One Million Visits Campaign Essentials:
- The Library could reach 1 million visits before the end of the academic year.
- This would be the first one million mark reached since before the pandemic.
- Help us reach it by visiting the library daily.
- Complete the Passport Bookmark each month and enter to win Starbucks gift cards.
- Attend events and activities in the library
- Get us to 1 Million Visits and the library will gift a special new amenity for the campus community, which will be announced in April!
The Full Story:
The Fresno State Library has often been called the “beating heart” of the campus and the “central hub” of student activity. Yet, many people express doubt about a library’s relevance on a 21st-century, post-pandemic college campus with new student unions and virtual services.
To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the Library’s death have been greatly exaggerated.
A million visits. A million things to learn.
During the course of the fall 2023 semester, the Fresno State Library welcomed 512,948 visits, surpassing the number of visits for all of AY 2021-2022 (443,606), and stands poised to surpass AY 2022-2023’s total (895,877) by the end of the spring semester.
The Library’s goal is to reach 1 million visits by the end of the academic year. You can help them reach their goal by walking through the Library’s main doors every day you are on campus this year. To sweeten the deal, if the Library reaches its goal of 1 million visits, the Library will invest in a new amenity, which will be determined with community input in March.
Whether you are there to check out materials, hit up Starbucks, meet with a Learning Center tutor, visit DISCOVERe, print a paper, or make an appointment with a librarian . . . every visit counts.
Passport Bookmarks
To help your visits along, the Library has devised a 1 Million Visits Passport to help you explore, learn, have fun, and succeed in the library. Beginning February 18, pick up the Passport Bookmark at the Circulation desk in the lobby, complete it by visiting the services throughout the building, and be entered to win monthly Starbucks gift cards.
And, of course, the 1 millionth visitor will receive an extra-special recognition. Keep an eye out on the Library social media channels and via Campus News to find out what events, programs, and services they are highlighting to entice you into the Library this spring.
Post-pandemic recovery
Before 2020, the Fresno State Library gate counts were routinely over 1 million for each academic year. Since the return to in-person instruction in the fall of 2021, the library’s student patron behaviors have shifted. They are more studious, more consistent, and visit for longer but fewer study sessions. Visits to the library grew steadily throughout the fall 2023 semester, indicating a new, and re-established connection between students and the library.
Gate counts for recent years
- Fall 2023: 512,948
- 2022/23: 895,877
- 2021/22: 443,606
- 2020/21: 28,419 (COVID – essential services only)
- 2019/20: 1,053,295 (through March 20, 2020)
- 2018/19: 1,469,826 (last full year before COVID)
Campus and Community Visits Count
The Fresno State Library may primarily be an academic library. However, it is open to community members as well. All of their in-building library service points can be used for community researchers and high school students, and our events and exhibitions are open to the public and free of charge. We invite the community to reacquaint themselves with our beautiful library by booking a tour, attending an event, or inquiring about research services.
Fresno State Library News 