Cotati's library commissioner reports on county projects, Rohnert Park–Cotati branch updates

Tina Pohls, Cotati's appointee to the Sonoma County Library Commission, briefed the city council on countywide library activities and specific plans for the Rohnert Park–Cotati branch.

Pohls, who said she recently joined the library commission's finance committee, outlined an ongoing 10-year joint-powers-agreement review process for cities served by the county library and said designs for a new Roseland library are in early rounds. She described recent and planned capital work across the system and said the Rohnert Park–Cotati branch is slated for future carpet and electrical updates in an upcoming budget cycle.

Pohls highlighted the library system's new BiblioBox service at Rohnert Park–Cotati, a 24/7 pickup locker for reserved materials. She explained that the BiblioBox offers selectable lower- or higher-level lockers for patron accessibility and that the boxes are currently attached to physical library buildings while staff refine operations.

The commissioner said each branch has a Library Advisory Board (LAB) and that the Rohnert Park–Cotati branch has two open LAB seats and a teen-seat program; she invited Cotati residents and teens to apply through the county library website.

Public commenters thanked the commissioner and urged Cotati to increase local support for the library; one speaker noted the city had not contributed to the branch's capital or signage in earlier planning stages and encouraged future local participation. Council members and the mayor thanked Pohls for the update and expressed interest in local outreach, possible placement of a BiblioBox in Cotati, and improving library presence in town.