St. Mary's County Library is continuing to grow and innovate!
St. Mary's County Library had a great year! Through successful partnerships with St. Mary's County Arts Council, Friends of St. Clements Bay, The Patuxent Partnership, Blue Star Families, Maryland Humanities, St. Mary's County Health Department, and more, we have expanded our impact throughout the community. The Library is thrilled to be preparing to introduce our new Mobile Library in fall of 2023, and we welcomed our new Mobile Library Outreach Coordinator and Mobile Library Outreach Librarian. We offered a huge variety of free educational classes and programs for all ages, from early childhood to adults, and new and innovative offerings in our Makerspace at Leonardtown Library.
1,039,565 items checked out
Items checked out include children's, teen, and adult books, audiobooks, DVDs, digital content, and so much more. Did you know the St. Mary's County Library even has hotspots and ukuleles to check out?
"I so very much appreciate all the services you provide. You have no idea how deeply you impact lives in St. Marys County! - Rebecca, Lexington Park Library
"You all are so helpful and knowledgeable and I really love coming to the library!" - Catherine, Charlotte Hall Library
Curious what our most popular titles were in 2022-2023? Check out our most 'checked out' books.
- Adult Fiction: What’s Mine and Yours by Naima Coster
- Adult Nonfiction: Conscious Discipline: Building Resilient Classrooms by Dr. Becky A. Bailey
- Children’s Fiction: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Big Shot by Jeff Kinney
- Children’s Picture Book: Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin
- Young Adult Fiction: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- Digital Audiobook: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
- Digital Book: The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
168,514 digital items were checked out in Fiscal Year 2023 - an 11% increase over FY2022
Hoopla and Overdrive provide hundreds of thousands of eBooks, eAudiobooks, eMagazines, movies, music, and more all available to stream or download onto your device.
Did you know the Library has online resources beyond just media and books? Need some help with a new job skill or hobby? Try LinkedIn Learning. Looking to keep up with the news? Through the Library you have access to both The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal online! We have access to over 60 online resources including Mango Languages, test preparation and homework help services, and a variety of resources on topics such as genealogy (we even have Ancestry.com!), hobbies, finance, and auto repair.
In FY2023, St. Mary's County Library added online access to Consumer Reports, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and Wowbrary (a newsletter telling cardholders what new books are available at the Library).
"St. Mary's libraries are truly excellent - I have a lot of library cards and this is one of the best!" - Customer, Lexington Park Library
308,551 visitors came to one of our Libraries in FY2023
We provided over 1,400 free programs that nearly 30,000 people attended. Events included professional performances, classes on topics such as crafting, 3D printing, boating safety, archaeology, STEM, and more; book discussions, children's programs, and several nationally recognized experts and authors.
We got Out and About!
Our brand new Mobile Library Outreach team got right to work and coordinated staff attendance at 125 outreach events and reached over 8,000 community members.
Our Meeting Rooms and Study Rooms are busier than ever!
Meeting rooms and quiet study rooms are free to use and available for the public to use for meetings, parties, study groups, tutoring, and so much more! In FY2023, 1,855 groups used the meeting rooms and 4,741 individuals or groups used our study rooms. Check out meeting room availability on the Library website.
Leonardtown Library launched the Makerspace and has already had 1,182 visitors who have come in to use the Cricut Maker, 3D printer, large format printer, 3D pens, or other items in the makerspace.
"First day of summer vacation, first stop- the library!" - Customer, Lexington Park Library
With all the reading that Addison does (because of the library), her vocabulary is expanding so much! - Customer, Lexington Park Library
We continue to provide vital technology access.
Our free-to-use public computers have internet access and Microsoft Office, and we have workstations at each location that provide assistive technology to citizens of Maryland protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Our computers had nearly 38,000 sessions logged and our free WiFi was accessed nearly 20,000 times.
In addition to computers and WiFi, we have printers at each location that can print full color, scanners, faxing capability, and laptops that can be checked out to use in the Library.
