Newmarket Public Library e-services getting more use

YorkRegion.com
Jan. 29, 2016
Chris Simon  

Newmarket residents are checking out the e-services offered by the town's public library in a big way.

The Newmarket Public Library released its 2015 usage statistics Thursday. Those stats show a 26-per-cent increase in electronic borrowing — mostly e‐books, e‐audio, downloadable music and streamed video. Overall borrowing was up by nine per cent in 2015, when compared to 2014 numbers, including a five-per-cent rise for print materials.

“It’s not surprising that e‐borrowing is up,” CEO Todd Kyle said in a press release. “People’s habits are changing and the community is discovering the expanding digital services and collections offered by the library, including online courses and downloadable music.”

Total library website visits also increased by four per cent last year, with a 50-per-cent jump in the use of online resources. Some digital services offered by the library, such as online general interest courses, are not expressed as borrowing numbers, but by site visits, logins and searches, Kyle said.

Much of the increase came from web search results for York Info, the library’s community information and volunteer database. York Info is the provider of local social service data for the provincial 211 program.

In-person visits were also up by four per cent and the proportion of checkouts being done on self-serve machines increased from 42 to 59 per cent.

“Clearly these statistics correspond with the way people have embraced digital technology and continue to do so,” Kyle said. “The library’s mandate is to ensure the community has access to knowledge and learning in all its forms.”

The library is located at 438 Park Ave. It is open Tuesday to Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday (September to May) from 1 to 5 p.m.

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For more information, visit newmarketpl.ca.