Local Library Transforms into Vibrant Community Hub with Record-Breaking Attendance and Innovative Programs
- Steve Jurrens
- Feb 17
- 2 min read
Northeast Radio SD News - Watertown, SD - The role of the local library is fundamentally shifting from a quiet repository of books to a dynamic community hub, according to the 2025 Annual Review presented by Library Director Maria Gruener during Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.
The review, mandated by South Dakota state statute, highlighted a year of significant growth and shifting patron behavior. The library recorded a staggering 91,704 visitors in 2025, marking a new peak after a three-year upward trend in attendance.
“Tonight is the annual review of the library’s statistics; we’re required to do this every year by state statute,” Gruener told the council. “The photo that you’re looking at is our full-time staff... We are open seven days a week, and in the last year we had 91,704 visitors in 2025. Our attendance has actually gone up every year for the last three years, so we’re at a new peak.”
Beyond foot traffic, the library’s “holdings” are also evolving. While traditional print books still dominate the collection with 101,147 volumes, the digital landscape is expanding. Gruener highlighted a notable surge in e-Audio checkouts, which reached 38,281 in 2025, officially outpacing e-Books (25,407).
“People see the library much more as a social space than a place just to check out books,” Gruener explained. “We’ve been really expanding what we offer patrons and the different types and diverse programs that we’re offering them... ASL classes which we’ve never done before... e-Audio has really been trending up every year, and so that’s been having a higher percentage than the e-Books every year for probably the last three or four years.”
The “Library of Things” has also become a cornerstone of the facility’s appeal. Items such as bikes and junior kits had a circulation ratio of approximately eight checkouts per item owned.
Councilman Doug Allen emphasized the library’s broad reach across all age groups.
“I would also echo that. It’s really impressive to me that you had over 91,000 visits, and it’s a tremendous asset for the community,” Allen said. “Not just for all the students and all the children that use it and so forth, and the adults... it’s really a huge asset. So thank you for your leadership and your work.”
