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Unger Memorial Library director Cynthia Peterson to retire; reports steady program use and digital-resource shifts
Summary
Librarian Cynthia Peterson told the council she will retire at year's end and reviewed annual library statistics, programs and database changes, including digitized collections and reductions in some statewide database subscriptions.
Unger Memorial Library director Cynthia Peterson presented the library's annual report to the Plainview City Council on June 6 and announced she plans to retire at the end of the year.
Peterson said the library recorded 7,654 people visiting during the 2023–24 fiscal year and reported circulation, program attendance and digital-resource usage. She said circulation was "14,547" (as read in the transcript) and noted substantial electronic checkouts through OverDrive and Eread Texas. Peterson described 38 juvenile programs attended by 766 people and adult programs and meeting-room use with attendance the library tracks as municipal statistics required by the state library.
The director described popular children's events (including PBS Kids presentations and a summer reading program), the "1,000 Books Before Kindergarten" initiative, and a variety of community partnerships. She said the Hale County cemetery database and digitized newspaper archives remain available to the public and that interlibrary-loan activity has grown to make the library a net lender in the state network.
Peterson also said that statewide funding uncertainty has led to a planned reduction in the number of Techshare databases available to smaller libraries, with a retention list that includes Learning Express Library and Mango Languages; some resources are being consolidated (for example, EBSCOhost to Gale). She said the library will present a long-range plan before the end of the year and identified building needs such as painting and new flooring as future capital concerns.
Council members thanked Peterson for her service and congratulated her on the planned retirement. No formal council action was required on the library report.
