By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
Deborah Dutton Lambert attended the monthly meeting of the Boone County Public Library Board Monday afternoon to ask questions about the Petersburg branch of the library which is currently closed.
Lambert, a resident of Petersburg, feels that the people of Petersburg, particularly the children, are being underserved because the library is closed, and the building is locked.
“As a new resident of Petersburg, I am aware of the dichotomy of the Petersburg represented by the demographics and the Petersburg that I see,” Lambert told the Library board. “There are two Petersburgs. The Petersburg at the top of KY20 where the demographics are correct and the median household income is in excess of $90,000, and the Petersburg at the bottom of KY20 where there are children living at the poverty level.”
She explained that children in the bottom of Petersburg usually don’t have computers, electricity or internet access, and many households are multi-generational, which means many children don’t have their own bedrooms where they can study. She said that parents can’t always afford gas money so they can take their children to another library.
“They are being abandoned by the decision to close this library, the one resource that could potentially put them on a positive life trajectory,” Lambert insisted. “I understand that resources are needed for this. Our suggestion is that a cadre of volunteers be created to staff the library.”
Library Director Carrie Herrmann explained that they are having trouble staffing the Petersburg location, so although it is indeed closed at the moment, there are plans for the library.
“The WiFi is up and running,” said Herrmann. “It reaches out even into the park.”
“Yes, If the family can afford to have a computer to access WiFi or the resources to do it and they don’t,” stated Lambert. “I’m telling you, you are essentially disregarding these children who have no resources by setting up this locker system which will serve them no purpose.”
“The building itself will also have public access internet computers and printers that they will be able to use in the building — in the fall,” said Herrmann.
The project that is being installed at Petersburg is called Express Location, and Herrmann said they borrowed the idea from libraries in the western part of the United States. She said this would be the first of its kind in Kentucky, and the purpose is to provide service to this community.
“People would be able to access the building with their library cards,” Herrmann said. “There will be a locker system, and whenever the library patron puts a book or something on hold, that item will be placed in their locker. The lockers are inside the building, and are protected from rain and snow.”
She said there will be computers and printers inside the building, and people can log onto the computers with their library cards. There will also be a collection of books inside the building, and these books will be ones that they can take home with them, and they don’t have to bring back, somewhat like the little libraries that are in neighborhoods. People can also bring books to the library that might be part of their libraries for people to share.
“Right now, while we are retrofitting the building, people can’t go into the building, but the WiFi is working and extends into the park, so if someone has a phone that has internet they can log on outside the building,” Herrmann explained. “Also children in the area usually go to school in the Boone County school system, and all Boone County students receive a chromebook in their schools so they do have a way to access the internet.”
Herrmann is optimistic that they can have the changes completed so that people can access the building at the end of October.
She also said that the 1200 square foot building doesn’t belong to the library, it belongs to Boone County, and they have to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Fiscal Court every year to occupy the building.
As far as the Chapin Trust, which Lambert brought up at the meeting by requesting an audit of the trust, Herrman said she had located some of the papers but she could not find anything that indicated any funding associated with the trust.
“The Chapin library was established in 1974, and it was in a church,” she said. “In 2005 Boone County took the little library over, but most of the furnishings and materials were worn out and not usable.”
“There are many unanswered questions,” Lambert told the NKyTribune after the meeting. “Just because the lock box idea is novel and may work in other communities, I do not believe it will meet the needs of the children of Petersburg.”
Many professions, she explained, do not have the credentialed and/or trained personnel to staff operations. In the medical realm it is becoming more common to see Nurse Practitioners taking over many of the roles of a MD. Organizations are looking outside the box to staff operations, including training personnel under credentialed staff.
“The lock box idea will meet the need of a few, but not the children,” Lambert stated. “If the library is open for access to the computers, who will train or demonstrate to the residents of Petersburg how to use this resource? “