2010 @ the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library

Excerpt:  The community's ongoing transition to digital reading, as well as to wireless Internet use, is evident when examining usage statistics for the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library system for 2010.

• Electronic checkouts of materials jumped from 827 in 2008 to 1,295 in 2009 and 3,109 last year. The figure includes an increase of 423 unique patrons checking out electronic material.
•  As of Dec. 31, the library system had 6,667 electronic items in its collection.
• Circulation of print materials still drives much of the library's traffic, although it is trending down. The public checked out just shy of 1.6 million printed items in 2007; last year the figure was just above 1.4 million items.
• Checkouts of nonprinted items such as audio books and DVDs continue to increase. Those items — which do not include electronic materials — were just below the checkouts of books last year.\
• In-person visits to library facilities were down slightly in 2010 to 1.84 million. Officials believe the ongoing deck repairs at Central Library were one factor, but so was the uptick in electronic use. 
• Use of walk-up computer use is trending down, but a growing number of patrons are taking advantage of the libraries' wireless capability. They point to the proliferation of smartphones, as well as the netbook computer program for public high schools in Evansville.