Abstract

Across the United States, local libraries provide a wide variety of services and resources to their visitors. However, to their dismay, public library use has decreased 31% from 2010 to 2018 (The Freckle Report, 2021). In 2020, this decline was only heightened by COVID-19, with local library administrators voicing their struggles to reach the same pre-pandemic traffic. This served as inspiration for the two research questions of this study: are people satisfied with the space and resources offered by local libraries and how can these things be changed to bring back patrons after COVID-19? This is done with a mixed-methods survey administered both online through Qualtrics and in-person. Current survey responses indicate a need for a greater variety of genres and more building accessibility. The potential impact of this study is to determine ways libraries can increase their importance and overall functionality within a community.