Eat Up

Before the Main Library reopened in 2009, it wasn't unusual for the CPL System as a whole to circulate over 1,000,000 each year. Many of you know that in 2011 the Main Branch alone reached a circulation of 1,000,000 for the first time in its history. And it only took until June to do it! (Read more about this achievement by clicking here.) That's an amazing 115% increase in circulation over the previous year. The circulation of teen materials was up 50%, and the circulation of children's items increased by 60%. Numbers like these are clear indicators that Cambridge is a community of readers. The question is, how will the library keep up with such voracious appetites?

Rest assured that the library staff has been hard at work doing just that. In fiscal year 2011 they added 36,190 items to the Main Library collections, and they hope to increase the size of the collections even more this year. Of course there's no such thing as a free lunch book. That's why the Friends of the Library have decided to get involved. At our Board meeting in January we committed to providing $20,000 in fiscal year 2012 to purchase materials for the library's varied collections.

So don't worry. Stop by the Main Library or your local branch. Come early and come often. There's plenty on the menu - think of it as a feast for the mind.

There are always great things happening at the library! For more information on how you can get involved with the Friends and help to support our Cambridge libraries click here.