Library director reports rising circulation, expanded outreach and partnerships

Miss Maley, director of Scotland Memorial Library, presented annual statistics and program updates to the Scotland County Board of Commissioners.

Maley said the library participates in the NC Cardinal consortium, which connects 66 counties and gives local patrons access to roughly 8.1 million items. She reported the library checked out about 33,000 print items in the reporting year, a 13 percent increase, and about 4,000 digital items (up 5 percent). Maley credited improved shelving and the library renovation for making materials more visible and for boosting circulation.

She summarized services available to residents: access to NC LIVE, the Libby ebook platform, Coursera workforce courses, free public Wi‑Fi that reaches the parking lot, genealogy resources (including Ancestry.com in-library), and mobile/delivery routes to community centers and nursing facilities. Maley highlighted recurring programs including toddler time and a “Thousand Books Before Kindergarten” initiative; she said 8 children completed that program this year and one child completed it twice.

Maley also reported summer-reading statistics: 189 program registrations, 49 completions, more than 40,000 minutes read (children and adults), 15 performances and about 1,300 attendees for summer events. The library continues to host satellite NC WORKS job-support hours weekly and partners with Scotland County Cooperative Extension to operate a free seed library. The library’s AARP tax-preparation partnership served 371 filers this year; Maley said 68 percent of those filers were over age 60 and the average adjusted gross income reported was $34,000.

Commissioners praised the library’s outreach and noted the bookmobile’s delivery route has been replaced by scheduled stops to reach Laurel Hill and Wegrom community centers. No county action was taken during the presentation.