Sequoia Library System reports rising use, touts Hickory Flat renovation and master-plan site options

Sequoia Library System Director Angela Cortellino presented a quarterly update to the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners on April 1, reporting increased circulation and cardholder growth and outlining recommendations from a newly completed 2024 master plan.

Cortellino said the regional system has 130,000 cardholders overall, with 110,000 in Cherokee County, and that the system circulated 1,112,000 items in fiscal year 2024. "We are currently at 130,000 cardholders, which just in Cherokee County makes up 110,000 of those cardholders," Cortellino said. "We circulated 1,112,000 items in fiscal year 24. This is our highest circulation since FY '12." She also said the county’s library cardholders represent about 36% of the system’s service population, close to the board’s strategic-plan goal of 40%.

The director highlighted the July 25 reopening of the renovated Hickory Flat branch, which added nearly 8,000 square feet to an original 10,000-square-foot building. Cortellino described new features including a community room, a separate programming room, three small study rooms, a larger conference room, a teen space and a “Third Space” with plugs, charging stations, a refrigerator and mobile whiteboards for teleworkers and homeschool groups. She said Hickory Flat’s first 60 days after reopening showed a dramatic usage increase, including many visitors who obtained library cards when the branch served as a polling place.

Cortellino also reviewed technology and outreach efforts: 24/7 Wi‑Fi at all branches, wireless printing that patrons may send remotely and pick up at the library, a circulating inventory of 274 Chromebooks and mobile hotspots funded by a Governor Kemp gear grant, and a new outreach vehicle named "Dot" that provides cards, Wi‑Fi, device checkout and programming at offsite events.

The library system completed a 102-page Cherokee County libraries master plan in 2024 with McMillan Pazden Smith Architecture. The plan recommends reorganizing service desks, increasing study and meeting spaces, lowering shelving height, creating efficient staff workrooms, adding relaxed reading and community-art display areas, and considering new branch locations. Cortellino said the study proposes five potential new branch locations to address service gaps and population growth: Oak Grove, Macedonia, Woleska (served in part currently through a Reinhardt partnership), Sixes and East Woodstock. She said the library board is most interested in pursuing Macedonia and Woleska options first and is open to lease-space and joint-facility solutions rather than immediate ground-up construction.

Commissioners and staff discussed operating costs and staffing. Cortellino said a small-to-mid-size branch (roughly 10,000–20,000 square feet) typically requires about three to six full‑time equivalents depending on hours offered; branch hourly staff are primarily county‑funded while management is funded by state support. She told commissioners Ball Ground currently has four full‑time and three to four part‑time staff and Hickory Flat has five full‑time and five part‑time staff.

Cortellino also described pilot service expansions at Reinhardt University, including self‑checkout, weekly couriered materials, and book lockers that patrons may access 24/7, and noted a Rose Creek digitization lab that provides free VHS-to-USB conversion. The master plan found Rose Creek and Ball Ground branches exceed 30 years of service and recommended strategies to address aging facilities amid rapid county population growth since the 1990s.

The presentation closed with an invitation for commissioners and residents to visit Hickory Flat and identify creative, lower‑cost ways to expand service, such as joint facilities or leased spaces. No final funding or construction actions were taken during the April 1 work session; the presentation served as an informational update and planning discussion.

Ending: Cortellino said the library system will continue implementing the master plan recommendations and come back with specifics as potential projects or partnerships are developed. "If you haven't come to Hickory Flat, please do stop by and see our stunning new library," she said.