers nearly limitless opportunities to read for pleasure and enjoy movies, music, magazines and more at no cost.

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