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Library director previews website overhaul, internships, study booths and faster intercounty lending
Summary
Beaufort County Library director Amanda Dickman outlined staffing updates, two paid internships, a website and event calendar redesign launching Jan. 28, arrival of two state‑funded soundproof study booths, and a consortium decision to shorten an intercounty hold period from six to four months.
Amanda Dickman, the library director, delivered the library's operational report and highlighted staffing, digital services and facilities plans set to affect patrons this year.
Dickman said the system currently has three vacancies and is onboarding two new hires, and that the library secured two paid spring internships through county human resources: a graphic design intern and a preservation associate intern who will help digitize local history collections. She asked trustees to encourage the internships and noted the program builds capacity and community workforce connections.
On digital services, Dickman previewed a redesigned website and improved event/meeting‑room reservation system set to go live Jan. 28. The new calendar will offer filtering by audience and location, expanded event detail pages with GPS directions and staff contact information, and dual booking modes (search by room or by date) to simplify reservation requests.
On facilities, Dickman announced a grant‑funded purchase of two movable, nearly soundproof study booths—funds were identified from a state library award with support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services—and said the booths are expected to arrive on Jan. 26 for installation at Beaufort and Bluffton branches.
Dickman also described a consortium policy change among participating counties that reduces the wait period for physical items that move between counties from six months to four months to improve resource sharing. She framed the change as a cooperative effort to keep items circulating more frequently across the consortium.
She closed with program announcements (winter reading runs Jan. 20–Feb. 20; trustees were given pre‑release access to reading logs) and several upcoming speaker events across branches.
