St. Helens library director details growing programs and usage as council weighs outreach limits ahead of ballot measure

Suzanne Bishop, the St. Helens public library director, told the joint library board and city council on Feb. 25 that the library recorded 49,336 building visits in 2025 — about a 25% increase over the prior year — and circulated 93,709 items when e-books and audiobooks are counted.

Bishop used a lengthy presentation to highlight new and growing services, saying the library has about 30 titles in a newly inaugurated Columbia County authors special collection and will open rolling submissions in April. "There's about 30 books in the collection right now, and they are available to be checked out," Bishop said. She described submission criteria: authors must live or work in Columbia County or belong to a local writers group and provide a bound item that is publicly available.

Why it matters: Bishop said rising visits and program use come as the city considers a ballot measure affecting library funding. Council members asked whether the library or city may legally distribute materials that would influence voters; staff said they will provide factual, neutral information but must check legal limits on advocacy.

Bishop outlined a range of services that city residents use daily. She said the "Library of Things" — items such as mobile hotspots, a telescope and an air fryer — remains popular, and the makerspace logged 788 users in 2025 after expanding equipment and space. The library reported about a 10% increase in registered patrons last year (2,923 people), and Bishop credited volunteers for much of the growth: 43 volunteers logged about 1,474 hours, which she estimated as the equivalent of roughly $47,565 in staffing value.

The library is expanding youth offerings, Bishop said. A state-funded teen internship helped launch a teen advisory board of roughly 13–18-year-olds that meets biweekly; the interns and teens have led projects including a game night, writing workshops and maker projects using the Glowforge laser cutter bought with Friends fundraising. Bishop also described early literacy partnerships (the "V Wigglers" program with Northwest ESD), a summer library challenge and an active genealogy group.

Bishop noted new online resources for patrons, including a news-aggregator tool and an interactive arts platform, and a limited community library card that allows borrowers in transitional housing to check out up to three items. She also described social-service uses of library space: staff assist residents with forms, supervised visits and other supports, and the library maintains a mutual-aid locker stocked with hygiene items and—when available—Narcan and COVID tests.

Bishop said the library received an Oregon Historical Society grant to digitize undigitized local newspapers, a project she estimated would take about two years and expand online access to the county's historical records.

On federal support, Bishop told the council that a recently enacted bill changed Institute for Museum and Library Services funding: she said that certain IMLS program funding was reduced for the relevant fiscal year but that funding for the Library Services and Technology Act — which is allocated to states for library services — increased. "We don't know what that funding is going to be yet, but we do know it'll be about $2,600,000 somewhere in there," she said, referring to the total LSTA allocation at the state level.

Council discussion focused on what city staff and the library may lawfully distribute about an upcoming ballot measure. Councilor Jay Ekternak asked whether the library could publish handouts or bookmarks related to the vote; Bishop and other officials said staff cannot advocate for or against a measure but can prepare neutral fact sheets and answer direct questions. The council asked the general counsel, John, to confirm the legal boundaries and to prepare guidance or a neutral fact sheet for distribution. John said staff would follow the law and assemble general factual materials.

The meeting adjourned after the director's report. The board and council said they would follow up with legal counsel and consider elected-official outreach through their own channels while keeping library staff limited to neutral informational duties.