La Crosse library looking to future

Hiring consultant for
strategic-planning process

You can help determine the future of libraries in a digital world in La Crosse.

Library board president Dan Gellatt invites everyone to take part in the strategic-planning process for the city’s library system.

Hard to figure what the future will hold, tough the present is pretty good place to start.

“If you look at the number of people who visit the library at La Crosse today compared to 10 years ago, it’s up,” Gellatt said. “If you look at the number of books that checked out today, compared to 10 years ago, it’s up.”

In La Crosse, books, CDs and other physical stuff you can check out, are flying off the shelves.

“Circulation is approximately a million units a year,” Gellatt said. “The number last year, to my knowledge, is higher than it was 10 years ago.”

Next month, a consultant will begin gathering info in a multi-month process to plot a long-range plan for the city’s library system. 

The board is hiring a consultant to lead the long-range, strategic-planning process for the library system. Gellatt invites the public to take part in that process.