The CEO's Corner - Winter 2025
As we enter 2025, it’s a great time to reflect on the past year. Whether you borrowed a book, attended a program, or accessed one of our many resources, we’re so thankful for the ongoing support of the Burlington community.
How You Used Your Library in 2024
You did it again, Burlington! For the second year in a row, we’ve surpassed one million books borrowed. In addition, you borrowed over 569,000 digital books, magazines, and audiobooks through our Overdrive/Libby and Hoopla collections—the highest in BPL’s history!
The most borrowed book was The Women by Kristin Hannah with over 1,200 physical and digital loans. But you borrowed more than just books—the other most popular items were Chromebooks (1,011), Conservation Halton pass (2,171), Royal Botanical Gardens pass (531), People magazine (686) and Canadian Living magazine (440).
It was a busy year at BPL, with more than 4,100 programs across our branches. You sang along at storytimes, connected with each other at book clubs and learned new skills in technology, finances, writing and more. This year’s most popular event was an afternoon with astronaut, politician, and author Marc Garneau, which attracted more than 250 attendees.
New Library Services in 2024
2024 was an exciting year with new Library spaces and items to borrow. Here are just a few of the great new resources available to you:
Explore the DiscoverySpace
In 2024, we launched our DiscoverySpace, a new hands-on zone at our Central Branch featuring a variety of fun, self-directed STEAM-related activities and a LEGO wall.
More to Borrow
We’ve also expanded our collection this year, adding over 700,000 titles with the launch of our Hoopla eBook collection, as well as adding new Mindfulness and Grief Kits, expanding our jigsaw puzzle collection.
New Board Game Collection
With such a positive response to our puzzle collection, we have now launched a new board game collection. You can borrow some popular board games from long-standing classics like Clue to trending games like Hues and Cues.
BPL: A Great Place to Work
I am also pleased to share that BPL has been certified by Great Place to Work for the third year in a row. Creating a workplace culture driven by our organizational values is important to us, and I am proud of our BPL team!
Looking Ahead to 2025
Brand new in 2025, we are beginning the BPL Reading Challenge. We’re challenging participants to read one book every month in a featured theme for a total of 12 books in 2025. Track your progress by checking in online for a chance to win prizes! You can also connect with a community of readers at our monthly meet-ups.
Here's to even more reading in 2025. Happy New Year, Burlington!
Lita
