Dear Library Community,
As concern about COVID-19 (the disease caused by the new coronavirus), is growing, I would like to assure you that the Daniel Boone Regional Library is committed to the health and safety of our patrons and our staff, as well as to keeping the community informed with links to verified information about the disease. Visit our topic guide for links to the most up-to-date information.

Some of our program partners have canceled or postponed events scheduled to be held at our branches. At this time, DBRL is continuing to hold our own programs. If a decision is made to suspend programs and close meeting rooms, notifications will be made directly to those registered, as well as on our website and social media platforms.

In our recently concluded community survey, 83% of respondents said they used the library at least once in the past year. We also asked “Why haven’t you used any library services during the past year?” and 27% cited “I don’t have time/too busy.” We can assume that this applies to many who only used the library a few times in the past year, too.

“With busier family schedules and growing numbers of senior citizens, there is an increased need for the library to expand what we’re already doing to take library materials and services out to where our patrons are,” said Margaret Conroy, Daniel Boone Regional Library executive director. “It’s our next big initiative.”

Welcome to 2020! As do many of us, I am looking forward to the possibilities that a new year brings. At DBRL, we will be wrapping up our current strategic plan while simultaneously developing our next three-year plan. Thanks to the results of our recent community survey, as well as some internal work, we already have a number of ideas for increasing and improving our services to you.

One major project coming this April will be to ask the voters in Callaway County to consider a modest tax increase in order to sustain and expand services in Callaway.

Thanks to the randomly-selected 1,365 people in Boone and Callaway Counties who took time to answer our questionnaire, we have a better sense of what we’re doing right and where we can improve. The information will also be valuable when we begin drafting our next long-range strategic plan.

We used ETC Institute, an Olathe, Kansas research firm, that does studies for public libraries and municipalities all across the country. Here are some of their findings.

If you’re a non-profit organization in need of volunteers, the Columbia Public Library invites you to set up a table at our MLK Day of Service Volunteer Fair scheduled for Monday, January 20 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

If your group is interested in participating, please fill out the online registration form.