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St. Helens Public Library reports 25% rise in visits, details grants and planned furnace replacement
Summary
Library Director Suzanne reported a roughly 25% year-over-year increase in visits, an Oregon Heritage grant to microfilm St. Helens Chronicle issues, an accessibility grant application for automatic door openers, and HVAC work to replace aging furnaces that may briefly close heating in the building.
Suzanne, the library director, told the St. Helens Public Library board that visits have increased by about 25% year over year in recent months and that staff are seeing high demand at the front desk and on public computers.
“We’re up again November 25% year over year,” Suzanne said, describing heavy front-desk traffic and noting the library is considering adding at least two public computers to reduce wait times. She said the library previously had 15 public computers pre‑COVID and currently operates six.
Suzanne described a successful Oregon Heritage grant that will fund microfilming of St. Helens Chronicle issues from 2015 through the paper’s 2024 closure. “Brenda’s gonna take those materials down to the University of Oregon,” she said, adding that the library and the museum association will each receive copies and that the material will be added to the University of Oregon’s statewide historical newspapers collection.
On federal funds, Suzanne said a federal judge had reinstated IMLS grant awards and that money was beginning to go out to organizations. “As I understand it, those funds are starting to go out,” she said.
The director also flagged a possible state budget exercise that could reduce some program funding. She said agency-level planning contemplates a roughly 2.5% reduction that could affect Ready to Read funding in 2026 and a further 5% scenario for 2027; she said the legislature will make final decisions during its session beginning in February.
The board heard that the library will apply this week for a $10,000 American Library Association (Libraries Transforming Communities umbrella) grant to install automatic door openers—target doors include the McCormick Park (south) exterior door, the auditorium door and possibly a staff exterior door and the Armstrong Room door—to improve accessibility for events.
Suzanne said building maintenance work will replace aging furnaces originally installed in 1996. Contractors will replace two linked units; the work could leave the library without heat for up to two days but, she said, the HVAC contract covers replacements and should not require additional payment beyond the regular retainer.
The director noted other items in the board packet: a quarterly demographic snapshot of cardholders that will be passed to the city council and applications for community programming grants. She also said a library assistant hire is pending a background check and listed holiday closures (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve) and a planned personal leave in early January.
The board did not record a roll-call vote for the agenda items discussed in the director’s report; actions taken at the meeting (approval of prior minutes, adjournment) are summarized separately.
