Amanda Dickman, the Beaufort County library director, opened the board meeting by reading a year‑end letter that framed a year of increased use and investment across the system. "The Beaufort County Library has grown stronger, more vibrant, and more connected to our community under your governance," she said, and reported several performance measures including 7,310 new library cards (a 70% increase year over year) and more than 2,100 summer reading participants.

Dickman told trustees the library had invested $954,750 in library materials during the fiscal year and that circulation (July–December year‑over‑year) was up by 21,618 items. She presented the library's internal calculation of community value from borrowing: roughly $4,000,000 for physical items and about $3,500,000 for digital content, or nearly $7,500,000 in total. "Beaufort County Library is returning nearly $7,500,000 in value in terms of what you're borrowing," she said.

Why it matters: the director framed the numbers as evidence that public investment is translating into measurable access to books, media and digital resources. Trustees and staff used the report to underscore the library's role in community literacy and programming.

Key operational updates: Dickman previewed a website redesign and new event/calendar and meeting‑room reservation system launching Jan. 28 at beaufortcountylibrary.org, with new filters, GPS event locations and a simplified reservation workflow. She also announced two paid spring internships (graphic design and preservation associate for the Beaufort District collection) and that two state‑funded, movable study booths (sound‑attenuated) funded through a grant from the state library/Institute of Museum and Library Services are expected to arrive the week of Jan. 26 to add study space at Beaufort and Bluffton branches.

Resource‑sharing change: Dickman said Beaufort County participates in the SC LENS consortium and that the consortium has reduced an inter‑county holding/owning window from six months to four months to speed sharing of physical items among participating counties. "We've decided as a consortium to reduce that wait time from 6 months to 4 months," she said.

Programs and outreach: the board received details about an upcoming winter reading program running Jan. 20–Feb. 20 (participants asked to log six hours of reading) and several branch programs including a presentation on the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz and a Lowcountry birding talk in February.

Budget and materials context: Dickman said the system spent $315,000 on materials so far in the fiscal year, with approximately 75% of that spending going to Hoopla digital services. The director and finance presenter noted the library is on track to approach or exceed a $1,000,000 materials budget this year, continuing a multi‑year upward trend in materials investment.

What happens next: staff will launch the website and reservation tools on the announced date and move forward with onboarding interns and installing study booths. The board did not take formal action on these items during the meeting.