An overflow crowd turned out for a Board of Supervisors meeting last week in support of Webster County’s public libraries and the library system that serves them.
Supporters filled the Justice Court courtroom, where supervisors met July 1, and spilled into the hallway. They and supervisors listened as Tanna Taylor, director of the Tombigbee Regional Library System, made a presentation that included a request for increased funding from the county.
TRL is headquartered at the Bryan Public Library in West Point and serves eight branches in Clay, Monroe and Webster counties. It is supported by funds from those counties and towns within. The member libraries in Webster are the Webster County Public Library in Eupora and the Mathiston Public Library.
Plan of Improvement
Tanner’s presentation concluded with “TRL’s Plan of Improvement for Webster County” that she asked the board to ponder:
Increasing TRL’s funding by $12,000 for FY 2019 -20, which will provide:
• Additional library hours at Eupora beginning Oct. 1.
a) Open four hours a day five days a week — adding six more service hours. The library is now open three days a week for a total of 20 hours.
b) Add another staff person at 12 hours a week minimum.
c) Added employee will substitute at either Webster County location when librarians are absent.
• Additional hours at Mathiston beginning Oct. 1.
a) Open four hours a day five days a week — adding six more service hours. The Mathiston library is now open four days a week for a total of 14 hours.
b) Includes adding state benefits for staff.
• Funds for purchasing library materials (books) at each location.
Highlights
Taylor touched on the mutual benefits of a regional library system, public library myths, TRL use statistics, funding sources and expenses. Highlights of her presentation included this information in a handout she provided:
• TRL libraries have circulated more library materials, registered more patrons and seen huge increases in public computer use and the use of electronic library materials since 2013.
• Membership in a regional library system is a cost-effective way for library partners to share responsibility … when costs are shared proportionately and all partners honor agreements.
• All public libraries must be accredited by the Mississippi Library Commission in order to receive any state or federal funds. TLR administrative (headquarters) staff handles all required paperwork for public library accreditation. The MLC requires an annual audit for accreditation.
• The work performed by the TRL headquarters administrative staff benefits every library in the TRL system. Participation in a regional system allows necessary expenses to be shared by members. Currently, TRL administrative staff consists of three staff members working 40 hours, including the director.
• TRL HQ staff is responsible for E-rate filing, certification and Universal Service Administrative Co. reviews for all system libraries.
• In FY 2017-18, TRL libraries circulated approximately 110,000 library items. TRL collection totals equal 152,055 items.
• TRL provides numerous other services on behalf of member libraries and pays for various services on their behalf.
• The Bryan Public Library pays all utility expenses for the Tombigbee Regional Library System. At this time, TRL does not have sufficient funds to budget for these expenses.
• All reductions to TRL library services, staff or hours since 2016 have been a direct result of reductions to state funding (Personnel Incentive Grant Program).
“We’re struggling to keep our libraries open,” Taylor said.
• From 1995-2017, the library system has continued to provide library services to Webster County even though financial support received averaged only 59 percent of 1 mill from Webster County for more than 20 years.
• In FY 2017-18, Webster County libraries recorded 2,645 computer sessions, 8,160 Wi-Fi connections, 1,979 patrons attended 97 programs and circulated more than 6,000 items.
Request taken
under advisement
Taylor said she had also had conversations with Monroe County and that she expects to see some improvement in support from that county.
Acknowledging that Choctaw County pulled out of the TRL last year and now operates a single-county library system, Taylor said Webster County has two great libraries and asked supervisors to be realistic if considering operating the county’s libraries on its own. Sue Boatman, Webster County’s representative on the TRL board of trustees, also asked them not to consider doing so.
“I don’t think anyone here wants to close the libraries,” board President Pat Cummings said, with other supervisors agreeing that they do not want to be in the business of running libraries.
Cummings recommended that the library administrators and supporters push the state Legislature for more funding and Taylor said they were. He said the board would take her request for increased support under advisement during its upcoming budget sessions.
Statement from
library supporter
Brenda Blakely listened to the meeting from the hallway with her grandchildren because of the overflow. Afterwards, she said they wanted to go to the Webster County Public Library. Blakely provided this statement based on their visit there:
“A ‘young friend of the library,’ who had enjoyed good times there when he was younger was excited to find an old friend, ‘The Big Book’ that was his favorite when he was younger. So we browsed at a few ‘old friends,’ checked out the computer and got a library card. All in all a good field trip and experience.
“We are very grateful for our library; in our opinion it is a good return to the community for the money spent.”
