Visitor counts up at county libraries

Visitor counts are up at the Blytheville and Osceola Public Libraries, and officials with the Mississippi County Library System are pleased that so many citizens are using the county libraries.

At the Blytheville Public Library, patron count went up from 79,050 last year to 84,224 this year. The Blytheville library also saw an increase in computer use this year. Last year, 27,882 people used library computers but that number went up to almost 30,000 this year.

"It is so good to see an increase," Jay Ziolko, director of the Mississippi County Library System said. "It means more people are using and visiting our libraries. At one time we saw 100,000 people visit the Blytheville Public Library in a year, but that number dropped and stayed down. It is nice to see it on the rise again. It is amazing that 30 percent of the people that visited used our computers. The free Internet access with our computers is one of our most popular services at all of our libraries."

The Osceola Public Library saw 48,041 people this year, up from last year's 47,299. In Osceola, there was a slight dip in computer use, but the use of other services increased.

At the Mississippi County Library System's Board of Trustees meeting late last month Kevin Barron, assistant director of the Mississippi County Library System, explained that the numbers average out to three visits per person in the county per year to the county libraries.

The librarians feel that the electronic card catalog, new ebooks, community classes, the kids summer reading program, free Wi-Fi and free Internet use are among the many services that are bringing patrons back to the library. The Mississippi County Library System continues to work to meet citizens' needs by providing new services as well as the latest books and magazines. Both Ziolko and Barron hope to see an even bigger increase in patron count next year.