Board approves Sheridan County Public Library partnership to rotate books and offer instruction; library will assist with on-site displays and digital access

The Sheridan County School District #3 Board of Trustees approved a partnership with the Sheridan County Public Library system to make rotating physical collections and library programming available to students at the district building.

Zach (identified in the meeting as a representative of the county library system) described a plan to take custody of the school's on-site collection and maintain a rotating, face-out display of age-appropriate books for K'2 readers. He told the board that the county system would retain books as part of a shared county collection; the Claremont branch would have first option on items the school wanted to keep on site. Zach said the system makes regular deliveries among branches (Monday and Wednesday to some branches, and the library aims to add an additional delivery day for Claremont) to allow holds and quick turnaround when students request materials.

Student speaker Jesse urged more physical books that match older students' interests. Zach and board members said physical print remains important for student comprehension and that the library will provide rotating displays to increase student access to appealing titles. The proposal included a plan for an on-site kiosk to let students place holds and for training so students, teachers and parents can use the state-wide catalog and the Libby app. The library representative said Libby now supports parental content controls.

Board members asked how many books would be kept on-site and how often the collection would rotate; Zach proposed a grade-band shelf approach (K-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12) and said rotations could be weekly or every two weeks so students see new material frequently. He said the library's outreach and children's librarians would help with programming and training; the county library proposed quarterly partnership reviews and ongoing adjustments.

During discussion board members sought assurance about parental concerns for specific content. Zach said state and federal law protects a library user's right to access a public library collection once a parent gives permission; however, he said the library would work with the district and parents on deciding what materials are placed in the school library displays and would consider parental feedback. The board approved the partnership by voice vote.