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LIBRARY FUTURES: A GOOD INVESTMENT  
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Weber County Library

Development Fund

The Weber County Library Development Fund is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt, not-for-profit organization that provides funding for capital projects, literacy and outreach services, and for specialized library materials and equipment. The Fund accepts donations of cash, stock, and personal property in support of its mission. The WCLDF does not provide funding to take the place of the Library’s annual operating budget, nor does it provide funding for bricks and mortar or employee salaries and benefits.

Donations

You can be a part of your Library’s future by creating a legacy, providing a contribution, or by simply lending a helping hand.

For additional information on donating, please contact:

Lynnda Wangsgard, Executive Director
2039 W. 4000 S.
Roy, UT 84067
801-337-2616
or
Marcia Harris, Chair
2039 W. 4000 S.
Roy, UT 84067
801-337-2616

Library Futures: A Good Investment

The growing demand for equitable access to electronic resources, coupled with the public’s ever-increasing appetite for traditional library services, is stretching Weber County’s public libraries to the limit. On average each year, Library employees:

  • Service 141,000 active library cards – 54% of all Weber County residents have a card
  • Host 720,000 in-person visits – an average of 2.7 per capita
  • Complete 67,394 requests for reference service – almost one for every three community members
  • Loan 1,899,686 physical and digital items – more than 2.8 per capita
  • Host 2,254 programs, classes, and learning events attended by 87,000 people
  • Facilitate 118,675 computer sessions

Cost

Spending per person for Library service in Weber County is $0.46 less than the average of other major Wasatch Front libraries (Davis County, Murray Public, Orem Public, Provo City, Salt Lake City, and Salt Lake County Library). Source: Utah State Library, Annual Report, 2021.

Trends and Research

A Gallup poll published during January 2020 found the cultural activity that Americans engage in most often isn’t going to a movie theater, concert, or sporting event, but visiting a library (Smithsonian, 2020).

The Pew Research Council noted that young people (Millennials and Gen X) are among the highest users of public library services (2016).

Utah has one of the fastest growth rates in the U.S. and enjoys the youngest population, illustrating why use of the public library system is on the rise (World Population Review.com/states/Utah-population, 2021).

Libraries are unequaled community-based resources for job seekers, small businesses, struggling students, early readers, and isolated seniors…. It’s hard to overstate the value of guidance from a trained librarian who can competently sort through and organize available resources on your search topic (Governing, April 14, 2021).

Library capital spending has at least two effects. First, library capital investments cause patrons to use the library more…. Second, library capital investments cause students to perform better on standardized tests. In particular, we observe persistent improvement in reading test scores in the years after library capital spending. Our [study] results highlight the importance of public libraries…, even in an era with widespread access to the Internet and smartphones (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, The Returns to Public Library Investment, 2021).

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