The Payson City Library board reported to the Payson City Council on Sept. 17 about an expansion of programs and services and said the city is conducting a feasibility study to determine needs for a potential new library building.

At the City Council meeting, library board members Amy and Jennifer described a year of increased participation and new offerings. "We had just over 40 submissions from the community" for a poetry program and "we made just over $5,000 in the library book sale," the board said. They listed new fall programs including a midweek family matinee and "Touch and Tinker Time" for children ages 1 to 3, and noted a summer reading program that recorded 1,186 participants for a total of 1,441,023 minutes read.

The board highlighted nontraditional checkouts under the library’s "library of things," telling the council the collection now includes items such as sewing machines, paddleboards, metal detectors, telescopes, snowshoes, GoPros and mobile Wi-Fi hotspots. "We also just acquired sewing machines that can be checked out," the presentation said. Staff said discovery kits, binge boxes and family-friendly events are also part of current offerings.

Library board members said outreach continues with story times at the veterans home, summer story time in the park, homebound delivery to residents in assisted living and other community programs. The board also said it is conducting a feasibility study to assess needs and options for a new city library building and noted Payson received a library award at a recent statewide director summit.

Council members praised the board and library staff. "It's an asset to our community," Councilor Hulett said, and another council member added, "I think we have the best library in the state." Several council members noted they were frequent patrons and thanked the librarians for volunteer work and programming.

The board said it plans further fundraising and events, including a winter "festival of wreaths" fundraiser to run alongside the Payson Christmas festival. The city will receive the full feasibility study when staff return with findings and recommendations for next steps.

The council later moved on to other agenda items.