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Library director outlines FY26 cuts, culture initiative and priority CIP for sorting system
Summary
Library Director Kimberly Knight described a proposed 5.5% departmental reduction that would cut five positions and explained the 'Building Together' culture work and a CIP request to replace the materials‑handling system.
Kimberly Knight, director of Virginia Beach Public Libraries, reviewed the library’s proposed FY26 operating plan and explained a 5.5% cut target that would require eliminating five positions. "To achieve the required 5.5% budget cut exercise required of all city departments, libraries needed to find $1,100,000 in possible cuts," Knight said, explaining that the department identified personnel as the most flexible source for reductions because cuts to materials or operations would more severely affect service.
Knight described a multiyear internal initiative, "Building Together," to address staff communication and morale issues identified in employee surveys and external facilitation work by Fountainworks. She said 76% of staff participated in the process and that the findings showed a bell‑curve of satisfaction with 66% agreeing they find the workplace satisfactory and 16% expressing dissatisfaction. Knight said the initiative seeks to improve cross‑branch connection and customer service.
On capital priorities, Knight highlighted a CIP project to replace the library’s materials‑handling system and said staff are working to restore hot‑spot lending and replace the integrated library system. She also noted community outreach efforts — summer reading, homebound delivery and new embedded library services at the juvenile detention center — and thanked council for recent support.
Multiple council members asked for copies of Knight’s remarks and for follow‑up materials about the personnel changes; Knight said cuts would be managed through vacancies and internal reassignments where possible and offered to provide additional documentation.
