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Library manager outlines outreach during branch closure; Hopkinson lease under review
Summary
The Somerset County Library System detailed pop-up services, mobile-hub partnerships and outreach to nearly 5,000 residents during a branch closure, and said the library is reviewing a five-year Hopkinson lease that would require about $59,000 of fit-out investment supported by partners.
Kathy Deberry, branch manager for the Brown Bridal Library and interim Hillsborough manager, briefed the council on library services and a proposed Hopkinson lease.
Deberry said that since the local branch closed last October the library has delivered pop-up services, after-school visits, weekly holds pickup and a regular mobile-hub presence in partnership with county human services and the county health department. She said outreach included nearly 170 events, about 500 hours of service, and direct interactions with thousands of area residents; the figures were presented as program totals covering the closure period.
Deberry said the library is negotiating a five-year lease for the Hopkinson property (contract under legal review) and plans to invest about $59,000 to make the space usable. She said community partners have contributed funding so the expense will not fall entirely on taxpayers. The library also reported collaboration with county mobile services to provide internet, printing and social-service connections at a Main Street commuter lot.
Council members asked whether the lease and improvements would be resolved soon; Deberry and staff said the agreement is under legal review and that the library intends to move forward if the lease terms are acceptable. She emphasized that a permanent outlet could restore colocated social and health services that the library had been supplying while the branch was closed.
