Jefferson‑Madison Regional Library outlines services as Nelson County approves increased contribution

David Plunkett, director of the Jefferson‑Madison Regional Library, told the Nelson County Board of Supervisors on March 4 that the system’s Nelson Memorial branch has expanded outreach and technology services while remaining a regional access point for books and digital media. Plunkett described new and ongoing services — including a makerspace, a bookmobile that visits rotating stops every other Friday, a Nellysford kiosk where holds may be picked up, and story walks at local trails — and reviewed recent circulation and usage figures.

Plunkett said Nelson County patrons checked out about 75,000 items last year, including roughly 25,000 digital items, and that the local branch’s physical collection of about 28,500 items turned over nearly two times on average. He said the County’s share of the regional system is calculated by circulation averages and is about 4.28–4.43 percent; for FY27 that translates to approximately $327,000 for local operations and about $7,800 for the bookmobile portion. Plunkett also attributed recent gains in programming and outreach to local partners such as Grow Nelson Library and the Regional Friends of the Library.

The board discussed personnel costs and pay scales with Plunkett, who said JMRL contracts with the City of Charlottesville for benefits but maintains its own salary scale; the FY27 budget includes a 5 percent pay‑scale increase and a 2 percent raise for eligible staff, with healthcare costs cited as a primary driver. Supervisors noted the value the library provides to homeschool families and the broader community’s use of meeting rooms, public computers and wireless access.

Board members agreed to fund Jefferson‑Madison Regional Library at $445,356 for FY27, an increase of $31,442 from the prior year. That allocation was recorded as part of the board’s FY27 agency funding decisions in the March 4 work session.

Plunkett directed supervisors to the JMRL five‑year strategic plan online and said staff are preparing to support patrons as new technologies — including AI tools — become more widely used. The board did not take additional formal motions on library governance during the session; Plunkett’s presentation was followed by other agency presentations in the budget work session.