Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Jessamine County Public Library (JCPL) Board of Trustees held its monthly meeting on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. 

The Board of Trustees discussed financial reports, February library statistics, President Trump’s Executive Order in the director’s report, the 2025-2026 budget, and trustee nominations. 

Finances

According to Ron Critchfield, Executive Director of JCPL, the library was under budget overall last month.

However, the library exceeded its vehicle maintenance budget by $2,000 because the outreach van’s transmission needed to be replaced.

Director’s report

In February, the library had 63,333 checkouts, the third-highest February ever. Out of the 36,376 physical materials circulating, teen books at JCPL+ had a record high February. The number of downloadable items circulated was 26,957, including the highest Kanopy usage this year. 

The library had 4,763 participants in 111 programs. JCPL-owned online resources were used 6,013 times, a 37 percent increase from last month. There were 1,731 computer sessions and 718 Wi-Fi sessions. 

In February, JCPL had 13,935 visitors to its Main Street location and 236 visitors to JCPL+ in Wilmore. Library in a box circulation was 1,096, with 427 to Wilmore and 533 to Brannon. There were 196 Creative Space sessions and 1638 uses of the News Bank, which patrons can use to read the Jessamine Journal. 

Critchfield informed the board of the Trump administration’s Executive Order, which whitehouse.gov released on March 14. It aims to eliminate non-statutory components and functions “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law” for seven agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the nation’s only federal agency dedicated to funding library services. Terminations and rejected funding requests were mentioned as outcomes of being “inconsistent with this order.”

Libraries, including JCPL, offer a multitude of services, including summer reading programs, high-speed internet access and computers, employment assistance for job seekers, tax assistance, driver license renewal events, expungement clinics, braille and talking books for people with visual impairments, homework, and research resources for students and faculty, creative spaces, and events for people of all ages. 

On March 15, the American Library Association released a statement responding to the “White House assault.” It reads, “To dismiss some 75 committed workers and mission of an agency that advances opportunity and learning is to dismiss millions of Americans’ aspirations and everyday needs. And those who will feel that loss most keenly live in rural communities. As seedbeds of literacy and innovation, our nation’s 125,000 public, school, academic, and special libraries deserve more, not less support. Libraries of all types translate 0.003% of the federal budget into programs and services used in more than 1.2 billion in-person patron visits every year, and many more virtual visits.” 

“I sent you the frequently asked questions and explanations for what [the Executive Order] is doing. The American Library Association recommends you contact federal representatives and senators and ask them to counter the message,” Critchfield said. 

Committee reports

The board approved a 4 percent cost of living increase for library staff. 

New business

Treasurer Andy Sims and Member-at-Large Lynda Short are close to finishing their terms as trustees. The board approved Sims as its nomination to rejoin the board, which must be approved by the Jessamine County Fiscal Court, and Advisory board member Mary Roseman as the alternate nomination. Short has served on the board for eight years but can not immediately rejoin. 

The board will discuss nominations for Short’s position at its next meeting. 

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 16, in the JCPL.