Program areas at DCLS
Collections - lending of books, magazines, dvds and other resources to the Library's 137,398 cardholders, is one of the primary services offered by the Library. In 2023, Library users borrowed approximately 715,116 items. Of this total, adult and children's resource items were borrowed 358,457 and 356,659 times, respectively. In addition, the Library saw 416,463 online resource items viewed and 253,490 e-books loaned during 2023.
Public computing - free access to the internet and public computing is another core Library service provided by the Library. In 2023, the Library offered 165 public computers (pcs and laptops) which were used 62,296 times by Library visitors during 17,727 public hours. In addition, Library cardholders performed approximately 3.2 million searches of the Library catalog. The Library had 447,480 sessions of wi-fi used in 2023.
Programming and outreach - programs for families and children are a core Library service. The in-library and outreach programs are designed to encourage children to associate fun with learning and reading. In 2023, the Library had 1,684 programs and outreach visits with 30,969 attendees throughout the year. In addition to the events, programming included the annual summer reading program, designed to keep children and adults actively engaged in reading and learning over the summer, early learning programs focused on math and science, movement and art, stepping stones to milestones, which is designed to encourage early learning by helping parents become a child's first teacher while instilling a love of reading for many others.
In addition to general Library services offered to the public, the Library provides the following core services: 1. Reference which makes reference staff and resources available to members; 2. The Library serves as the district center providing delivery, reference support and other Library services to Dauphin, cumberland and perry counties.