In a previous article in this newspaper we learned that the staff is experienced, dedicated, and friendly.  It was also said that the staff is pretty darn good at running the library.  But, who can they go to with a problem and Who is responsible for over-seeing the operation and health of this valuable county asset?

There is a local Board of Trustees, comprised of 14 individuals, who voluntarily represent the tax-payers.  Each trustee is assigned by one of the 6 funding entities:  Cities of Greensboro, Siloam, Union Point, Woodville plus Greene County and the Board of Education. The President of the local board is Cliff Sanders, with many years of service to the library.  The other members, residents of Greensboro, Union Point and the surrounding areas in alphabetical order are: Jackie Briscoe, Robyn Brown, Lewis Gossette, Lucille Hudson,  Kathleen Mayers, Ron Mertz, Anita McCoy, Don McCoy (immediate past Pres.),  Diane Myers, Mary Lou Noonan, Emma O’Neal, Nancy Schrijver,  and Kurt Strater.   Terms for each trustee run 6 years, while an officer term is two-years, with the possibility of one additional two-year term.  If you see the name of a trustee who you know, give them a call, they will be happy to tell you details about your library that they serve and maybe invite you to join in the effort.

Trustees are responsible for five major areas of responsibility: 

Finance — which includes securing adequate funds for library service, monitoring the budget, reviewing the private audit, and presenting the library’s needs to the funding authorities .

Policy — which includes reviewing new and current policies and taking action as a Board when policies are challenged.

Planning — which includes interpreting the needs of the community and the library’s response to these needs, monitoring the population and industrial growth rate of the community; reviewing the scope and size of library services, and monitoring library construction.

Personnel — which includes one primary duty of recruiting and selecting the System Director.

Advocacy — which simply means telling the library’s story and pointing out its benefits for the community. 

The local Board works closely with the System Director and Administrative Office to ensure clear communication between the administration and the Greene County Library.  With an annual budget of almost $200,000, a valuable facility that needs to be maintained, and a ‘patron library card carrying base’ of 5,898 adults and 1,223 children, it is important that the facility be run smoothly and efficiently — and communication between library, local Board, and administration is the key.  Every 3 months, and more often as required to deal with unusual situations, the library manager, the Trustees, and the Director of the Uncle Remus Regional Library System meet to ensure that the facility is being run in the best possible way. With the economy in tough condition it is more important than ever to monitor and adjust the budget line items as needed as well as ensure that patrons are being served with the latest and best we can afford.

The Greene County Library is fortunate to be beginning an expansion and remodeling of the current library building this year, it has been 23

Years since it was last remodeled.  Funding has been established, so it is time to expand and renew the library building upon the current ‘firm foundation’. This project is complex and we will cover the details in a forth-coming article

So now you know how it runs and who makes up the team of fellow citizens that is ready to serve you on a daily basis.  Stop in and see us, stay a while, and if you are so inclined, tell us if you would be interested in serving the library in some way. 

After all it is your library.

— From the Greene County Library Team