Dyer Library and Saco Museum request larger city contribution to expand services, join Minerva consortium

Sophie Smith, director of the Dyer Library and Saco Museum, presented a FY26 funding request to the Saco City Council on April 28, outlining usage metrics, facility upgrades and a plan to join the Minerva Library Consortium to expand interlibrary lending.

Smith said the library holds roughly 60,000 items and the museum about 15,000, with more than 115,000 circulations and roughly 120,000 visitors between the two institutions over the past year. Staffing includes 11 full-time and nine part-time positions. Smith asked the city for an increase in municipal support — she described the request as a roughly 28% increase to catch up on operational needs — and said the Dyer Library Association's endowment and fundraising will also increase its contribution by about 47%.

Smith described recent technical and space improvements including upgraded on-site network and Wi-Fi, reorganized lobby and exhibit-based programming designed to increase community engagement. She highlighted a plastic-bag recycling collection that has yielded thousands of pounds of material and earned a public bench, and said the museum and library are expanding outreach beyond downtown to better meet residents who cannot easily travel to the building.

Smith said staff are preparing for the Minerva Library Consortium transition — a statewide interlibrary loan and shared catalog — which requires rebarcoding and other technical steps; the project is contingent on the state library’s technical work and funding timeline. Council members praised the library’s activity and said they supported the budget increase.

No formal action or appropriation occurred at the meeting; the request will be considered as part of the FY26 budget adoption.