Library director: budget close to projection; Baker and Taylor bankruptcy will slow some deliveries

Carson City Library Director Joy Holt told the Board of Trustees that the library closed the reporting period very near its projections and is preparing for supply‑chain interruptions after a major vendor filing for bankruptcy.

Holt said the library’s final totals for the fiscal period were “about 1% higher, in terms of our overall spending, than where we landed in August,” settling at roughly 81% spent after year‑end adjustments. She said routine payroll and journal entries produce negative line items late in the fiscal cycle but that finance maintains funds to cover those items and will notify the director if positions or spending approach budget limits.

Holt announced an operational shift after Baker and Taylor filed for bankruptcy, leaving some orders unfulfilled. “Baker and Taylor did officially go bankrupt,” Holt said, adding that the library will re‑order outstanding items and move lease services to competitor Ingram. She told trustees that Ingram has a large distribution center in Southern Oregon and that, in the near term, some cataloging and book‑jacket processing could be slower than the board prefers because Ingram is still scaling state‑level processing staff.

To reduce service disruption, Holt said the library will lean more on digital collections such as OverDrive and reorder items from other vendors as needed. “We were able — and we’re going to continue to do that,” she said of digital lending and other mitigations.

Holt also described staffing and programming developments: Tom Rusconi began as a library assistant Oct. 17, and Emma Ramirez will start this Friday as a part‑time library clerk. The workforce development/social‑services coordinator position is in interview stages and one administrative clerk vacancy remains. Holt said the changes leave the system “almost fully staffed” and that staff engagement has been strong.

On programming, Holt reported a strong community turnout at Spudanza, noting 3,129 visitors to the library booth and steady interest in makerspace offerings. She said the library will promote makerspace activities and 3‑D printing in winter programming and that some passive programs and a winter reading kickoff will start in December.

Holt asked the board to note that a large portion of the grant account covers a two‑year grant, explaining why some grant accounts show lower percent‑used figures; trustees had asked about a grant account showing 49% used. She also confirmed that project staffer Tammy Westergaard understands the grant will not be renewed.

Holt said the strategic‑plan survey closing date was extended to Nov. 21 and that public workshops — a separate, larger time commitment — will follow. She highlighted successful outreach to Spanish‑speaking residents after an interview on local Spanish radio station 1101.7, and said staff will pursue additional Spanish‑language engagement.

Trustees asked for additional clarity in the packet: an executive summary highlighting key positive trends and items needing attention, and color hard copies of graphs where color keys are essential. Holt agreed to include an executive summary and to provide color printouts of key graphs with the next agenda; she also confirmed late materials are already posted on the city website and handed out in hard copy at tonight’s meeting.

What happens next: Holt will add the late materials to next month’s agenda packet with an executive summary and color copies of graphs; the board will revisit the strategic‑plan workshop schedule and the proposed policy/procedure edits in future meetings.