Cindy Wellwood, president of the Elmhurst Library Board of Trustees, and Marybeth Harper, executive director of the Elmhurst Public Library, presented the library’s 2026 budget material to the Elmhurst Committee of the Whole on Oct. 27.

Wellwood highlighted the library’s role as a community hub and cited 2024 usage figures: roughly 489,000 visits, more than 1,000,000 items checked out and about 83,000 program attendances. “The Elmhurst Public Library is a vibrant community hub, an engine for education, connection, growth,” Wellwood said, adding that the library “sets the gold standard to surrounding communities throughout Illinois.”

Harper and Wellwood described recent capital work and near‑term needs: a newly renovated outdoor patio has opened for patrons, and a professional review of the library’s HVAC system found the central operating system approaching the end of its useful life. Harper told council that the library’s 2026 request includes a 2% levy increase and that staff are monitoring reserve levels and capital replacement funds.

Operations and reserves: council members questioned the library about its operating reserve balance and how it is managed. Harper explained the library targets about six months of reserves because it receives no tax revenue from January through May due to the city’s calendar fiscal year; she said the reserves have been drawn down at times but that maintaining sizable reserves is fiscally prudent given rising costs. An alderman characterized the capital replacement fund approach as “great” and praised pre‑funding for major projects.

Services, hours and materials: council members asked about hours (Friday evening programming versus Sunday opening) and the balance of digital versus physical collections. Harper said digital materials cost more—sometimes two to three times a hardcover title for licensing—and that the library has shifted more spending to digital categories while maintaining strong children’s collections. She also described different digital models used by the library: purchases and consortium content via Libby versus pay‑per‑checkout services (Hoopla) that the library does not curate.

Staffing and programming: Harper said the jump in full‑time payroll since 2023 reflects conversion of some part‑time roles into full‑time positions to reduce turnover and training costs. She said staff training budgets rose to cover required trainings, conferences and tuition reimbursement, and that full‑time staffing has improved hiring and retention.

Parking and patron access: the library leases staff parking from the Elmhurst Art Museum and has a long‑standing arrangement for additional patron parking; Harper said programming changes—such as avoiding back‑to‑back story‑time scheduling and restricting certain meeting‑room reservations during peak hours—have reduced earlier parking pressure.

Ending: council thanked library leadership for the presentation and asked that staff remain available as the budget process continues. No formal council action was taken at the meeting.