Jacksonville Public Library FY24 Annual Report by Jacksonville Public Library

ANNUAL REPORT FISCAL YEAR 2024

BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES

A LETTER FROM LEADERSHIP

Fiscal Year 2024 was dedicated to expanding access to library services and increasing their impact. In alignment with its Strategic Agenda, Jacksonville Public Library remained focused on ensuring every resident had access to lifelong learning, with a special emphasis on literacy and reading-based activities.

Expanding access centered the Library’s work around the needs of its customers, ensuring that it delivered programs, events, and enjoyable and enriching experiences. Highlights included the Annual Summer Reading Program, Jax Pop Con, and the DCAZ (Duval Comics and Zines), Beaches Comic, and Jax Book Fests, each offering unique opportunities to a diverse audience, allowing them to engage with writers, illustrators, creatives, and fellow enthusiasts.

Partnerships and community collaborations became a more foundational element of the Library’s service. Through READ JAX, the Library joined more than 25 organizations working to improve third-grade reading levels in Duval County. It hosted family reading events across the city and encouraged readers of all ages to celebrate the joy of reading and family time while also challenging them to track their reading minutes. During Celebrate Reading Week, Mayor Donna Deegan launched the River City Readers program, visting several branches to connect with young readers. With support from the Board of Library Trustees and the Kids Hope Alliance, plans were also put in motion to reintroduce the Bookmobile to library service, returning after 17 years.

Other collaborations included art exhibits featuring the work of Duval’s students and teachers, as well as members of The Art Center Cooperative and Jacksonville Art Guild. Visitors explored a traveling exhibit from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association and heard powerful stories of local African American history from

members of the Prince Hall Masons.

The Library also introduced new services like Books-by-Mail, which provided free home delivery for those unable to visit the library. A $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation supported the enhancement of the African American History Collection and expansion of the Memory Lab, where customers could digitize photos, videos, and audio recordings at no cost, preserving personal and community history and allowing them to contribute to the Jacksonville Community Archive.

These services and experiences brought people into free and welcoming spaces in their neighborhoods to learn, connect, and grow. And visit they did: more than 42,000 people per week visited one of the 21 locations, resulting in more than 5.4 million engagements systemwide. To put it in perspective, that was the equivalent of filling EverBank Stadium over 32 times and selling each attendee two hot dogs and a t-shirt.

Importantly, the quality of these interactions mattered as much as the quantity. Over 90% of surveyed community members said the Library was important to reading and lifelong learning in Duval County, with more than 70% calling it critical. More than 85% said it represented a good use of public funds. That was high praise from the people the Library served!

Thank you to the staff, volunteers, and partners, including the Library Foundation of Jacksonville, the Friends of the Jacksonville Public Library, and our branch Friends groups, for everything you did in FY 2024. The Library reflected the community it served, and when one thrived, the other benefited. FY 2024 truly was a year where both thrived and flourished through their shared success!

Virginia Berg, Chair

Fernando Meza, Vice-Chair

Mario Payne, Secretary

Jill Langford Dame

Pauline Drake

Kimano Edwards

Cameron Frazier

Tia Leathers

Molly McLendon

Celia Nass

Alexander Pantinakis

BOARD LIAISONS

Councilmember Rahman Johnson

Jacksonville City Council, District 14

Brandon Mack

Duval County Public Schools

Paula Renfro

Duval County Public Schools

Dr. Saralyn Grass

Kids Hope Alliance

FRIENDS GROUPS

Friends of the Jacksonville Public Library

David Smith, President

Friends of Beaches Branch Library

Marianna Kane, President

Friends of Mandarin Library

Ted Hornoi-Centerwall, President

Friends of Bill Brinton Murray Hill Library

Nancy Beecher, President

Friends of Bradham and Brooks Library

Friends of Willow Branch Library

Roxanne Henkle, President

Tim Rogers Chief Librarian & Library Director

Friends of Brentwood Branch Library

Mrs. Sharon Coon, Founder & Chair

Friends of South Mandarin Branch Library

Kenneth Tucker, President

HIGHLIGHTS OF FISCAL YEAR 2024

Jacksonville Public Library continues its long tradition as a trusted community space, helping members find answers, make informed choices, and enrich their lives. In 2024, the Library expanded accessibility, strengthened community partnerships, and inspired thousands of readers through innovative programs and special events.

River City Readers: A Citywide Challenge

Mayor Donna Deegan launched the new year with a citywide literacy challenge, River City Readers, celebrating the power of reading with a massive event at the Main Library. She announced plans for a new Bookmobile and encouraged families to track their reading through the Beanstack app with the goal of reaching 200,000 minutes read. The community shattered this milestone, leading to a new challenge: two million minutes read by the end of 2024. By summer, the River City Readers Summer KickOff brought even more excitement, keeping Jacksonville reading all year long.

