ConnectED Annual Report 2023-24
Thank you for an amazing 2023-24 with ConnectED!
Whatcom County students love to read!
ConnectED began in 2016-17 when approximately 1,800 students from the Mount Baker School District checked out 4,002 WCLS books.
ConnectED now has over 17,000 student participants.
Circulation from September 2023 through June 2024 reached a new high, with 34,868 books checked out, 20% more than circulation in the 2022-23 school year.
If we stacked all of these books, they would reach 2,180 feet, the height of 3.6 Space Needles!
How are the schools doing?
| SCHOOL | NUMBERS | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| BLAINE | Blaine students are beginning to use ConnectED more and more, checking out 2,925 books in 2023-24, an excellent 51% increase over the previous school year. | Youth Services staff at Blaine Library say, “Once students realize that their student I.D. number works as library card AND that they have access to digital materials, I get inundated with requests for eBooks. It’s always fun to hear about what students are excited to read.” |
| FERNDALE | Ferndale students checked out more library books in 2023-24 than any other school district, with 10,192 books, a 16% increase over the prior year. | Sharon Lawler, Eagleridge School Librarian, says “WCLS has staff to research and find books and that helps me use my limited time more effectively.” |
| LYNDEN CHRISTIAN | Lynden Christian students increased their library use significantly with 1,942 books checked out, a 42% jump from 2022-23. | Lynden Christian has a number of avid readers of eBooks and eAudiobooks as well, with just 7% of the total ConnectED accounts but 21% of the total digital circulation! |
| LUMMI NATION | Lummi Nation students check out more books per student during the year than any other school in Whatcom County. They checked out 2,574 books, a 36% increase over 2022-23. | WCLS staff supplied books while their library was closed for a remodel and said, “We brought in as many books as we could. Nonetheless, we couldn't bring enough books about cooking, sports, graphic novels and especially, cats.” |
| LYNDEN | Lynden School District students checked out 1,051 books, an unfortunate drop from the prior year. | We attribute this in part to turnover at WCLS in the Teen Librarian role at Lynden Library and look forward to new opportunities to connect in 2024-25. |
| MOUNT BAKER | Mount Baker students were the first to join ConnectED and they remain the most active readers, representing 10% of all student accounts but 23% of the total circulation. They checked out 6,698 books, a 4% increase over the previous year. | Mount Baker students include avid eBook and eAudiobook readers, with 36% of ConnectED digital circulation. |
| MERIDIAN | Meridian students checked out 1,617 books 2023-24, a slight drop from the prior year, but still a lot of books! | As with Lynden School District, we attribute this to WCLS staffing turnover and are already working with Meridian school staff to connect many more students with wonderful books in 2024-25. |
| NOOKSACK VALLEY | Nooksack Valley students are using ConnectED more and more, checking out 1,781 books, 78% more than they checked out in 2022-23. Of all the school districts, Nooksack Valley experienced the highest growth rate. | In a highlight of the school year, NVSD kindergarteners visited the Everson Library. WCLS staff worked hard ahead of the visit to make sure ConnectED accounts were up to date so that the students could take home a book as part of their field trip. |
WCLS commits to tailoring ConnectED services to each school district in ways that best help the most students discover amazing stories and build their love of reading. We invite teachers, librarians or administrators to learn more at www.wcls.org/connected-for-educators/ or to contact Tamar Clarke (tamar.clarke@wcls.org) with questions or ideas.