Lincoln City Libraries seeks input on next chapter

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) -Lincoln City Libraries are looking to write their next chapter, and to do so, they want to hear from you. On Monday, the libraries kicked off a series of community discussions, hoping to pave the way for the future while meeting the needs of library users in the Capital City.

Lincoln library director Ryan Wieber said that library use is going up, and as a way to keep up with that growth, the libraries want to hear from community members about what they want to see going forward.

“It’s good to always take a step back and identify how you’re going to make improvements,” Weiber said. “And you know, whether it’s short term or long term, the library should always be planning on the right way to go about that.”

Weiber said within the last fiscal year, circulation of materials has gone up 6%, with visitor ship going up 13% and program attendance going up 26%.

“We when you put all those together, it’s important to to there’s never a bad time to do planning,” Wieber said. “And for us right now is a great time to do that.”

While a central Lincoln location has been a topic for years, Wieber said he anticipates the discussion to include improvements to all quadrants of the city.

“It’s important that we come up with a solution for how we improve our downtown library service,” Wieber said. “But equally as important, it’s important for us to look at how we make upgrades to Anderson branch down the road, or Gere, or again, identify any gaps that may be existing in the city due to continued growth.”

Those community engagement sessions will continue through mid-October. For more information on the sessions, click here.

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