Expanding Access: Books by Mail

Jacksonville Public Library officially launched its free Books by Mail service in July following a successful pilot program. Designed for individuals with disabilities or illnesses that prevent them from visiting the library, this program delivers books directly to customers’ homes, with postage paid both ways. This initiative joins Talking Books and Braille as part of

the Library’s ongoing commitment to accessibility.

Preserving Our Stories: Memory Lab and City Archives

Thanks to a $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation, the Library expanded its Memory Lab at the Main Library, adding new DIY digitization stations and equipment for scanning old photos, converting home movies, and preserving audio recordings. This investment encourages customers to preserve their personal and community histories.

Additionally, the Library partnered with the City of Jacksonville to preserve and digitize a historic collection of over 150,000 pages, including 375 volumes of public documents and City Council minutes. With $122,500 in funding from the City, the Library moved this valuable archive into a climatecontrolled space at the Main Library, and began digitizing the collection to searchable standards. This project will ensure that the City’s archives will be openly accessible to researchers, students, and the general public across multiple platforms.

Passion for Reading: Celebrating Literacy and Community

During Celebrate Reading Week in March, the Library, in partnership with READ JAX and the Library Foundation of Jacksonville, launched Passion for Reading, a video series featuring enthusiastic local leaders sharing their love for books. Notable participants included Action News Jax anchor Tenikka Hughes, Nemours Children’s Health President and CEO Dr. Lawrence Moss, Leadership Jax CEO (retired) Jill Dame, and founder of P.S. Never Give Up Hope, Renata Hannans. The videos, produced by Kennetic Productions, are available on the Library’s YouTube and social media channels. In a special surprise during Celebrate Reading Week,

actresses Katee Sackhoff and Emily Swallow delighted children at the Main Library with an impromptu storytime before heading to Collective Con. Sackhoff shared her love for libraries and how much she enjoys bringing her children to them.

Library Foundation Support: Growing Resources and Outreach

The Library Foundation of Jacksonville played a vital role in expanding library services and programs in 2024. One of its significant initiatives helped fund five new StoryWalk® locations throughout Duval County. The first new StoryWalk®, presented by Baptist Health, opened along the LaVilla Link of the Emerald Trail, while another, in partnership with Jax Parks and READ JAX, launched at A. Philip Randolph Heritage Park.

Tenikka’s Books for Kids, led by Action News Jax anchor Tenikka Hughes, became an official partnership with the Library Foundation. This annual book drive collected thousands of books and raised funds to purchase even more, ensuring that every child attending the Library’s Summer Reading Program could take home a free book.

In addition to the Foundation’s ongoing support, the Friends of the Jacksonville Public Library generously donated $125,000 to support various Library services and programs across the system. Their contribution helped fund

author events, Summer Reading, and other vital initiatives that enhance the library experience for customers of all ages.

Major Literary Events: Bringing Authors and Readers Together

The Library’s signature events brought thousands of readers together in 2024.

Jax Book Fest, held September 20-21 at the Main Library, featured bestselling authors Vashti Harrison, Jason Reynolds, and Gabrielle Zevin, plus a full day of Lit Chat Author Talks, a Writers’ Lab for aspiring authors, and opportunities to connect with local writers.

Jax Pop Con, a new all-ages pop culture event, welcomed over 2,000 attendees for cosplay contests, video game tournaments, fandom-themed storytimes, and a teen program inspired by Percy Jackson. Modeled after past Library Comic Fests, this Spring Break event celebrated storytelling across multiple mediums.

Lit Chats continued to bring notable authors to Jacksonville, with 2024 guests including graphic novelist Nate Powell, Top Chef personality Kenny Gilbert, romance writer Emily Rath, and New York Times bestselling author James Patterson. These events, featuring interviews and discussions, are available on the Library’s YouTube channel and “Completely Booked” podcast.

LITERACY, LIFELONG LEARNING & THE LIBRARY

The Jacksonville Public Library has the Main Library and 20 branches serving Duval County, with locations from Maxville to the Beaches. The library’s strategic priorities are to 1) improve the community’s reading, writing and literacy outcomes; and 2) improve communitydefined lifelong learning outcomes. As part of this ongoing initiative, Jacksonville Public Library contracted with the Public Opinion Research

99% of respondents think literacy skills are important in their community 95% think the Library is important in creating and maintaining a literate community

Lab (PORL) at the University of North Florida to conduct a multiyear survey of Duval County residents measuring public attitudes surrounding these topics. Now in its second project year, this report serves to provide insight into public perceptions of the library, and its importance to the community.