Kilgore Library director provides annual report and budget request to York County Commissioners

YORK – Holli Duggan, director of the Kilgore Library in York, met with the York County Commissioners this past week, as she provided the annual library report and budget request.

​Duggan has been the director of the library since January. She filled the position which had been held by Deb Robertson – who now sits on the county board.
Duggan provided some interesting information regarding the library’s activities and offerings in the last year:

• The library has 10 public computers with free fiber internet and WiFi access
• There have been 7,778 computer and wireless uses in the last year, which is a nearly 16% increase over the year before
• There are four study rooms
• The library has two meeting rooms – although it has been reduced to a single space since the dividing wall became unusable
• There were 428 meetings held at the library in the past year, which is a nearly 5% increase
• There were 177 children’s programs – a 26% increase
• There were 26 adult programs – a 420% increase
• There were 18 general interest programs – a 39% increase
• Summer reading participants: children, 304; young adults, 71; adults, 340
• There were 43,198 library visits in the last year, a 8.5% increase
• There were 4,870 registered borrowers
• There were 74,554 physical items borrowed
• There were 27,586 electronic items borrowed
• The Makerspace opened in January which includes 3D printers, a Cricut, a vinyl plotter cutter, a large format printer, button/magnet makers, sublimation printer, heat press, coil binding machine, cardboard cutter and a laminator. Duggan said the space is always full of people, “it’s very popular, very busy.”

Duggan said there are lots of opportunities and priorities at the library, including the expansion of the Makerspace (in hours, training, equipment, classes and workshops); collection development; replacing the broken meeting room wall; work toward improved accessibility throughout the library; development of the green space outside; expansion of the program offerings; celebration of the building’s 40th anniversary; and doing a community needs assessment and updated strategic plan for reaccreditation.
Duggan’s budget request from the county is $17,500, which is the same amount requested and received last year from the county.
The Kilgore Library is a city-owned facility; however, the county has also provided some funding toward its operation as many people from all over the county utilize the York library’s services.
Commissioner Chairman Daniel Grotz thanked Duggan for her report and said the budget request would be considered during the budget formulation process later this summer.