Provo library is best seller

PROVO — Know somebody who fought to save Academy Square? How about someone who voted for the bond that paid for its restoration and conversion into the Provo city library?

Well, next time you see that person, give him or her a big hug for Provo Mayor Lewis Billings.

Four years after it opened, the $24 million Provo City Library at Academy Square has fueled a major increase in the number of items checked out each year. And based on one statistic, it appears Provo residents use the library twice as much as the national average.

"What do we owe this to?" library director Gene Nelson said. "I think the building draws people. We have a better layout and more shelving, so the books are more approachable. It looks really sharp, and users can find things faster."

Provo's library circulation exceeded 1 million items in a year for the first time in 2000, the year before the city closed shop at 425 W. Center and moved the library to Academy Square. Circulation is expected to pass 1.5 million this year.

That would mean that after a five-year period of slow growth before the move, circulation will have skyrocketed roughly 50 percent in the five years after the move.

"We haven't seen Provo's population jump 50 percent," Nelson said. "It's been just a few thousand."

And that's what has Billings feeling warm and fuzzy.

"Those responsible for (Academy Square), we should all give them a big hug and a kiss," Billings said. "It's another indication of the heart and soul of this city."

The new site was first constructed in 1892 as part of Brigham Young Academy, which later became Brigham Young University. BYU sold the property in 1975 and the buildings fell into disrepair. Then-Mayor George Stewart wanted them torn down.

Most of the buildings were demolished after voters approved a $16.8 million bond to convert the site into a new library in 1997, but the property's main building was preserved. Donors raised the other $6 million to pay for the project.

Now, Provo residents check out 13.5 books per person each year, about double the national average of 6.8, according to the American Library Association.

Orem's public library also has a healthy circulation, steady at about 1.3 million items per year, library director Louise Wallace said. Orem library users check out 17.5 books per person each year.