Our friendly and professional staff will help you with your technology questions! Schedule a one-on-one with one of our staff to learn how to use your device, get computer help, or learn how to use Microsoft Office or Google Workspace.
Over 1,500 people are already using our app! Find our app on both Google Play and the Apple Store. Check your account, search the catalog, save your library card number directly in the app, check out digital content, and even scan a book’s ISBN to instantly see if we have it in our collection! You can access all of our digital content with quick links to apps from Overdrive and hoopla.
"I've been a library customer for half a century, and it still feels like magic when I walk in and see my name on the side of a book (on hold)!"- Customer, Lexington Park Library
"Thank you for working and for being here! The library is so important to so many of us!" - Customer, Charlotte Hall Library
"You know, the library is one of the best places in the world! You all do good work!"- Dorothy, Leonardtown Library
St. Mary's County Library has 32,044 card users
Library cards are free and you can register online or in one of our three locations. Library cards allow you to check out 75 items at a time and use all of our online resources.
Kids' Cards and SMCPS SMART Cards are special cards available for our youngest residents under the age of 18, to help get library cards in the hands of children and encourage reading. All SMCPS students receive a SMART card number (unless parents choose to opt out).
“I moved here in the middle of summer reading last year and I thought this was so great! I've already finished my first challenge for this year! I've been to libraries all over the east coast and this library system is so great, and even more, everyone here is so friendly and helpful." She also loved the self-checkout feature and the ISBN search feature in our app. - Customer, Lexington Park Library
"You have the best selection of Children's books I've ever seen." - Customer, Lexington Park Library
"Now that I've found this hidden gem, I can't wait to come back!"- Customer, Leonardtown Library
St. Mary's County Library FY2023 Successes
Partnerships continue to be a big priority for the Library. In FY2023, we partnered with Blue Star Families to offer the START Family Book Club for military families. The St. Mary's County Arts Council funded a brand new art gallery at Leonardtown Library and refurbished the Lexington Park Library Art Gallery. The Friends of St. Clements Bay completed the beautiful Front Yard Garden at Leonardtown Library. In partnership with St. Mary's County Health Department and Healthy St. Mary's Partnership, we opened Telehealth Booths at Charlotte Hall and Lexington Park Libraries to help individuals or small groups who need to meet virtually with a health provider to have some privacy. The booths are also a great option for people who need a quiet space to work, take phone calls, etc. The Patuxent Partnership donated the funding to make two series of Citizen Science workshops possible.
The Mobile Library is nearly complete and should be on the road in early FY2024. Collection development for the Mobile Library is well underway and Mobile Library staff are already out and about in the community! They have been working to reach the Spanish speaking community through Grupo Bienestar, presentations for Spanish-speaking families, school visits, bilingual storytimes, and more. In addition to larger outreach events such as the County Fair, STEAM Day, festivals, etc., the Mobile Library staff have also been visiting the Community Corrections Center, St. Mary's Caring Soup Kitchen in Lexington Park, and the First Friendship Pantry in Ridge. For early literacy, the Library has been visiting locations such as Kiddie Campus of Callaway, the Little People Child Care Center, Mary Norris Daycare, Lexington Park Baptist Preschool, NAS Pax River Child Development Centers, and Youth Center to share storytimes, early literacy practices, and STEAM activities.
St. Mary's County Library was selected as one of 15 locations to host the World on the Move: 250,000 Years of Human Migration exhibition. This exhibition will be in the Library in 2025, and is provided through the American Anthropological Association (AAA).
My children love the library. They were so excited to be back. - Jillian, Lexington Park Library
"I live farther away from this library but it feels like home to me so I just keep coming back. Thank you for everything you do here." - Gloria, Leonardtown Library
"These libraries, they're the best thing in this county. Just so helpful. Where else can I go to get help like this?" - Customer, Lexington Park Library