St. Charles Parish Library reports rising digital use, plans makerspace and Hanville branch changes

At its March 24 meeting, the St. Charles Parish Council heard an annual report from Lillian Benedict, director of the St. Charles Parish Library System, who said the system now operates six branches, employs 86 team members and serves more than 40,000 registered borrowers.

Benedict told the council that while physical circulation dipped slightly in 2024, digital borrowing rose sharply: "we had a fairly significant increase in circulation of digital materials," she said, noting the library has more than 71,000 digital resources and over 93,000 items in its physical collection.

The report outlined why the library's services matter locally: the system provides free library cards to residents, Wi-Fi and computers at branches, outreach through a bookmobile, a planetarium at West Regional Library and program offerings that have regained and exceeded pre‑pandemic attendance in some categories.

Most important details

Benedict said the system has 53 full-time and 33 part-time employees, including nine professional librarians who hold master’s degrees in library and information science. In 2024 the system issued 1,218 new library cards. The planetarium drew about 3,000 visitors in 2024, and the bookmobile served roughly 2,896 patrons; Benedict said the bookmobile circulated about 40,480 items that year. Systemwide circulation totaled 246,912 items in 2024, she told the council.

Benedict described several capital and program-level initiatives under way. The St. Rose branch recently received new paint, carpet and shelving adjustments, with additional furniture to be ordered for the children’s and computer areas. The library is planning a staffed makerspace at the West Regional Library in the former Louisiana room; Benedict listed equipment the space is expected to include, saying it would offer a Cricut, 3D printing, button makers, sewing machines, bookbinding tools, a laser engraver and heat presses, and that "we are hoping to have this space open by summer." Benedict said the makerspace will be staffed and that some materials or services (for example, 3D printing) will carry a charge to recover costs, with a fee schedule to be approved by the library board.

On the Hanville branch, Benedict said the library's technical services department will move into the existing Hanville facility to free other space and allow the Friends of the Library to continue using the site for book sales. She said the parish issued an RFQ for a construction manager at risk (CMAR) for the new Hanville branch; proposals were due April 1, 2025.

Council questions and clarifications

Councilman Pilar asked why patron visits were lower than a high point in the mid-2010s; Benedict said the methods for calculating past numbers have been refined and that attendance is increasing year over year. Councilwoman Wilson asked about a charge for prints and photocopies; Benedict said the library reinstated a small per-page fee (20¢) above a limited number of free copies to keep costs under control. Councilwoman DeBouriez asked whether the makerspace would be staffed and whether materials would be provided; Benedict said it would be staffed and that programming occasionally will supply materials for attendees when appropriate. Councilwoman O'Daniels asked about preserving book‑sale revenue for the Friends of the Library; Benedict said the library plans to keep the Friends’ operations in the existing Hanville space and sometimes hosts sales at regional branches to reach more customers.

The director encouraged residents to follow library events online and to sign up for the 2025 summer reading program, which will run June 1–July 31 with sign-up beginning May 15.

Contacts and next steps

Benedict closed by thanking the council and the community and invited questions and visits to local branches. She said the library board will review fees and the makerspace implementation plan in the coming weeks.