Your Yancey: News and Media Website and Facebook page. What’s Happening With the Yancey County Public Library?
39 days until the election
What’s Happening With the Yancey County Public Library?
Part I: A Look at the Funding and Services of the AMY Regional System
vs. a Single-County Library
In June 2023, the Yancey County Commissioners (YCC) proposed pulling the Yancey County Public Library (YCPL) out of the AMY Regional Library System. The AMY system serves Avery, Mitchell, and Yancey counties.
In June 2024, the commissioners voted to withdraw from the AMY system and begin their‘ demonstration year’ to become a single-county library. According to the AMY contract, the commissioners can rescind this decision before June 30, 2025, and YCPL can remain in the AMY system.
In 2023-24, the AMY Regional Library System had an operating income of $1,234,278 (over a million dollars) to share among its four branches plus the Bookmobile. AMY received $487,936 through State Aid and non-recurring state funds. If YCPL becomes an independent library, it will get about $98,000 from the state. The balance will come from the YCC’s 2023-24 budget. It is unclear if or how much YCPL could receive from other sources.
Historically, Yancey County has funded the building maintenance, staff salaries/benefits, part of the Bookmobile librarian’s salary, and shared costs like the internet and the copier for YCPL. YCPL currently gets AMY-funded resources such as books, materials, all programming, the Bookmobile, Cardinal, and Overdrive, as well as technology, home school resources, and the salaries of the shared Children, Outreach, and Digital Literacy librarians. Also, if the YCPL becomes independent, the majority of the equipment, books, and materials currently located in the Yancey Library will be removed since they were bought by state and regional (AMY) funds.
The AMY libraries share the manager of the Bookmobile, Jamie McCabe’s, salary. The elderly and Senior centers, homeschoolers, after-school programs, and daycare centers, as well as many rural communities, depend on the Bookmobile. Homeschoolers rely on AMY funds for books and teaching materials, such as technology and science kits, either housed in the libraries or through the interlibrary loan system. Meeting rooms, access to printers, and children’s activities are invaluable for socialization and extracurricular activities.
Along with the NC Cardinal Resource Sharing and Overdrive (Libby), the AMY system funds internet and online access in each library and portable ‘hotspots’ for those who live in areas where the internet is not available or affordable. A new AMY program, the Digital Literacy Library, offers free one-on-one assistance, classes, and IT help.
If the Yancey County Commissioners continue with their plan to leave the AMY system, the taxpayers will be responsible for the lost funding. The decision to become a single-county library will impact the resources and services available to the community. Ultimately, the citizens of Yancey County will decide through voice and vote if YCPL should stay in the AMY system or go independent.
Sources
Austin, Lynn. County Commissioners Fiscal Year Budget. 2023.
Austin, Lynn. 2024-25 Budget Ordinance. 2024. yanceycountync.gov.
Austin, Lynn. Minutes of the 2022-23 Fiscal Year Budget. 2023.
Briggs, Amber. Public Statement from AMY Regional Library Director. 2024.
http://www.amyregionallibrary.org/.../upl.../2024/08/Public-
Library Services. The NC State Library.
https://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/
Statement-8.2.24.pdf “State Aid to Public Libraries.” State Library of North
Carolina. 2024.
https://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/
Written by-Jan Cavanaugh Graham
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