9304-R4_NewGloucester_2024-2025_AnnualReport_Web

ANNUAL REPORT Public Library

The New Gloucester Public Library recognizes the importance of providing exceptional library service and strives to be an essential resource to our community. Mission: The New Gloucester Public Library promotes literacy, lifelong learning, and cultural enrichment by providing quality information resources, services, and programming to all members of the New Gloucester community. Services: Library services include book, audiobook, DVD, puzzle, game, and cake pan borrowing, cloud Library e-book and audiobook borrowing, interlibrary loan requests, technology assistance, in-house laptop/desktop use, printing, copying, scanning, and faxing, free and reduced cost park passes, free internet access, educational and recreational programming for all ages, and outreach with community organizations. Schedule: NGPL is open to the public 33 hours per week: Sunday 11am-3pm, Monday & Tuesday 11am-7pm, Wednesday 11am-5pm, and Thursday 9am-4pm. New Gloucester and Gray residents are eligible for free library cards at both public libraries. This benefit allows residents from both communities to have library access 7 days per week. Thank you, GPL! Use: During FY2025, 8,556 people visited the library. The library created 205 new patron cards. Patrons used 13,454 physical items from the collection and 2,221 digital items. Library patrons requested 365 items to borrow from other libraries. The library website, www.newgloucesterlibrary. org was visited 23,678 times. Collections: The library offers collections for children, teens, and adults in formats including regular print books, large print books, audiobooks, magazines, and DVDs. Patrons have access to online cloud Library e-book and e-audiobook items and the Maine Digital Library databases. In FY2025, the library added 2,053 physical items to the collection. If the library does not have titles you are looking for, please let us know so we can borrow it via ILL or purchase it. In addition to information resources, we also lend puzzles, cake pans, free/discounted passes to parks and museums, and a seed library where you can take or donate seeds. Canoes and kayaks can be borrowed at the library and used on the Royal River; they are provided by the NG Parks and Recreation department.

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