Beyond the Building:
Are you considering these patrons?
Digital patrons are already part of your community. Your budget should reflect that reality.
Every year when budget season rolls around, it’s easy to focus on what’s right in front of us—how busy the building feels, what collections need refreshing, what repairs can’t wait. Those physical indicators are familiar, concrete, and often urgent.
But as libraries head into a new budget cycle, there’s another question worth bringing to the table:
Are we dedicating enough resources to the patrons who never set foot inside the building?
These patrons are real, active users of your services—just in a way that’s harder to see. And too often, they’re left out of the conversation simply because they don’t show up in your door count.
Who are digital patrons?
Spend a moment thinking about who your digital patrons really are:
- The parent juggling childcare and work who has five minutes to grab an ebook, not 45 minutes to drive to the branch.
- The older adult or person with disabilities for whom traveling to the library can be a struggle.
- The student who uses your databases but has never checked out a physical item.
- The patron who quietly seeks information that feels too personal to research in public.
- The readers who simply prefer “digital everything” and will never browse a physical shelf.
These patrons rely on your library every bit as much as your regular in-person visitors. In some cases, they rely on it more.
The challenge is that their needs don’t show up in the traditional metrics—yet their expectations for access, support, and communication are just as high.
Are Digital Patrons Getting the Same Consideration?
It’s worth asking:
- Does your digital collection budget reflect the size and needs of this group?
- Are digital-first users being communicated with in a way that feels tailored to them?
- Are you offering online support at the moments they actually need help?
- Do digital users feel like part of the library community, or like an afterthought?
Many libraries intend to support their digital users well—but the budget rarely tells the same story. Digital access is often treated as something extra, rather than something essential.
The context of libraries is changing, and budgets need to reflect that.
Considering Access for All
A modern library has to look at service through a blended lens: part physical presence, part digital. The good news is that supporting digital patrons doesn’t require reinventing the wheel—it just requires intentionality.
1. Communication Built for Hybrid Library Life
Libraries can’t serve digital patrons if those patrons never hear from them.
Libraries need to employ engagement tools that can:
- Send clear, consistent notices across email, SMS, and voice calls
- Promote the collection as well as event-centered communications through a newsletter
- Nudge new cardholders toward both in-library and digital resources, so that they can get the most out of their library membership
- Offer comprehensive reporting to understand who’s engaging and how
- Segment the library audience so that you can cater to specific groups of patrons
For many digital-only patrons, these messages are the library. They need to feel intentional, helpful, and timely.
2. Meaningful Support When a Patron Isn’t in the Building
A digital-first patron can’t walk up to the desk with a question. But their needs don’t disappear just because they’re remote.
Consider the patron experience if they aren’t in front of a staff member.
Can your library consistently
- Answer the phone or chat at all open hours?
- Help virtually with accounts, renewals, ready reference and e-media questions?
- Offer the same assistance as if the patron were actually in the library?
This is often the difference between a digital user who stays engaged, and one who may fall out of love with the library.
3. Making Sure Your Digital Resources Are Seen
Libraries invest heavily in digital collections, but many patrons don’t realize all the resources that are available to them.
If you’re sending your patrons emails already- whether through newsletters or updates on their transactions, you have a built-in advertising platform for your own library. You can use your existing communications to share language apps, research tools, streaming collections, and niche databases that deserve more attention with your patrons.
If you’re paying for it, your patrons should know about it.
4. Data That Helps You Justify Your Decisions
Digital usage can feel invisible. If your library doesn’t have good reporting tools, it may as well be.
Understanding which communication channels work best, how patrons interact with your notices, and what kinds of support digital users seek can help you defend budgets, adjust priorities, and show the actual impact of online engagement.
Knowing your patrons is key, too. The channels they prefer and
Planning for Everyone, Not Just the People You See
The digital patron isn’t hypothetical. They’re part of your community today, whether they’re borrowing ebooks, streaming music and videos, or simply paying attention to your messages from afar.
This year’s budget planning is an opportunity to make sure they aren’t overlooked.
Questions worth asking at your next meeting:
- Are our digital users receiving the same level of care and attention as our in-person patrons?
- Are we investing in communication channels that reach the entire community, not just those who walk in?
- Do we have the tools in place to support online engagement without stretching staff thin?
- Does our digital spending reflect real demand?
Libraries have always adapted to meet people where they are. Increasingly, where they are is behind a screen—and that’s not a loss. It’s an expansion of the mission.
If you want help thinking through how your library can better support digital patrons—through communication tools like MessageBee or remote support services—we’re always available.