Annual Report 2009

The Canton Public Library connects your community.

This has been a transformative year for the library. We embarked on a new Strategic Plan, working with local Canton firm K2 Communication Plus to conduct focus groups with patrons, online and paper surveys, and research into the current and projected population of Canton. This work will guide us through the next three years as we focus our efforts and your tax dollars to provide the programs, collections, and services that you need most. Out of this Strategic Plan came our new Mission Statement, revised Core Values, and new logo, all of which reflect the diverse, dynamic, living organism that is your public library.

Despite the recession, CPL remains financially viable and overwhelmingly popular. The Library Board of Trustees is committed to responsible stewardship of your tax dollars and the trust you have placed in your public library. We remain the busiest single library in the entire state of Michigan — for the first time in our history, we reached 2 million total checkouts, and averaged nearly 2,000 visitors each day. Our volunteer program is the largest it has ever been, with volunteers numbering into the hundreds, dedicating themselves to community service. Program attendance remains high for all ages, from preschoolers to students in elementary, middle, and high school, as well as the entire spectrum of adults. We could not have accomplished these milestones without the patronage and support of donors like you.

The Friends of the Canton Public Library remains our single-largest donor, using proceeds from the Secondhand Prose used bookstore to fund library programs, collections, and our Endowment Fund. Many of the events, collections, artwork, and even pieces of furniture you see in your library are the result of the Friends’ efforts to ensure you have the library this community deserves. In 2009, CPL was named a Star Library by the leading industry publication, Library Journal.

On behalf of everyone here, I thank you for your support and your generous donations, whether they are monetary donations to our Endowment or Operating Funds, or donations of your time by volunteering with the Library, the Friends of the Library, or the Secondhand Prose used bookstore. All of these contributions together make us one of the best libraries, not just in the state but also in the nation, and one of the best values in the community.