Bee Cave Library changes focus.[/caption] Despite state and local budget cuts to many public libraries, visitors and circulation continue to rise, according to the American Library Association. The impact of these funding cuts has forced libraries to make tough choices regarding the services they provide, the association states. However, one local library has found a way through technology and programming to grow its functionality.

Very much a community place

Begun in 2003 with a collection of donated books and volunteer staffers, the Bee Cave Public Library first set up in the administration building of the municipality, then a village. When the Hill Country Galleria opened in December 2007, the library moved into its permanent home at City Hall, 4000 Galleria Parkway, Bee Cave. "Depending on the time of day, [the library] is very much a community place," Head Librarian Barbara Hathaway said. "There is no recreation center [in Bee Cave]." The Hill Country Galleria was created to be the city's town center and the library is in the heart of the mall, she said. "Focus group surveys have found residents enjoy being able to spend the day at one location, including dining, movies and a library visit in their schedule," Hathaway said. "Families with children mark the library's core group of users," she said. "We've seen an increase in the number of older people retirees and empty nesters using the library," Hathaway said. "We had a tiny large-print collection upon opening, but that has steadily grown." She said the BCPL has given out 20,000 library cards since its inception in 2003 and averages between 130 and 150 new members monthly.

Technology

Throughout the United States, nearly all public libraries offer e-books and have increased their median e-book collection size more than 10 times since 2010, according to the 2014 Library Journal. Public Services Librarian Cate Sweeney said Bee Cave is a member of e-book distributor OverDrive and acts as part of a Central Texas library consortium to offer members 7,000 to 8,000 book titles. The physical space within the library's four walls cannot accommodate the books needed to provide the detailed information today's members including students and adults are looking for, she said. The library's shared databases with other sites offer members newspapers, full textbooks and even consumer videos on a variety of subjects, she said. "[Students] can [use the database to] take practice tests for the ACT, GRE, postal exam and other standardized tests," Sweeney said. Library members can even access these sites from at home as well as in the library, she said. "By being part of a state-sponsored shared database program, members can access more than $40,000 worth of databases for which the library pays only $400 annually," Sweeney said. People will come in asking for a book that we don't have shelf space for, she said. The library also subscribes to programs such as Mango Languages, an interactive language-learning application that users can access with their smartphone or iPad through a library card, Sweeney said. The BCPL's Advantage Collection of e-books is accessible only by its members and includes best sellers and popular titles for all ages, she said. This program helps the consortium by providing more of the books in high demand, she said.

Clubs offered

"A lot of people think, I need to learn something, so I need a book on it," Sweeney said. "There are other ways of learning. We want to facilitate that." On Thursdays, the BCPL sponsors a knitting club, a program for all levels that has grown to more than 20 members, she said. Other learning opportunities—a chess club and maker space projects—are available as well. Initially an underserved population, teens now use the library as an outlet for hanging out, doing homework and planning activities, Hathaway said. Created in September 2013, the Teen Advisory Board sponsored an inventor competition, volunteer events and book groups in 2014, Sweeney said. The club also offers the opportunity for students to gain volunteer hours for school, she said. "More teens are [now] coming to the library than ever before," Sweeney said. "Libraries are not as quiet as they once were, but that's part of the function of [today's] library."