Monroe County Public Library reports sharp rise in children’s e-book use and expands Blu-ray pilot to branches

Monroe County Public Library Director Greer Carson told the board of trustees that system programming and digital resources saw increased engagement in recent months.

Carson said the library hosted 217 programs with more than 3,200 attendees and highlighted a striking jump in children’s e-book activity: the Loat for Kids platform recorded 238 stories viewed in a single month shortly after its January introduction, nearly matching the total number of stories viewed for all of the prior year. Mango Languages also nearly doubled usage in March, a change Carson said likely related to the temporary loss of Rosetta Stone in the state Inspire collection; Rosetta Stone was restored in February after funding was reinstated. Following a successful downtown Blu-ray pilot, the library is expanding branch-level Blu-ray browsing collections to Ellisville and Southwest branches.

The board will meet again on May 20 to receive regular reports.