Kilgore Memorial Library director announces Dec. 12 retirement, highlights $250,000 grant bid and growth in services

Deb Robertson, director of Kilgore Memorial Library, told the City of York council on Nov. 20 that she has applied for a $250,000 Jerry Klein community impact grant and is “not leaving because I want to. I’m leaving because it’s time for someone else to lead us into the next generation of librarianship.” She said she has little expectation of winning the award but described the application process as valuable for documenting how the library serves residents.

Robertson, who said she lives at the library address during her remarks, outlined a dozen years of programming and partnerships that she said expanded the library’s reach. She cited collaborations with the county attorney’s office, youth diversion officers, local schools (including an Early Childhood Discovery Center funded through the Sixpens program), community volunteer groups, adult disability book clubs, and senior-focused programs such as a twice-monthly “library lounge.” She said staff are cross-trained and several full-time employees act as department heads, which she credited with making reporting and accreditation easier.

On collections and circulation, Robertson said the library’s combined physical and downloadable collection was 82,847 in 2013 and that the 2025 total was read aloud in the transcript in a manner that is unclear; she attributed the change mainly to growth in downloadable holdings and reported circulation rising from 36,994 items in 2013 to 92,944 in 2025. Robertson also told the council the library now operates on 100% carbon-free electricity via an earlier solar collaboration.

She listed other accomplishments she included in the grant materials: launching a widely used county calendar app, hosting a maker space (previously funded by Libraries Transforming Communities), and offering life-skills instruction such as GED and ESL partnerships with the community college. Robertson said the library’s summer-read competition with Seward Library is a popular community tradition and noted staff efforts to make services inclusive.

Robertson concluded by saying Dec. 12, 2025 will be her retirement date and expressed pride in the staff and community work she described in the application packet the council had received.

The council did not take formal action on the report beyond receiving it; Robertson said she included an application executive summary and supporting data in the materials distributed to council members.