Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Library Renovation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sheridan County library will close Wyoming Room for renovation; residents worry about access to historical materials
Summary
A resident raised concerns at the Jan. 6 Sheridan County commissioners meeting about the library’s planned Wyoming Room closure (roughly Feb–Dec 27) and the accessibility of historical materials. Library director Amy Long and board chair Anna Edwards said the project is grant‑funded, most items are cataloged and two part‑time staff plus volunteers will inventory delicate materials.
Whitney Taylor raised public concerns at the Sheridan County Board of Commissioners meeting on Jan. 6 about the Fulmer (Wyoming) Room at the county library, which she said will be closed for renovation for roughly a year starting in February and running through Dec. 27. Taylor urged the board to ensure continuing public access and expressed worry that large parts of the county’s historical collection have been boxed and are not easily searchable.
Amy Long, identified in the meeting as the library director, told commissioners that “the Wyoming room, the majority of the collection is cataloged.” Long said the library will retain the Dewey Decimal System and is not removing the collection; rather, the closing and extra staff time are needed to catalogue and preserve non‑book materials (photographs and other collateral) that are harder to inventory. Anna Edwards, chair of the library board, said the board has been intentional in the project rollout and called the collection “very valuable and delicate.” Both emphasized that the renovation is part of a federal grant and that plans shown publicly were preliminary; more recent designs have not yet been posted to avoid misimpression.
Long said two part‑time employees, supplemented by volunteers and additional staff help, will work on cataloging and preparing materials for foundation repairs that will require removing collections from the floor. The library estimated it may need four to five months to address foundation issues in the Wyoming Room and said some materials will need to be temporarily secured behind locked storage during work.
Taylor and others had also noted missing or hard‑to‑find meeting minutes and website materials; Long responded that updated plans and materials will be posted when finalized and that staff will provide requested records on request.
The commissioners did not take formal action directing changes to the project at the Jan. 6 meeting. Library leaders said they will provide additional information to the public as plans are finalized and that the renovation aims to improve long‑term public access by bringing cataloging up to date and protecting fragile materials.
