August 13, 2024 3:05 a.m.

The Roseburg Public Library has set a new circulation record.

A city release said nearly 11,000 items were checked out in the month of July. Physical items accounted for 71 percent of the checkouts with the library’s youth collection leading the way.

Children’s and teen materials are about 42 percent of the collection. Last month, they made of 62 percent of circulation. This is in part because of the Summer Reading Program, although youth circulation exceeds that of adults throughout the year. The release said those statistics are a testament to the collection development and programming efforts of Youth Services Librarian Aurora Ropp.

At any one time, more than 20 percent of the library’s board books, early readers and junior graphic novels are checked out.  Library staff encourage patrons to place holds on these popular items because they don’t stay on the shelves for long.

Adults gravitate toward the newest books. For example, about 7 percent of the library’s 14,000 adult fiction titles are checked out at any one time. However, 35 percent of the 700 adult fiction items purchased in the past year are currently checked out.

Roseburg patrons increasingly turn to their electronic devices for audiobooks. Last month, they accounted for 50 percent of digital circulation.

For more information on Roseburg Public Library statistics and offerings, go to: https://www.cityofroseburg.org/news/default/library-circulation-reaches-new-heights/