INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — It was a bookmark year for the Indianapolis Public Library.
Library officials highlighted continued high levels of library use, a new branch for the city’s Westside and a commitment to fair compensation for its staff in its 2019 accomplishments.
Officials take 2019’s accomplishments as they plan for more improvements in 2020. Among its plans are opening a new Martindale-Brightwood Branch in spring 2020, finalizing plans for a new West Perry Branch and finishing renovations of the Wayne and Lawrence Branches.
The library says its summer reading program saw more than 48,000 children and families read more than 900,000 books in 2019. The library officials say they are continuing to work to provide library cards to all Marion County students by putting cards into the hands of 40,000 students in Perry, Pike and Wayne townships.
Indianapolis residents will have the opportunity to weigh in about library services in early 2020 with CEO Jackie Nytes’ Love Your Library, Share Your Voice, tour. That tour begins on January 28 and continues through March 3, stopping at all Indianapolis Public Library locations. During these stops, people can join a discussion about how well the library has met its goal and provide input for future priorities.
For more information on The Indianapolis Public Library’s services and programs, visit www.indypl.org.
2019 by the numbers:
- 11 million visitors in person and online
- estimated 10 million physical and electronic checkouts
- 390,000 families and individuals attended various cultural and educational programs
- 48,000 children and families read more than 900,000 books during the summer reading program
- Inclusion of more than 6,000 titles in the Chris Gonzalez LGTBQ+ Collection in partnership with Indy Pride.