Library director discusses seasonal staffing needs

The Washington County Public Library is looking to hire a temporary summer page at the Vernon branch, as well as a job description for an adult instructor. 

Rountree requested the additional position and new job description during a Washington County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting on April 18, which the BOCC approved.

“We’re seeing an increase of people (at the Vernon branch), which is a wonderful thing,” Rountree said. “We feed, during the summer, kids through the USDA summer feeding program out of that location.”

The Library has been feeding approximately 40 kids a week during the school year and expects that number to double during the summer, Rountree said.

“We really just need a 20-hour temporary library page for May, June, and July for that location just to kind of handle it,” Rountree said.

Rountree said she has “more than enough money to fund that position” when factoring in money being provided by the state.

“Also, we are seeing more people and adults needing more services,” Rountree said. “They need more help with their devices. I do an adult book club for Chipley. Sunny Hills had an adult book club.”

The instructor position’s responsibilities include planning, providing, and promoting diverse and creative adult service programs that encourage inventorial reading, viewing, and listening; suggesting/selecting resources to be acquired for the adult patron’s collection; developing displays in interactive areas that endorse creativity and support literacy; and executing routine computer duties and have a familiarity with related applications, the internet, and the Library’s software programs. 

There has been no adult instructor position for the Library, so Rountree brought a job description to the BOCC so the Library can “be where we need to be” when the new budget year for the County comes around. 

“I have someone who is kind of out of job description,” Rountree said. “Someone is kind of doing that job, so we would need to essentially get that person squared away.”