Over 400,000 items borrowed from Caledon Public Library last year

April 26, 2023 · 0 Comments

Statistics released in the CPL’s annual report for 2022

By Zachary Roman

Caledon’s Public Library is sharing statistics from its annual report.

On April 24, the Caledon Public Library (CPL) released its annual report for 2022 alongside a corresponding video. The report detailed notable stats such as the fact that over 10,000 people attended CPL programs online or in person, and that over 400,000 items were borrowed from Caledon library branches in 2022.

In addition to books, Caledon residents can check out other unique items from the CPL’s “Library of Things”. Some items that the CPL added to their library of things in 2022 included GoPro cameras, walking poles, travel adapters, and additional musical instruments.

There was an increase in the number of items borrowed from the CPL in 2022, as in 2021, over 300,000 items were borrowed from the CPL. In 2021, the CPL added items like life jackets, Ontario park passes and nature backpacks to its library of things.

Colleen Lipp, CEO of the CPL, said 2022 was a year of growth and change at the library and that there was never a dull moment.

“As we worked to return to our pre-pandemic service levels, we were thrilled to see

familiar friends returning to our branches and new faces exploring our services for the first

time,” she said in a media release.

The CPL’s website also saw a lot of use in 2022, as it had over 300,000 visits.

Lipp said 2022 was a year with more ups than downs for the CPL and that she’s committed to ensuring the CPL realizes its vision of building a thriving, engaged and informed Caledon.

The CPL expanded its Artful Caledon initiative in 2022, adding musicians to the mix and creating studio spaces for local creatives. Any Caledon resident can be a part of Artful if they have art they want to share or promote, and there’s opportunities for creatives of all ages to promote their work in-person and virtually through the initiative.

Local artists can get a page on ArtfulCaledon.ca dedicated to them, which showcases some of their work and describes them as an artist. They can also include links to their own websites and social media pages.

Another highlight for the year at the CPL was its sold-out fundraising event, a screening of the documentary “The Long Rider”.

The documentary was about Caledon resident Filipe Leite’s amazing journey by horseback. He rode a horse from the Calgary Stampede to his hometown in Brazil; then rode from there to the southernmost tip of South America; then later rode from Alaska back to the Calgary Stampede.

The screening of the documentary took place on July 27, 2022 at the Caledon Inn. Leite himself was in attendance at the screening for a question-and-answer period.

The CPL’s annual report 2022 video features music from Carri One Music Production, narration by radio host Rick Sargent, and filming and editing from Lucky Element Media.