Library leaders tell council frozen positions and 42% materials-budget drop since 2020 are squeezing services

During the Memorial Library System presentation, director Catherine Hallerbach and analysts told the committee that staffing shortages and reduced materials budgets are constraining services. Hallerbach said the system currently has 34 frozen positions that limit its ability to run programs and that inadequate funding for benefits and retirement required reallocation of funds this year. "We have 34 frozen positions, it making things, tight for us," Hallerbach said.

Caleb Callender and Hallerbach also highlighted a roughly 42% decrease in the materials budget since 2020, which they said is a major driver of declining material circulation; the countys per-capita collection expenditure was cited at approximately $2.50. Staff said electronic licenses and rising prices make e-book access costly and that the library is seeking additional county funding, partnerships with friends groups and private donations to maintain programming and expand mobile services whose grant support expires in January 2027.