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County library leaders outline services, usage and funding ask ahead of budget season
Summary
Directors of Kendall County's three public libraries presented usage statistics, programs, volunteer support and grant funding (including a $694,000 Mellon Foundation award), and asked commissioners to consider their FY27 budget request to maintain services and staff.
Directors from Candelio, Comfort and Patrick Heath libraries told the commissioners that the three-library system serves a large share of county residents through in‑person visits, outreach and the new bookmobile. Patrick Heath’s director said the libraries together logged heavy traffic and programming in the last year and appealed for continued county support during budget discussions.
“Last year, we had a 197,000 visits to the library,” Natalie Schultz told the court while summarizing usage and services across all county libraries. Library leaders described programs that include free tax assistance with AARP, outreach to homeschool families, seed‑library partnerships, a memory lab funded via a $694,000 Mellon Foundation grant, and heavy volunteer support. Directors asked the court to consider their FY27 request during the budget process and offered to provide detailed line items and follow‑up material to county staff.
