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Budget Year / Version:
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Program Description

  Library Services to the Public

MCPL consists of 23 library sites including the Noyes Library for Young Children, the Montgomery County Correctional Facility Library, and the Collection Management Center.

Library services are available to all County residents, Maryland residents, and those working or attending school in Montgomery County, free of charge. Library customers use MCPL services including information services for children and adults delivered in person, over the telephone, and outside the walls; a Public Access Catalog for access to indices and full text materials; downloadable content and streaming services; automated renewal, online catalog, and customer account access (24 hours, 7 days a week); programming for children, teens, seniors, and adults; technologies such as Launchpads, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) kits, wireless hotspots; in-house laptops and meeting rooms and collaboration spaces for public use. MCPL is a fine free library system.

The Collection Development Unit provides for the selection, acquisition, cataloging, processing, and delivery of library content and materials, including electronic resources, eBooks, eAudio-books, and streaming services. It is responsible for planning and inclusion of new formats and the evaluation of collections in relation to community information needs. Collections are purchased for English learners, as well as collections in world languages.

The materials delivery service delivers new materials, customer requested items, and returned materials among MCPL branches.

The cataloging and processing unit prepares all library materials for use in the branches.

The inter-library loan service provides opportunities for Montgomery County cardholders to use materials from public library systems throughout Maryland, from out-of-state public libraries, and from academic and special libraries throughout the world.

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Program Contacts

Contact Steve Kapani of the Department of Public Libraries at 240.777.0045 or Deborah Lambert of the Office of Management and Budget at 240.777.2794 for more information regarding this department's operating budget.

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Program Performance Measures

Program Performance MeasuresActual FY21Actual FY22Estimated FY23Target FY24Target FY25
Total library collection use 19,184,30911,616, 46311,906,02912,500,53613,095,043
Library electronic database usage1,382,3951,065,725899,754712,335524,916
Number of library visits 2198,1002,540,0982,830,2112,623,0022,415,794
Number of public computer sessions 35,757112,73199,60086,47273,344
Attendance at library programs 4113,04773,677115,000156,323197,646
Active library users 5143,016184,560226,104267,648309,192
Number of participants in early literacy programming 653,28122,763108,394113,796119,198
1  This performance measure includes the number of physical items checked out from the library, plus the items used in-house by customers, and the checkouts of ebooks, e-audiobooks, and similar electronic materials.
2  “Library visits” represent customer branch access to services and resources inside the facility. Facilities closure for COVID affected in-person visits by the public. Branches re-opened for public access in three “rolling” phases, beginning June 1, 2021, and ending July 6, 2021. Library public service hours were 48 hours per week per location when they reopened. These public service hours were expanded to 64 hours per branch per week February 27, 2022.
3  Libraries were closed to the public for the majority of FY21. Six branches reopened on June 1, 2021, eight additional branches reopened on June 14, 2021, and all remaining branches reopened on July 6, 2021.
4  Numbers represent onsite and virtual program attendees.
5  “Active user” is a registered MCPL borrower who has used their library card at least once within the 12 month period from current date of data search. These users are associated with a Montgomery County ZIP code.
6  “Early Literacy Programming” comprises the number of attendees at Storytimes. Facilities closure for COVID affected this metric as there was no longer in-person programming. Branches re-opened for public access in three phases, beginning June 1, 2021 and ending July 6, 2021. Library public service hours were 48 hours per week per location when they reopened. These public service hours were expanded to 64 hours per week February 27, 2022. Programs continued to be held virtually through FY21, and in-person early literacy program resumed May 1, 2022.
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Program Budget Changes

FY24 Approved ChangesExpendituresFTEs
FY23 Approved43696755380.60
Shift: Annual Costs for Software License Renewals and Maintenance Agreements from FY24 Capital Improvements Program to FY24 Operating Budget1641690.00
Increase Cost: Operating Expenses to Align with Actual Spending on Security Services and Moving Expenses1050190.00
Increase Cost: Mid-Year Creation of Driver/Clerk (grade 12) Position749151.00
Increase Cost: Mid-Year Increase of IT Technician III (Grade 19) and IT Technician I (Grade 14) from Part-Time to Full-Time708971.00
Shift: Transfer of Project Search (Grade 5) from Department of Permitting Services to MCPL330000.50
Increase Cost: Mid-Year Increase of FTEs for Library Technicians in Collection Management Unit232760.36
Reduce: Collection Materials Budget to Discontinue Database Subscriptions With a High Cost Per Use-660580.00
Reduce: Library Pages Budget-308159-11.06
Reduce: Library Substitute Budget-503412-10.29
Multi-program adjustments, including negotiated compensation changes, employee benefit changes, changes due to staff turnover, reorganizations, and other budget changes affecting multiple programs.2965606-1.00
FY24 Approved46256008361.11