Ways the Ferndale Library Saves the Day

Ways the Ferndale Library Saves the Day
(Ferndale Area District Library, April 30, 2018)
FERNDALE, MI – Statistics aren’t stimulating. They’re just dry, dense, and maybe abstract. So it’s no wonder that public libraries can have a tough time proving their impact. Because while local businesses can point to something more apparent like “sales,” the Ferndale Area District Library, and other public institutions, have to hang their hats on stats!
Earlier this month, when an ice-storm brought havoc to power lines and wi-fi connections of SE Michigan, more than 800 Ferndale residents wound up visiting the library on a single Monday, with the majority seeking access to our free wi-fi. Folks needed to check and respond to important emails, print off documents, and even file last minute tax returns.
Meanwhile, it’s noteworthy that Ferndale has averaged adding nearly 200 new library card users per month over the last six months, and were visited by 12,500 people, be they cardholders or just folks seeking Internet access, during the month of April.
When the power goes out, when you can’t access the Internet at home, if you’re stuck during a weekend from work and need to do a little overtime, or whatever the case may be…, public libraries can save the day for you. In the age of Google & Facebook, a prevailing conception seems to be that folks don’t need a library like they once did….The thing is, there may be lots of people who have concluded they’ll never need a library…until they do!  And those are the kinds of visitors we saw on Sunday, Monday & Tuesday, last week, while many residents awaited restoration of electricity.
Are you worried you’re in a pinch? You’re not… Not as long as you can get to the library. Or, if you need something printed and are on the go, you can even SEND your documents TO the library, with our new mobile printing app. Anyone can send a print job to the library’s print release station from a mobile device, tablet or computer. Black and white prints are $.10 per page and color prints are $.50. No library card or residency required. You can even print a boarding pass for your upcoming flight! Visit ferndalepubliclibrary.org with your mobile device’s browser and click “Mobile Print Service” to get the app, or follow that same step from your laptop or desktop to get started.
Did we mention we also added 600 new items for circulation in April? Because, yes, we can always be called upon to help print, scan, fax, or provide wi-fi, but there’s also a lot of stuff–books, movies, cds, dvds, kids books, audiobooks, and we didn’t even get to the digital files you can download! But we don’t want this press release to go on too much longer – we know stats are boring!
Learn more at http://www.ferndalepubliclibrary.org/

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