Buncombe County libraries to restore and expand hours after Helene, director says
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Summary
Buncombe County’s library director announced a county‑approved operating schedule that will return service hours and add more weekly hours at every library than before the reduced schedule implemented after Helene; a public announcement is expected next week.
Jason, the library director, said Buncombe County management has approved a new operating schedule and that staff will be notified before a public announcement. "We're coming back with more service hours per week," he said, adding that "every single location will be open more hours per week than they were open prehealing when we were on our previously normal schedule."
The director said the county plans to issue a press release early next week with full details on branch hours. He acknowledged operational challenges: expanding hours without increasing headcount will require workflow adjustments and asked managers to stretch to make the schedule sustainable.
The report tied the change to the county’s newly approved strategic plan, which links library work to two county goals. One seeks a 35% increase by 2030 in the number of library customers who connect to employment resources (Jason said that would mean about 1,000 Buncombe County Library patrons per year). The other aims for an 18% rise in attendance at county‑sponsored in‑person programs from a 2024 baseline of 35,111 combined participants across county programs.
Jason also highlighted partnership work to support job seekers at library locations, noting recent collaboration with Goodwill and NC Works to provide more robust one‑on‑one help for people seeking employment. He encouraged managers to coordinate programming that could serve families—for example, pairing children’s events with job‑search assistance for parents.
In other operational news, Jason said the county launched a food drive in response to a disruption in SNAP benefits; as of that day the library network had collected more than 8,500 pounds of food, which Mana and community partners had picked up for distribution.
Next steps: the library system will announce the new hours publicly once staff have been briefed, and leaders will monitor staffing and workflow needs as the schedule is implemented. Jason also pointed to a Monday public meeting at the Oakley Murphy Community Center about the City of Asheville’s Oakley complex project and said library leadership would follow any development that could affect branch operations.