Library advocates and trustees press county for more funding as staff shortages persist

Oconee County Library trustees and public advocates on the board’s March meeting emphasized the need for increased county funding to address staffing shortages and to sustain a part‑time social worker position.

Gordon Crane, who identified himself as a member of Community Advocates for Education (CAFE), requested coordinated lobbying of the county council to secure the “funding that the libraries need to fill the staffing positions” and invited the board and Friends groups to participate. “Our group would like to propose some form of coordinated lobbying of the council for library funding,” Crane said.

The meeting also drew a public question about possible federal funding cuts. Commenter Catherine Oakes cited an executive order she said would defund the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and asked how the county library would cover losses. “The IMLS only accounts for roughly point 005% of our federal budget,” Oakes said, and listed services tied to IMLS grants, including high‑speed internet access, braille and audio books, workforce training and digital services.

Library leadership told the board the immediate federal impact is limited. The library director said the library’s primary federal/state routine support is LSTA funding routed through the state library and that staff had been instructed by the state library “to continue on” with planned grants. The director added that an applied $2,000 summer‑reading grant and some other state grants are expected to proceed for now.

Trustees and staff spent most of the discussion on staffing and pay. The director told the board she asked county finance staff for a modest increase in a professional line item to raise the library’s part‑time wage to $12 an hour. “We put an increase for… professional line item… to get the current well, we got a couple of open positions, but all of our staff that are gonna be staff marked part time up to $12 an hour,” the director said.

Trustees repeatedly said $12 would remain low relative to private‑sector entry jobs and urged seeking higher pay if possible. The director said a larger request risked denial and described the current approach as incremental: “I’d rather know that I’m gonna get them to 12 than shoot for the sky and get… nothing.”

The director also told the board the library has an extension on a grant that currently pays the social worker, Carrie Lieberbrock, through May 2026 and that she is asking the county to pick up the position’s salary that fiscal year and then place the position on county payroll thereafter. The director called the role “a very important position” that regularly helps many patrons and said losing it would degrade services.

Board members and public commenters discussed advocacy tactics. Crane said the public could appear at council meetings to press the point; a trustee suggested an informal show of support for sending the director to the finance director to request additional funds. The director said a formal vote was not possible because the item was not on the posted agenda, but trustees indicated informal support for the request.

Why it matters: trustees said staffing shortages are causing remaining employees to fill multiple roles, creating retention risks. The director warned trained employees might leave if pay remains low, and public advocates urged a coordinated push to the county council to preserve services.

What’s next: the director said she has already met with the county finance office and will check whether budget increases can still be amended before final readings; she also encouraged public advocates to attend county council meetings.