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Mariposa County Library reports growth in programs, secures grants and asks for modest extra-help funding
Summary
County Librarian Matt Johnson told the Board the library added borrowers, expanded programs (story times, comic convention, wildfire preparedness, author talks) and won ZipBooks grant awards ($7,800 and a second grant ~ $6,000). He said the system needs a small increase in extra-help funding to sustain programming.
County Librarian Matt Johnson presented the Mariposa County Library’s year-in-review on Dec. 9, outlining program growth, partnerships and small grants while asking the Board for modest additional extra-help funding.
Johnson said the library expanded collections and programming across five branches despite budget pressures and a temporary pause in Friends donations. Highlights included a successful summer reading program with more than 200 participants, a first-ever plant swap that attracted more than 100 attendees, a comic-book convention that drew families and creators, a memorial project for trees lost to the Oak Fire, and partnerships with the Mariposa Arts Council and Sierra Foothill Conservancy.
“We will be looking at our accomplishments and then our vision for the year ahead,” Johnson told the board, stressing the library’s role as a community hub and a venue for literacy, workforce skills and emergency services like cooling centers.
He said the library received $7,800 through the California State Library’s ZipBooks program and later obtained a second ZipBooks grant for roughly $6,000 to purchase recent titles that patrons can request for home delivery. Johnson also said the library is pursuing a VITA tax-prep partnership and a possible bookmobile to reach outlying communities.
Johnson asked the Board to consider an incremental increase—on the order of $10,000–$15,000—for extra-help staffing to maintain and expand programs. Board members praised the library’s work and thanked staff and volunteers for their community-building activities.
What happens next: staff will work with the Administration and County Finance to evaluate the extra-help funding request as part of upcoming budget discussions.
