Duluth's super-users detail their love of the library

DULUTH — Amanda Robertson was just looking for a goofy addition to her Christmas newsletter when she asked the Duluth Public Library for the number of books her family borrowed in 2021.

She learned her family of five clocked in at 1,274 books. Buying that number of books new would have cost the Robertsons nearly $21,000. The library tracks that figure, too.

"That's a large part of our income," Robertson said of the cost savings.

But she's not surprised.

"We bring a wagon when we go to the library because we usually leave with a stack," she said.

Robertson, a resident of the Lakeside neighborhood of Duluth, is one of the library's "super-users." She ranked in the top 10 in 2021 for items borrowed. The No. 1 user borrowed 1,855 items that year.

The Duluth library system began tracking user data in 2016. Check-out receipts given at each visit show card holders how much they "saved" by borrowing books, movies, music and toys. With its three branches spread across the city, the Duluth library system checked out nearly 558,000 items in 2021 among its 40,257 card holders.

That's especially true among its core group of prolific users.

"They are voracious readers, or come from a family of voracious readers, and we love to see them come in," Powers said.

Count Meghan Sperl's family among that group. They've saved nearly $47,000 since the library began keeping track.

The library's outdoor pick-up service was a blessing during the months of the COVID-19 pandemic when so much time was spent at home, Sperl said. The family borrowed books by the stack for their three young children. Her 10-year-old daughter, Willa, is an avid reader; her family takes weekly trips now to the Mount Royal library branch in the Woodland neighborhood of Duluth..

"Once, I had 100 books on my account, using self-checkout," said Sperl, a Congdon Park Elementary counselor. "I had to sheepishly walk to the desk so they could override my limit of books."

"I can't stand reading the same kids' story over and over," he said, noting that his 10-year-old twins still like him to read to them, especially books from the Lord of the Rings series.

Robertson, who homeschools her three children, ages 3, 5 and 8, struggled to find resources during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when the library was closed to visitors. Aside from the entertainment a library offers in-person, she appreciates being able to check out several books on a topic to narrow down to her favorites for teaching a particular lesson or subject matter.

The family prefers the West Duluth branch for its charming wooden shelves and easy parking, and takes advantage of its movies and toys, she said, also making use of MNLINK, an online library network that connects users to books not available in town.

Sperl, Paul and Robertson each sang the praises of their branch's library employees, from the recommendations to the guidance they offer.