Headlines praise their popularity. News reports boast the beacon of hope they provide to those looking for jobs. We’re talking libraries, and they’re bursting at the proverbial seams.

At Hennepin County Library, we saw nearly a 2.5 percent increase in circulation from 2007 to 2008. That translates into more than 16.5 million items being checked out (and checked back in). In 2008 there were nearly 16 million visits to both Minneapolis and Hennepin County website home pages. Program attendance reached nearly 200,000 participants. The number of people using our 1,750 public computers for job searching, database access and general Web surfing continues to rise.

While our nation begins the process to right itself economically, we will remain in a world that needs libraries more than ever. Luckily, we live in the right place for great libraries...more

“Birth-to-six is an excellent website for parents and caretakers of young children. I viewed it with my 3-year-old granddaughter. We both enjoyed it. I will definitely tell others about it.” – Grandparent and library customer....more

“I really appreciate all the library does for teens and kids during the summer, it really encourages them to read, and the Library makes it a lot of fun!” - Teenage library customer...more

“I had one day here where it seemed that just about everyone was looking for a job and applying online. …At one point, I had four customers all sitting side-by-side job searching for jobs on various sites… I noticed them working with one another, offering advice and information on various sites they had used in the past… As one woman left, she told me she had no idea there was so much information on job searching and liked that the library had the information all in one place.” - Augsburg Park librarian and library customer...more

"I love the interlibrary loans; they have been such a tremendous help for research and for pleasure. Thank you for offering that service. Thank you also for offering materials to people who are homebound. They have lost so much; it's nice that you're able to give something back." – Library customer...more

"I just used your Spanish language welcome page with a student here at St. Thomas. The web page is great. I was able to help the student to get information in Spanish so she can do research. Thank you!" - Library customer...more

Two groundbreakings took place in 2008. Construction at Maple Grove and Plymouth libraries is well underway, with anticipated grand openings in 2010. Brooklyn Park, Excelsior, Nokomis, Northeast, Southdale and Webber Park projects also made strides in various phases of development...more