Mission Statement
The Boyle County Public Library engages the community by promoting life-long literacy and learning, by connecting people to information and technologies, and by contributing to local cultural life.
The Library serves as a hub for the exchange of information and the provision of programs and services that enhance the quality of life in our community. Welcoming, accessible and free to all, the library preserves the past, explores the future, and offers the best of the present in educational, cultural and technological ideas.
Background Statement
Currently, Danville Library, Inc., offers Library collections of over 134,407 bar coded books, 17,471 media items (recorded books, music CDs, DVDs, etc.), 105 magazine/newspaper subscriptions, 59 electronic database subscriptions, 116,225 electronic books and 22,014 downloadable audio recordings, and a Bookmobile that makes 42 stops a week. In 2016, visits to the library totaled 154,570 There were 1,074 events in fiscal year 2016, with a total attendance of 27,372.
Library service in Danville has been continuous since 1893, when it began as a subscription library with 100 members. Organized as a promotion by a publishing company, the fledgling library opened with 300 volumes placed on shelves in a Main Street drugstore, overseen by a governing body of nine. Annual dues of $1 and overdue fines were the only sources of income beyondprivate donations.
The Young sisters, whose father, John, had been an early president of Centre College, bequeathed a considerable sum of money and various furnishings, including oriental rugs and oil paintings, for the establishment of a new facility. On Miss Eugenia’s death in 1936, the funds became available to construct the attractive Georgian style building which replaced the Downton house at Third and Broadway. Designed by Charles F. Cellarius of Cincinnati, Ohio, the facility was built by local workers under contractor, John W. Wood. The Young-Rodes Library building was finished by Christmas, 1938 and opening ceremonies were held in January, 1939. The book collection at that time totaled about 11,000 volumes.
The Library was first renovated in 1988, increasing the square footage to 17,000 square feet and preparing the Library for the soon-to-come digital revolution.
In 2005, the Library Board realized the current physical facilities no longer met the needs of the growing and changing community. After an extensive planning process, in 2007 the Library moved to temporary quarters while an $8.5 million expansion and renovation of the library building was begun. In January 2010, the new library building reopened, offering 44,000 square feet housing a children’s library three times its previous size, two additional floors of shelving area and expanded media collection, and incorporating a circa 1860 home as gallery, meeting and office space. Traffic in the library increased 65% in the first year of operation in the expanded building. Expansion of programming and the necessary staffing continues.
Impact Statement
Accomplishments of the past year:
1. The Boyle County Public Library created and approved a new Long Range Plan which will direct library activities for 2017-2022.
2. The Boyle County Public Library began a staff re-structuring intended to provide more stability to the growing staff, to utilize the skills of talented and well-trained department managers, and to support increased activities anticipated in the new long range plan.
3. The Boyle County Public Library continues to expand partnerships with many community organizations and agencies, particularly in increased interactions with the local public schools.
4. The Boyle County Public Library completed a major investment in Outreach Services by purchasing a new Bookmobile outfitted with a new collection of print and AV materials and equipped with technology to make the vehicle a Wi-Fi hot spot. The Bookmobile is actively expanding its rotating schedule to serve children, seniors, and others who are less able to attend the downtown library.
5. The Boyle County Public Library continues to add digital material to its collections which document the written and photographic history of the county and which will be available for public research and use.
Goals for the current year include:
1. Continuing the expansion of Outreach services to the county by increasing the selection of classees offered through the mobile computer lab, expanding the availability of Bookmobile services in innovative ways, and through the extension of programming offered in the Library by community partner agencies.
2. Conduct an evaluation of the physical space usage of the library as a means of improving and expanding library services called for in the new long range plan.
3. Continue the evaluation of staffing requirements in order to support new programming and public service needs.