So far, library’s a hit

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Apparently, Rosemount residents were excited about their new library.

More than 1,500 people came through the door Feb. 9, the first day the new Robert Trail Library was open. Library workers issued more than 100 new library cards that day.

Things didn’t slow down the rest of the week, either. In four hours Feb. 15, the library had more than 500 visitors.

“The response and the community support was overwhelming,” said Jamie Jurgensen, the library’s branch manager. “They love the building. They love the light, the airiness, the openness. They love the detail that has been put into the library. They like the way it’s organized.”

Before the library opened Jurgensen predicted the shelves would be pretty bare early on as big crowds came to check things out. In some areas, at least, that’s exactly what she’s seen. On Tuesday she said about half the library’s DVD and music CDs collections had been checked out. So had a good number of the facility’s newer books.

Keeping up with that level of use has made for busy days for the library staff.

“I don’t think we’ve hit our normal flow but people are still excited and still coming in,” she said. “Saturday we almost ran out of library cards because so many people were getting new library cards.”

Jurgensen said the children’s area, which features a large green castle, has been among the most popular in the building. The popular materials area — the DVDs and CDs — has also been a hit and Jurgensen has seen a lot of people bringing in computers to take advantage of the building’s free wireless Internet access.

So far, at least, Jurgensen is thrilled with the way things are going.

“It’s been a challenge, but a really fun challenge,” she said. “It’s not every day that you get to see so many people who are thankful for having a library ... and we hope people keep coming back.”

Tags: robert trail library, news, popular