Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Tooele library wins $10,000 Carnegie grant; director outlines programs, staffing and tech upgrades
Loading...
Summary
Director Chase Bridal said the library received a $10,000 Carnegie Foundation grant and plans to use funds for study pods and summer programming; he also announced online payments are live (vendor SmartPay), online library cards are planned for summer, and the library completed several FY25 technology goals while prioritizing server and Wi‑Fi upgrades for FY26.
Tooele City Library Director Chase Bridal told the board on Jan. 22 the library has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Carnegie Foundation as part of its America 250 celebration and plans to direct the funds toward new study booths and summer programming.
"The Carnegie Foundation is going to be giving us a $10,000 grant that says celebrate America 250," Bridal said, and added he already has plans to use the funds. He described a recent low‑cost acquisition of a four‑person study pod from the North Logan City Library and said the library hopes to add two single‑person pods (phone‑booth style) for quiet individual study.
Bridal also announced that online payments are now available. "We're using SmartPay," he said, identifying the vendor used for the library’s kiosk payment terminals; patrons can now pay nonresident fees, fines and replacement costs online, at the kiosk or at the information desk. Bridal said online resident library card registration is “coming” and he hopes to enable fully online card signups by summer reading once the remaining system changes are completed.
On staffing and programming, Bridal said the library hired a new staff member from the parks and recreation department and converted that hire to regular part‑time status to increase program capacity and staff hours. He noted popular events—wacky Wednesday and a K‑pop “demon hunter sing‑along” scheduled for Feb. 20 at about 6:30 p.m.—have filled quickly and that Friends of the Library donations will support summer reading prizes.
Reviewing the library’s strategic targets for FY25–28, Bridal reiterated goals to grow active cardholders (target: over 15,000), increase annual circulation to 350,000 by 2028 (275,000 last year), and reach 175,000 annual visits by 2028. He credited the migration to Koha and Aspen Discovery and increased Libby usage for recent circulation gains.
On technology, Bridal reported completing FY25 upgrades (UPS backups, reservation station, Wi‑Fi expansion using a UEN ARPA grant and new credit‑card terminals) and said FY26 priorities include server upgrades, a patched firewall, improved library Wi‑Fi coverage, and printing/visitor‑count systems updates. He said some UEN park Wi‑Fi coverage funded through ARPA is likely to be reduced as federal funding winds down.
Bridal asked the board to review the strategic and technology plans; he said the existing three‑year plans will remain in place and the board will consider a new plan in 2028.
