January 2026 | Director's Report

Director's Report: January 29, 2026

Prepared by Director Jason Bumbico for the Board of Trustees meeting

Personnel and HR

  • We had weather emergency days on Tuesday, December 2, as well as all of this week (January 29-30). On December 2, the Library had a delayed opening at noon; on January 26, we were closed completely; and on the other days we opened at regular hours, but with limited staff.
  • We will be conducting annual performance reviews of all staff over the first two weeks of February.

Patron Services

  • We are currently evaluating a new events and room reservation calendar system called LocalHop. Our current system, WhoFi, is paid for by the State Library, and this support will be ending in June. LocalHop could be a potential replacement.

Adult Services

  • After the holidays, we have resumed adult programming with presentations on Ohio winter wildlife, Alzheimer's, and genealogy. There has also been a Sit and Stitch group meeting in the Reading Room that continues to grow in popularity.
  • Upcoming programs include presentations on the history of the Tuskegee Airmen, Medicare, soup recipes, and women moonshiners.
  • Beginning in early February, AARP will be at the Library every Thursday through early April offering tax help on a mostly walk-in basis from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Youth Services

  • School visits have started up again and are going well.
  • Youth Services also has a new program starting in conjunction with a local 4-H group called Clover Club. They are also testing an early-evening Pajama Storytime to reach families who are unable to attend daytime programs.

Collection Development

  • New materials added in December 2025 included:
    • Adult books: 48
    • Audiobooks: 7
    • Movies: 19
    • Youth books: 42
  • During all of 2025, we added the following materials to the collection:
    • Adult books: 1,849
    • Audiobooks: 73
    • Movies: 140
    • Youth books: 1,800
    • Kits: 19
    • Tonies: 99 (and 3 Tonie Boxes)

Technology

  • We have decided to move forward with the SEO pilot project to upgrade our network infrastructure. SEO provided a network assessment and upgrade plan, and we will be working out the details for them to create and file the E-Rate paperwork to purchase, install, and potentially maintain the equipment at deeply discounted prices for the Library.
  • You will notice some template changes to the website shortly. We are changing the design to provide a cleaner, easier-to-maintain layout. The template conversion is being handled by OPLIN for a fee.

Miscellaneous

  • The Library Coordinators, Casey Milano, Diane Ruff, and I will be meeting next week to finalize the Strategic Plan that we began last year. We will hopefully have a finished product to begin working from shortly.
  • On January 14, I was delighted to be invited to speak at the Entre Nous Women's Club monthly meeting about the Library, recent projects, and plans for the near future.
  • We have decided to open the display cases at the front entrance for patron use. Patrons of all ages will be invited to display prizes, collections, family memorabilia, or other items that delight and interest them.