Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Libraries aren’t just books anymore, and Warsaw Community Public Library Director Heather Barron gave the Kosciusko County Council a rundown Thursday of their many offerings and statistics.
She also highlighted a Holocaust exhibit coming to the library this summer.
“As part of downtown, I think it’s really important that we get to try to share just a glimpse of the way that we’re impacting the community,” Barron stated. “Like other nonprofits and government entities, we are really busy doing the work and not so great about telling everybody the ways that we’re positively impacting the community.”
Before sharing a video created with DreamOn Studios about what the library does, Barron said, “One of the things we struggle with is to show the things we can’t share how we help: job applications, tax forms, government documents, one-on-one tech help, entrepreneurship. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes, but here is a glimpse.”
After the video, Barron went through a sheet of a quick snapshot of the library’s 2025 highlights. According to the sheet, the library had 115,777 visitors last year; 14,777 cardholders; and saved cardholders $10,279,306.
“I know a lot of people say, ‘Why do we need libraries anymore?’ Everything’s getting more expensive. We are that place and you’re going to see examples of new ways, it’s not just books that we’re able to save people money,” she said.
WCPL had 5,026 people use the library’s computers, with 82,891 people using the Wi-Fi. There were 11,310 people who attended library programs, with 3,427 using the study rooms for things like tutoring, behaviorial coaching, job interviews and other reasons. Meeting rooms had an attendance of 2,341 in 2025, used by nonprofits, community/private and government agencies.
The library is not just a storage house for books anymore either, she said. A new story just went in the Story Walk along Beyer Farm Trail. Cardholders can use apps like Libby and Hoopla for books, movies and audiobooks.
“One thing that we are really excited about is we’ve had a Library of Things for a long time, but we didn’t have the best display case for it. So now you can see we have a wall that has categories,” she said, and cardholders can check out random things from it, such as a canopy and a microphone. She said it’s been wildly popular.
“Also, we’re doing Adventure Backpacks with state parks so you can come in, check out a backpack for your whole family, get free admission to the park,” she stated. The backpack has things like binoculars that can be used while at the park. “So, just really any opportunity to break down barriers and let families get together.”
A new opportunity the library is offering is Experience Passes, which she said is trending at libraries. “We launched this on Monday, we mentioned it at our board meeting, and on Tuesday apparently we already had people signed up for this. We had people calling, we had other libraries calling to ask us how we do this,” Barron said.
For the Experience Passes, she said they partnered with seven different institutions to offer free passes: Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis; Hall of Heroes Superhero Museum, Elkhart; Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis; Potawatomi Zoo, South Bend; Science Central, Fort Wayne; The History Museum, South Bend; and Wellfield Botanic Gardens, Elkhart. Each one has a different amount of people that they will allow in on the passes.
Over two years ago, the WCPL applied for the “Americans and the Holocaust” exhibit, a partnership between the American Library Association and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The Warsaw library was one of 50 libraries across the United States chosen to host the exhibit.
The exhibit will be at WCPL from June 20 to July 24. Barron said they will have some “incredible” programming to along with it, tying in local stories and speakers. She said they also have some “amazing” regional partners like PBS, Fort Wayne Jewish Federation, Jewish Federation of Saint Joseph Valley, as well as some local sponsors who will be highlighting even more.
“Fort Wayne Jewish Federation and the Warsaw Performing Arts Center are making it possible for us to bring Irene Miller, a Holocaust survivor, to Warsaw, and the talk on June 23,” Barron said before showing a short clip on “America and the Holocaust.”
Miller will be at the Warsaw Performing Arts Center at 6 p.m. June 23.
She said they’ve been promoting the exhibit regionally, so they expect visitors from Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and Tennessee. “So this is going to be a big regional draw so we’re really excited to bring this here.”
More information will be forthcoming on the talk, exhibit and other related events. Everything is free to the public.
Councilwoman Rachael Rhoades congratulated Barron and the WCPL for being one of 50 to get involved with the exhibit.
“I love that. It’s wonderful that you’re doing that,” she said.
