Rural library district updates outreach, asks commissioners to confirm board appointment

Lisa Sudar, chair of the county’s rural library district board, briefed the commissioners on the district’s outreach work, bookmobile support and a recent decision to fund a part-time outreach librarian to serve county residents outside the city library service area. Sudar also asked the commissioners to confirm a candidate to fill a board vacancy.

Sudar said the library district was formed in 1996 to serve county residents who did not automatically have access to a city library. The five-member, volunteer board oversees funds collected through property taxes and contracts with the city library to provide services in unserved precincts. The district contributed $50,000 toward the bookmobile purchase and recently approved funding for a part-time outreach librarian to coordinate rural services, bookmobile scheduling and programming.

Sudar said the city library’s outreach librarian visits assisted-living and senior centers and that the district’s outreach position will expand those services into rural precincts where residents may not know they are eligible for library cards or services. She described successful summer programs and partnerships with school programs to encourage reading.

Sudar asked commissioners to confirm an applicant, Nina Smith, to fill a library-district board seat; commissioners indicated approval during the meeting.

No formal recorded vote appears in the public transcript; the rural board requested confirmation of the appointment and outlined outreach activities to support rural residents.