ANNUAL REPORT
Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.
Steele — THE TATTLER
News
There were 19,658 people throughout the County who
applied for library cards during the year. This makes our
total registration of borrowers 50,429.
Books added this year totaled 7,664 volumes, and 4,519
were withdrawn as lost and paid, and discarded. At the
year’s end 73,439 volumes belonged to the county, and 5,318
belonged to Branches making the total number of volumes
available to borrowers 78,811.
There were 661,934 books loaned to our patrons in
1956, 319,505 were loaned from our two bookmobiles and
342,429 were loaned from our fifteen branches.
Red Letter Days for the library were:
February 13, 1956 — the day the Friends of the Fair¬
banks Library organized; the day Channelview added a
children’s room.
April 11-14 — the days Texas Library Association met
in Austin.
August 22 — the day of the picnic at Sylvan Beach Park
for all children who qualified for membership in the Vaca¬
tion Reading Club “Book Trails to Adventure.”
October 8 — the day our new bookmobile arrived. Book¬
mobile “Open House” was held November 1.
October 15 — the day the Central Office moved to its
nice new quarters on the fourth floor of the Courthouse.
Laws die, Books never.
Buliver-Lytton — RICHELIEU
CIRCULATION
BOOKS LOANED
Central Office and Branches . . . .
Bookmobiles . .
Adult
Juvenile
Total
124,052
218,377
342,429
26,746
292,759
319,505
150,798
511,136
661,934
TOTAL
BRANCH STATISTICS
1956 1955
BRANCH Circulation Circulation
Baytown . 74,977 66,965
Central . 2,760 2,882
Channelview . . 14,987 22,082
Crosby . 8,464 7,596
Fairbanks . 22,388 25,090
Galena Park . 24,926 21,478
Garden Villas . 15,615 22,081
Highlands . 13,958 14,172
Huffman . 1,725 2,169
Humble . 23,659 24,338
Katy . 9,005 10,389
La Porte . . 24,760 26,732
North Houston . 21,897 13,547
South Houston . 10,850 11,798
Spring Branch . 14,047 7,497
West University . 57,511 50,468
REGISTRATION
Registered borrowers January 1, 1956 . 33,850
New Registrations . 19,658
Old Registrations Withdrawn . 3,079
Registered borrowers December 31, 1956 . 50,429
BOOK VOLUME
Number of volumes January 1, 1956 . 70,348
Volumes purchased . 7,355
Lost volumes recovered . 58
Volumes donated . 251
TOTAL ADDITIONS . 7,664
Volumes missing in circulation 1955 . 299
Volumes lost and paid . 387
Volumes discarded . 3,833
TOTAL DEDUCTIONS . 4,519
Number of volumes December 31, 1956 . 73,493
Volumes belonging to branches . 4,809
Volumes donated . . .. 509
Total volumes available to borrowers, December 31, 1956 . 78,811
FINANCIAL REPORT
COUNTY APPROPRIATION . $115,921.58
REVENUE
Fines . 1,306.04
Lost and Paid Books . 585.62
TOTAL . $ 1,891.72
EXPENDITURES
Salaries . $ 62,234.79
Insurance, Group . 3,043.04
Social Security . 1,249.92
Books and Movable Property . 32,485.79
Periodicals, Office Supplies, etc . 2,740.95
Binding and Book Repair . 2,179.91
Maintenance of Bookmobiles and Ranch Wagon . 2,299.84
Repairs to Building and Grounds . 37.86
Utilities and other Operating Expenses . 873.68
TOTAL . $107,145.78
That is a good book which is opened with expectation and closed with
profit .
Alcott— TABLE TALK
