By Charles Pace, executive director, Gwinnett County Public Library | LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., July 28, 2015 | The last few years have been a time of significant transformation in libraries across the United States. Many libraries, including the Gwinnett County Public Library (GCPL), have had to deal with severe budget cuts because of the economic recession. However, I firmly believe that those libraries that adapt and evolve with the times will emerge stronger and better than ever. As the dark clouds of economic turmoil recede behind us we are presented with new and exciting opportunities for growth and reinvention.
Pace
In order to keep pace with changing customer demands, GCPL has put more resources into purchasing electronic books and other digital resources. As a result of this greater emphasis, we are seeing strong growth in the use of electronic books and digital audiobooks. In the fiscal year that just ended more than 400,000 of these items were checked out! Of course one advantage of digital content is that customers can never return the item late. The items simply disappear from your device when the check-out period is over.
Other exciting digital resources include Mango Languages (an online resource for learning foreign languages) and Zinio, a recently added database that allows customers to download current issues of more than 60 popular magazine titles to their PC or mobile device. GCPL is also proud to be able to offer dozens of different online classes through our purchase of Gale E-Courses. These classes are done online with an instructor and run for a six week period and are all free of charge.
Even bigger changes are on the horizon for the library system. We recently completed a new strategic plan which focuses on three key areas: Awareness of the Library and its services, Outreach and Engagement with the community, and Meeting the Needs of the diverse populations that make up Gwinnett County. Some of our specific objectives include an increase in the use of volunteers and expanded resources for our foreign language speaking customers. Having these goals will help us sharpen our focus and deliver the best quality services to our citizens.
On June 9 of this year we broke ground on the new joint Lilburn Public Library/City Hall project. This innovative public/public partnership will put a library and city hall under one roof and allows us to leverage our resources with those of other governmental entities in Gwinnett County. The new facility will be much larger and more visible than the former Lilburn library and will feature expanded children’s and teen areas, more technology, and a shared meeting room space. The Lilburn Library project should be completed and open to the public before the end of 2016.
We are also in the early planning stages for new libraries in Duluth and Norcross, to replace the current outdated facilities. These new buildings may include such features as small meeting and study rooms, enhanced technology access, Makerspaces for the use of 3-D printers and other design projects, and possibly digital content creation spaces.
Stay tuned for more details on these and other exciting projects coming to your public library!
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