The numbers were up on a handful of fronts at the Prince George Public Library during 2016.
According to its annual report, 27,900 people attended library programs over the year, a 26 per cent jump over 2015.
Similarly, visits to the PGPL website rose 16 per cent and circulation of materials amounted to 870,362, a seven per cent hike.
Chief librarian Janet Marren credited a strategy of being relevant, responsive and welcoming for the increases, and emphasized the rise in interest in the PGPL's programs.
In part, it was a reflection of the roughly 25 per cent increase in the number of programs being offered but Marren also said the library has offered programs that are "really, really of interest to the community."
She pointed to the Everyday Experts series as an example.
"We have specific requests for things like homesteading or gridlessness, those kinds of things, so we find a facilitator, bring them in and they share their own practices and their own knowledge," Marren said.
"It's become more than just come into the library and pick a particular piece of information off the shelf and take it home. It's more about coming to the library and sharing knowledge with one another."
Being responsive to current trends has also helped, Marren said. When Pokemon Go became a phenomenon last summer, the library quickly combined a Pokemon Go tour with its downtown walking tour "and that was really popular."
"It's one of those things where, if you've got really creative, skillful and enthusiastic staff, like we do, you can take what's current and popular and what people are interested in, and create a program immediately, and get that community buy-in," Marren said.
Broken down, the biggest increase came in the teen-oriented programs, which saw participation rise 71 per cent. Mini-Fancon and Job Chats for Teens, where professionals come out to talk about their jobs, were particularly popular, Marren said.
Other well-attended programs celebrated Prince George's centennial, looking as such aspects as architecture and iconic people, places and things. Even one about fungi in northern B.C. drew a crowd.
Also encouraging for Marren was the rise in circulation. A combination of knowledgeable staff, special software that shows what's popular and a robust request system were behind that jump, she said.
"We have a really active collection that circulates well and we put our money where that material is in most demand," Marren said, and added increases were seen across the spectrum - from adult to juvenile to children.
New collections were also created. They include "tech kits" that give patrons a chance for hands-on learning to back up what they've learned through reading and in the classroom.
Through its website, the library found a way to reach out to passengers at the Prince George Airport. Passengers can now get library cards online and with them, download e-books for reading on their flights while at the airport.
Similarly, the library has launched a "books backstage" series - a list of books that accompanies each play shown at Theatre Northwest. And a Golden Raven Discovery Pass can be borrowed to provide free access to the various affiliated attractions, such as Two Rivers Gallery, The Exploration Place and Barkerville.
