Buncombe County library advisory board meets informally; staff reports hiring, program and partnership updates

With no quorum present, the Buncombe County Library Advisory Board opened its scheduled meeting to introductions and briefings on staffing, programming and community partnerships on the afternoon of a July meeting. Jason Hyatt, Buncombe County Public Library director, said staff would try to reschedule a full board meeting "with as many of our 8 out of 9 currently appointed board members as possible."

The meeting served as an informational session rather than a decision-making hearing. "Our new budget year began on July 1," Hyatt told the advisory board, adding that "our library programming budget and materials budget have been funded back at their pre Helene levels," with the materials budget described as "within just a few thousand dollars" of flat funding. Hyatt said ordering of new materials has increased and staff expect programming to expand as vacancies are filled.

The briefing covered staffing needs and recent personnel changes. Hyatt said the county hiring freeze has ended and the library currently has three open positions, is recruiting five part-time library substitutes, and is hiring for a part-time cataloger and a full-time youth services librarian at the Oakley South Asheville branch. He announced that Erin Parcells was named manager of the West Asheville Branch Library and that recruitment for the Enka-Candler branch manager role is underway with interviews beginning soon.

Program updates included the system's summer reading initiative, Color Our World, which runs through Aug. 30 and a summer reading finale event planned for Aug. 16 at Oakley South Asheville. Hyatt also described two developing community partnerships: NCWorks will pilot rotating drop-in job-seeker support (resume and interview help) at library branches on Thursdays, and Legal Aid of North Carolina is planning drop-in legal education sessions and clinics on tenant rights, powers of attorney and wills. "Legal assistance, legal reference is so specialized, and it's something that we very intentionally don't offer from library staff," Hyatt said, explaining the value of hosting credentialed legal experts.

Hyatt highlighted awards for staff and programs. The Reading Mentors program, created by youth services librarian Kate Spratt and former Enka-Candler branch manager Erin Parcells, received recognition from the North Carolina Public Library Directors Association and an achievement award from the National Association of Counties. Hyatt said a former advisory board member fully funded travel for staff to accept the award in person.

Staff also described a new internal "stories of impact" portal to capture nonstatistical interactions that illustrate the library's role in the community. Hyatt shared an example from Lester Library: a plant swap event left several potted houseplants that a recently relocated resident was able to take home, which staff described as a reminder that "the library is often the place that people go for support of all kinds."

Board members asked clarifying questions about district boundaries (District 2 covers Lester, Candler, Barnardsville and Weaverville) and about details of upcoming NCWorks scheduling. Leanne Smith, vice chair of the advisory board, and other board members suggested identifying themselves when visiting branches to build connections with staff.

Because the meeting did not reach quorum, no formal votes were taken. Hyatt and staff will follow up to reschedule a meeting that enables full advisory board participation.