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Library director reports staff additions, summer feeding of 2,100 meals, new cybersecurity grant and program growth
Summary
In a six-month director's report, the Guthrie library announced hiring a children's librarian, converting two part-time roles into one full-time position, distributing about 2,100 meals through a summer feeding program, receiving a city cybersecurity grant, and reporting a spike in summer program attendance.
The Guthrie Public Library director reported Oct. 10 that the library has hired a children's librarian and reorganized staff, saw major program success this summer and secured a cybersecurity grant for citywide IT upgrades.
Cameron, the library director, told board members the library hired Jacob Beach as the children's librarian over the past six months and consolidated two part-time positions into one full-time position, making Gwen Demeter a full-time employee. "He's been fantastic... he's been really hitting the ground running," Cameron said of the new children's librarian.
Cameron said the library participated for the first time in the Greater Oklahoma Regional Food Banksummer feeding program and "we passed out over 2,100 meals" at library distributions. He said demand exceeded storage capacity and deliveries were sometimes inconsistent; staff will seek alternative delivery schedules and storage or partner organizations for future summers.
On finance and grants, Cameron reported the city budget was approved and is mostly flat; he requested and received additional funding for staff raises, professional development and programming supplies. He also announced the city received a cybersecurity grant to fund software upgrades and to hire a dedicated IT professional. "That job is currently posted on the city's website," Cameron said, and he described planned software and administrative changes once the IT hire is in place.
Cameron also reviewed program highlights: a large June attendance spike tied to two major events (including an 'Extreme Animals' appearance that drew long lines), tween and teen programming, partnerships with OETA and the train museum, and volunteer-run activities such as chess club and story time. He reported circulation and electronic checkouts are up and discussed collection weeding and use of OverDrive and OverDrive Advantage to expand ebooks and audiobooks available to patrons.
Board members thanked staff for the work and asked the director to circulate the current strategic plan on file with the Oklahoma Department of Libraries; Cameron said the plan on file runs through Dec. 20, 2027, and that ODL consultants can assist with updating and incorporating recent grant work into the plan.
What happens next: The director will update and distribute the revised bylaws and the current strategic plan; follow-up tasks include pursuing IT hiring funded by the cybersecurity grant and identifying storage/partnering options to improve future summer feeding operations.
