I am happy to share Mesa Public Library’s first Annual Report where we highlight the many ways the library strives to serve our Mesa residents by providing programs, resources, and services that strengthen our community, empower individuals, and support lifelong learning. This report highlights the accomplishments and contributions of our dedicated staff and the City of Mesa’s commitment to creating opportunities that elevate our library users’ experience.
Over the past year, Mesa Public Library has continued to evolve and grow in exciting ways We’ve expanded our services, opened new spaces, and launched initiatives that reflect our deep commitment to literacy, enrichment, and learning opportunities From the debut of our new bookmobile, the Read Runner, to recordbreaking participation in our Summer Reading Program, we’ve worked to meet people where they are and build on the success of our core services
Our library team has been at the heart of these efforts With a constant eye toward innovation, our team continues to explore fresh ways to expand our services, reach our residents, and find new opportunities to connect, uplift, and serve our diverse community.
In Fiscal Year 2024-2025, we saw outstanding engagement by the Mesa community over this past year with over 45,000 program attendees and 170 outreach events. This next year we anticipate even greater engagement with our Read Runner bookmobile and Gateway Library reaching even more Mesa residents
Whether you’re a long-time patron or a new visitor, thank you for being part of our story. Your participation and support make everything we do possible. As we look ahead to opening our fourth full-service library, we remain committed to growing alongside our city and ensuring Mesa Public Library continues to be a trusted partner in education and exploration.
Thank you for being a part of this journey where our vision of Dreaming Sta
Polly Bonnett Library Director
HIGHLIGHTS
NEW PARTNERSHIP: PHOENIX RESCUE MISSION
Phoenix Rescue Mission (PRM), a contracted service provider, began providing onsite homeless navigation services at the Main Library in early December 2024. PRM’s online portal ticketing system helps us refer patrons to services when a Navigator is not onsite at the Main Library, and facilitates connecting people at other branches looking for support resources with PRM. This partnership has extended the impact of navigation services further across the community.
MESA READS
In January 2025, MPL launched Mesa Reads, a year-long reading challenge through the Beanstack app. Mayor Freeman issued a kickoff proclamation. Kickoff events took place at MN, RM and DR on Saturday, January 11. The Mesa Reads program encourages patrons of all ages to log 15 minutes of reading per day to establish a consistent habit. Participants also earn digital raffle tickets for monthly reading-related prizes. We set a community reading goal of 1 million minutes for the year, and quickly surpassed it! We’re currently aiming for 20 million minutes by December 31, 2025.
GATEWAY LIBRARY BEAM SIGNING
City employees and Mesa residents had the opportunity to sign their names on the last steel beam that was placed in the new Gateway Library’s roof A topping off ceremony is common in the construction of new buildings, though it is usually only the construction crew and key stakeholders that signs the final beam At the suggestion of City Council, the Gateway topping off was a community event open to all The beam was toured around to Mesa City Plaza and our libraries, then the public had a chance to make their mark at the Eastmark Farmer's Market on Saturday, February 15, 2025, where nearly 900 people showed up to sign the beam
HIGHLIGHTS
READ RUNNER LAUNCHES
After much anticipation, the Read Runner bookmobile was launched on Saturday, April 12, 2025 at Mesa’s spring Celebrate Mesa festival In this joint launch with Parks’ MORE (Mobile Outdoor Recreation and Education) vehicle, a new feature of Celebrate Mesa was debuted - Mesa on Wheels, featuring all the City’s mobile outreach units. Remarks were made by Mayor Freeman, Library Director Polly Bonnett, Parks Director Andrea Moore, and City Manager Chris Brady. Biogegradable, water soluble confetti was used to “christen” the vehicles.
The Read Runner began regular routes in June with 2 stops every Tuesday and Wednesday
READ RUNNER WINS “BEST OF THE VALLEY” AWARD
In the July issue of PHOENIX Magazine, the Read Runner was named “Best Library to Go” in the magazine’s annual Best of the Valley Awards.
2,535,194
Total Items Borrowed
32,309 114,094 1,423,810 New Library Cards Issued Digital Resources Used
689,123
Total Library Cardholders as of June 30, 2025
1,875
46,262
Total Visitors Library Programs Offered Program Attendees
COLLECTIONS
10,911 Comics Plus
CHILDREN’S MOST-BORROWED BOOKS
1. Dog Man. Vol. 12: The Scarlet Shedder by Dav Pilkey (494 checkouts)
2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: No Brainer by Jeff Kinney (475 checkouts)
3 The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! by Mo Willems (438 checkouts)
TEEN MOST-BORROWED BOOKS
1. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (286 checkouts)
2. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (258 checkouts)
3.Sisters by Raina Telgemeier (243 checkouts)
ADULT MOST-BORROWED BOOKS
1 The Women by Kristin Hannah (633 checkouts)
2 In Too Deep by Lee Child, Andrew Child (527 checkouts)
3 The Waiting by Michael Connelly (449 checkouts)
OUTREACH & ENGAGEMENT
159
8
Bookmobile miles traveled
Bookmobile stops
12,337 Facebook followers
“Let us help you restock your Little Free Library! In August, you can grab a pre-packed box for your LFL at the Main Library. Each box will contain books from various genres. Just visit the service desk, fill out a donation form, and pick up your box of books.”
170 Outreach events
Residents saved $765,500 in tax preparation services through MPL’s partnership with VITA.
6,032
Instagram followers
Highest performing Instagram post
MPL’s highest performing Instagram post (a Reel about Red Mountain’s stuffed animal sleepover) had:
