Hiawatha library grows, succeeds within budget

“Libraries are the mind and soul of their communities, and librarians are the mind and soul of the library.” This quote is from the American Library Association and nowhere is it more true than in Hiawatha. During the last two years, I have been proud to serve on the Hiawatha Library Board of Trustees.

Even though we are a small community, our library serves patrons from rural Linn County, Robins and Cedar Rapids.

This summer, the library has experienced a great increase in daily circulation and patronage, while maintaining a flat operating budget. In this era of heightened fiscal oversight, I am proud to share how the Hiawatha Public Library is a good steward:

In fiscal 2012, more than 312,000 items were circulated from the library collection, double the circulation in 2002. This leads all Iowa Class E libraries in circulation per capita! The library is an accredited library with the State Library of Iowa. The library expanded its adult and youth summer reading programs to more than 2,000 participants this year!

The library added benefits, such as self-check and maintenance, to make it better for customers. All of this and more with a fiscal 2013 operating budget of less than $456,000.

Check out and support our library. Thank you for your support!

Travis Christopher

Chair, Hiawatha Library Trustees