On the Same Page: Digital materials popular at Reedsburg Public Library
According to a recent article on the Wisconsin Public Radio website, Wisconsin residents borrowed 7.2 million ebooks and audiobooks last year from public libraries, “an impressive feat for a state with just under six million people.” Reedsburg Public Library’s annual report supports the statewide statistic. Locally, library customers are using digital materials in record numbers.
Each year public libraries are required to file an annual report with the Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction, with the checkout of digital material now a required statistic. In the 2021 document, Library Director Sue Ann Kucher reported that Reedsburg library customers checked out a total of over 15,000 ebooks, approximately 11,000 digital audiobooks, and almost 450 digital videos. That is a total of 26,450 digital checkouts for the library’s 7,359 registered borrowers.
The impressive number comes as no surprise. Reedsburg Public Library customers have two sources for the digital checkout and download of materials. The first is Wisconsin’s Digital Library or Overdrive, a project of the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium, and the second is Hoopla, a commercial service to which the Reedsburg Public Library subscribes. Both of these can be accessed through the library’s homepage at www.reedsburglibrary.org. Wisconsin’s Digital Library is also available as the Libby app for mobile devices.
For the user, Wisconsin’s Digital Library and Hoopla work in much the same way, with a Reedsburg Public Library card the only requirement for the digital downloads. With Wisconsin’s Digital Library, or the Libby app, available ebooks and audiobooks can be immediately downloaded, and reserves placed on those in use.
With Hoopla, the subscribing library “pays” for each download so there is never any waiting. Hoopla also offers digital music and movies. Of Reedsburg’s 26,450 digital checkouts, almost 3,000 of these were from the Hoopla platform.
Reedsburg Public Library’s 2021 annual report reflected a robust use of other library resources as well, especially in the midst of a pandemic. Physical library visits topped 84,000, with nearly 300 programs offered, and over 109,000 physical materials checked out by library users. The addition of 10 pick-up lockers in fall of 2021 ensured that curbside service will continue as a regular service and allow for contactless and after-hours pickup of library materials for the convenience of customers. The library staff are currently working on an outreach initiative to better serve local nursing homes, assisted living centers and residential living facilities as well as planning for the 2022 Summer Library Program.
If you have questions about Wisconsin’s Digital Library or Hoopla, or any other library resource or program, call the library at 608-768-READ or email info@reedsburglibrary.org. Library staff will make appointments with individuals to teach them how to use these digital resources.
