Beaufort County Library board honors departing trustees, welcomes four new members; director outlines staffing, programs and Narcan kiosks

Beaufort County Library Board Chair Janet Porter opened the meeting by calling it “a momentous day” as the board honored four departing trustees and introduced four newly appointed members.

The board recognized Rosalie Richmond, a decade of service; a trustee who served 12 years including eight as treasurer and who helped raise annual materials spending to about $1,000,000; Lynn Miller, a past chair with 13 years on the board; and Bernie Cole, who the chair said had the longest tenure at 14 years with two years as chair. The board took a group photo to mark the occasion.

"This is a momentous day for us," Porter said as she introduced the recognitions. Several departing trustees offered brief remarks thanking colleagues and staff for their service opportunities.

The board then formally welcomed four new trustees who briefly introduced themselves and their backgrounds. Angela Baldry, who retired after 32 years as a librarian in Ohio and has served as a consortium director, said she brings experience both as a director and as a board member. Dahlia Hammond described a 40‑year career in higher education focused on strategic planning and nonprofit governance. Jacqueline Howard outlined more than three decades in corporate roles including IT and supply chain and said she will serve on the finance committee. Another appointee described nonprofit and veteran service and said she looks forward to helping with nominations and outreach.

Library Director Amanda Dickman framed her regular report around the library system’s four strategic goals: communication, user experience, space, and collection. She said the system currently has four vacancies — the library operations manager, two part‑time library assistants and a branch manager post at St. Helena — and that active recruitment and interviews are underway.

"The sky is not falling," Dickman said, summarizing staffing and operations while noting that two hires are in final offer stages and two interns are supporting summer‑reading outreach and local‑history digitization.

Dickman reported a major uptick in public participation in the library’s strategic‑planning process: the community survey closed with 3,091 responses, compared with roughly 1,300 in the previous planning cycle. She said staff and the strategic‑planning committee will analyze the responses and hold a board retreat with a consultant to draft priorities for the next three years.

On facilities and space, Dickman announced a pilot installation of self‑contained study booths at the Bluffton and Beaufort branches funded by an LSTA grant administered through the State Library of South Carolina. She said the booths — each sized for two to four users — will be installed the following week and the system will monitor demand to decide whether to expand the pilot.

Dickman also announced that the Carnegie Foundation provided a $10,000 gift restricted for use at the Beaufort branch building; the board said that amount matches the lowest vendor quote for carpet and paint in the children’s picture‑book area and staff will coordinate the work with facilities.

The director described a partnership with Nexus Care (formerly the county alcohol and drug department) that placed purple kiosks outside each library stocked with naloxone (Narcan) obtained through the South Carolina Opioid Recovery Fund and distributed for free. "The best way to prevent opioid deaths in Beaufort County is to make sure that the county is saturated with Narcan," Dickman said; she added the kiosks include fact sheets and have been restocked by Nexus Care as needed.

On programming and grants, Dickman said the library’s artist‑in‑residence series is supported by a stipend and supplies from the Public Library Foundation of Beaufort County, and that a South Carolina Humanities Council grant of $1,200 will help support a local authors festival scheduled for March 28. She noted the second year of a winter‑reading pilot showed lower participation than last year’s initial rollout and that staff are already planning outreach to boost children’s participation.

The finance committee presented a budget snapshot: the system is roughly two‑thirds through the fiscal year, personnel spending is about 57% of budget and operating about 67%; committee members said there are no anomalies and that state aid payments and impact fees are being managed for targeted projects including new branches and local improvements. Committee members noted approximately $4–5.5 million in impact fees earmarked for projects such as a new Pritchardville library and Riverside area improvements.

The board approved the minutes from the Jan. 14 meeting following a motion and voice vote; no roll‑call tally was recorded in the transcript. Committee chairs reviewed upcoming activities and Amanda agreed to follow up on retreat scheduling with the contracted planning consultant.

With no public commenters scheduled, the board adjourned after a motion and voice approval.

Next meeting: the board said it is scheduled to meet May 13 at 4 p.m. at the Beaufort Branch Library.