2014 has been another vibrant, joyful, and VERY fast-paced year for the Learning Leopard Library. I can’t believe that 2015 is just around the corner – but I am so excited to see what it brings to Johnson Elementary School!

Last year’s 2013 By the Numbers post was so popular, I’m thinking of making it into a holiday tradition. Here is a summary of the Learning Leopard Library’s 2013-2014 school year experiences so far through numbers:

9,668
Number of materials available for checkout, including books, magazines, videos, laptops, iPods, Nooks, iPads, digital cameras, and video cameras.

7,623
Approximate number of materials that have been checked out from the Johnson Library so far this year. That breaks down to about 95 books per day, or approximately 25 books per circulating student. Thanks to a new morning schedule, this number is a little lower than the one we saw in 2013 – but this library is still movin’ and groovin’.

598
Number of materials currently checked out, ready to go home with students for reading and exploring over Johnson’s holiday break.

2,846
Number of people that have viewed our Learning Leopard blog since our first post in September 2013. Last year, this number was only 665!

342
Number of students that visit the library every week with their classes to explore information literacy. This year, an exciting change to our schedule means that each class visits the library at least twice during their instructional week!

300
Approximate number of new titles that have been added to the Johnson Library this year.

81
Number of books that our most frequent library patron has checked out this year.

159
Number of blog posts that have been published on the Learning Leopard Library blog (you are currently reading number 160!).

398
Number of views that the Learning Leopard Library blog received during its busiest month, March 2014.

33
Number of times that our most popular title, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck, from Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, has been checked out (Runner up? Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever, also by Jeff Kinney, with 32 circulations).

1
Total of librarians that love spending time with the students of Johnson Elementary School! I am so proud to be a part of the Johnson Elementary School Community. Thank you for continuing to support the Learning Leopard Library as it grows and changes. I hope you’ve enjoyed watching the space and the program continue to evolve this year!

And here’s another important number for you: 16.
16 is the number of days that your student will be away from teachers, reading specialists, and librarians. Please help your student to practice reading and continue learning during every single one of these 16 days! Visit the public library, read the books on your shelves at home, or host a holiday book swap in your neighborhood! Whatever you do, help to give to give your child a head start on being the best student they can be in 2014 by encouraging them to read, reading with them, and setting an example of reading yourself!

Have a relaxing, bright, and WARM holiday.
I can’t wait to see all of Johnson’s little readers first thing next year!

– Miss Messham