According to a new annual report on the Orem Public Library, already noted as one of the nation's busiest libraries, business is booming.

The library, featured in recent years in a book of the nation's top 50 public libraries, was ranked eighth in the nation in circulation per capita (12.98) for 2007 among similar-sized facilities. Total circulation last year was just under 1.2 million, the report stated.

Among children's titles, of which the library has nearly half a million, the library ranked in the top 4 percent of children's book circulation per capita, said Louise Wallace, director of the Orem Public Library.

"It's not a surprise, but we're very proud of the fact," she said.

Another note-worthy statistic in the library's 2007-2008 fiscal year report entitled "Remarkable Firsts" was that participation in library programs and activities has skyrocketed, Wallace said.

During the year the library's South Wing underwent a complete remodel in 2006, program attendance was 19,000. This past year, it nearly doubled at just under 33,000, Wallace said. Library staff in the past year have made a concerted effort to present rich and diverse cultural programming for adults, teens and children. Offerings have included monthly international-themed film screenings, a watercolor exhibit illustrating the experiences of a Salt Lake City woman who spent time in a Japanese internment camp during World War II and a political election series of local experts.

"We made a real effort to bring to the library programs of very high quality and that are unique. Programs you don't just find anywhere," Wallace said. "We've tried to really crank it up a notch."

Paula Thomas, chairwoman of the Orem Public Library's Library Advisory Commission, said high attendance at some programs, as many as 125 to 507 participants at single events, along with limited space to house the library's growing collection have contributed to staff and city officials eyeing possible future expansion.

Earlier this year, Karen Ashton, founder of the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, proposed a $13 million storytelling and conference center to be built on the city center campus to augment storytelling and library activities as well as host performing arts events and traveling exhibits.

"In the past year we've drawn audiences far beyond our current capacity," Thomas said. "It's a matter of funding."

The library has also introduced a new bi-monthly newsletter for patrons, acquired a large CD sheet music collection and provided patrons with access to leading family history electronic database services, Wallace said.

For the second year in a row, the library has secured grant funding from the National Endowment for the Arts to help host September's upcoming community reading Big Read event: Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird." The money will allow the library to once again provide thousands of free copies of the book to individuals, schools and retirement centers in addition to dozens of programs and activities surrounding the event.

Later this year, patrons will benefit from the installation of Radio Frequency Technology that will replace the current checkout system allowing much faster collection check-outs and general library transactions. An entire stack of books can be checked out with a single swipe, Wallace said. The library received a federal grant of $242,685 to purchase and install the system.

"By year's end, it should be up and running," she said.

BY THE NUMBERS:

Some facts from the Orem Public Library during 2007-2008

Circulation -- 1,179,365

Collection size -- 295,029

Collection acquisitions -- 28,000

Registered borrowers -- 76,243

Number of patron visits -- 464,960

Cultural programs offered -- 253

In-house Internet sessions -- 38,670

Reference questions asked -- 183,309

Timpanogos Storytelling Festival attendance (including Midwinter event) -- 40,259

Big Read attendance -- 5,800

Children's story times -- 270

Volunteer hours -- 11,448

CD sheet music collection pages -- 165,000

Free film screenings -- 77

Donations received -- $32,261

Donated collection items -- 4,492

Grants -- $295,450

Source: The Orem Public Library annual 2007/2008 fiscal year report "Remarkable Firsts"