Georgia public library trustee 101
The basics. There are two types of library boards, governing and advisory. Board members are called trustees, and they are representatives of the community, library volunteers, and advocates. A governing board has legal and fiduciary responsibilities, hires the library director, sets policy, determines the library mission, and is directly accountable to the public. An advisory board also gives input into a library’s planning process and marketing plan. Trustees of either type of board should understand the local ordinances and state laws that impact the library and its operations. They should know the library’s budget and funding sources, be involved in planning, and develop library policy. The most important role, however, is that trustees should be strong library advocates.
How many public library boards are in Georgia? There are 60 governing library boards across Georgia, which is one per library system. Each library system may have other subsidiary boards, called advisory boards, in addition to their governing board.
How are trustees nominated? Appointments to library boards are made by governmental agencies such as cities, counties, and school boards that financially support the library. Sometimes, board members may recommend an individual to the appointing authority to fill a vacancy.
Library trustees are local leaders, active members of their community, and neighbors. They are important volunteers and advocates for the library. Here are perspectives from a handful of trustees across Georgia.
Terry Raiford, trustee, O’Kelly Memorial Library
“My role involves overseeing the financial operations of the O’Kelly Library in the Azalea Regional Library System and providing support to the director. Drawing on my experience as a CFO for a state agency, I possess the expertise to anticipate economic shifts and guide the library in preparing for these changes effectively.
I felt a deep sense of pride when the board and the city of Loganville united in their decision to establish a new library. It was the culmination of numerous meetings with city officials, community members, and other stakeholders. The addition of this new library is poised to significantly benefit our city by providing the next generation with the essential resources they require for success.”
James Coleman, chair of Cobb County Library Board
“I’m curious and I ask lots of questions. My goal is to understand how each library process works. The library team is wonderful, patiently answering and providing helpful context. If something is persistently hard to grasp, there could be an opportunity for improvement or added efficiency. We have 15 libraries in Cobb County. Though well maintained, some of the facilities are aging and in need of renovation. Securing funding for such projects given all county priorities is a constant challenge. This past year, we worked with members of the library team to advocate for an additional $2.2 million to complete the Gritters Library renovation project. We are excited that the new facility will open later this year.”
Sami Mastrario, Victoria Evans Memorial Library and Coastal Plain Regional Library System boards
“The library and its board have faced significant financial challenges in recent years, further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. As reading habits have evolved over the past decade, libraries nationwide have experienced notable declines in patron usage. However, I am particularly proud of the remarkable turnaround our library and board have achieved in the past year and a half. We secured additional funding from local agencies and hired a passionate branch manager dedicated to promoting the love of libraries. Our community demonstrated overwhelming support through donations. I believe my social media advocacy, marketing within our local newspaper, and event volunteering have contributed to the increase in patron visits, programming, and our collection.”
“Two board members attended the Public Library Association conference to learn more about the role of libraries and how to better support us. Our trustees are engaged with us and in the community, supporting our requests for funding and sharing our impact with local leaders,” said Alan Harkness, director of Chattahoochee Valley Libraries and 2023 Georgia Public Library Director of the Year. Harkness is pictured here with regional board member Darcy Brito (top row, beige coat) and staff at Library Legislative Day at the Georgia Capitol in February 2024.
Kelly Lane, Cook County Library Board chair and Coastal Plain Regional Library System Board
“The role of the library board is advocacy. Advocacy. Advocacy! The function of the board is to take care of the ‘business’ of the library and be good stewards of the resources we are given to carry out its mission, but I have always believed the board also needs to be strong advocates for the library and share the story with all segments of our community. The library should be one of the cornerstones of each community in Georgia. As board members, we should ensure that the library remains vibrant and relevant.
When I began my appointment, I was the youngest board member by several years. The board was not representative of the demographics of our community. At that time, trustees came to a meeting four times a year and that was all that was expected. As I moved into the chair’s seat, I pushed for more activity between board meetings and stressed the advocacy piece of being a trustee. We have a different and more diverse board today.
We have built positive relationships with our funding partners, patrons and our community. Over the last 10 years, we have had some substantial requests from our partners. This goes back to advocacy and the board always telling the library story.
Recently, we faced a challenge when we were notified of substantial increases to employee health insurance costs. We delayed passage of our FY24 budget, and our budget committee took some time to plan for the increase and analyze our proposed budget, looking out several years. We developed a plan to once again tell our story in a more formal way to our funding agencies prior to asking for a significant funding increase. That plan went as well as we could have expected, and we received our requested increased amounts from all three funding partners. It was our goal not to have to ask for additional funding for several years.”
Linda Most, former trustee on South Georgia Regional Library Board
“I represented Valdosta State University (VSU) for two terms on the board. VSU has a library degree program, and someone from the university always has a seat on the library’s board. I consider myself a working volunteer. If I take on a service position such as this one, I am willing to take part in the work of the organization, not just show up to vote at meetings. I brought hands-on knowledge of standard public library policies and procedures from my time as a public librarian and as a Library & Information Studies (MLIS) faculty member in an MLIS degree program. My area of expertise is in public libraries, library history, and public library management. I also bring strong problem-solving skills to groups where I volunteer.
For many years, the South Georgia Regional Library had wanted to move the main library to a new building and location. The old building was in poor condition and sitting on land the regional medical center wanted to acquire to support its expansion plans. In a community that did not want to spend money on much of anything, the library board was not encouraged to try to build a new building. Instead, the board found a centrally located, empty medical lab building that had easy access from main roads and local neighborhoods and lots of parking.
During my tenure, the board worked with the library director, the county, the city, and the community to acquire the building, find an architectural firm that specializes in renovation and restoration of public buildings, get community buy-in for the plan, and then arrange the financing to build and open the new library. It was a very successful project. Getting buy-in for the need for a new main library in a more accessible location also took time and work.
The new board chairman and the new library director and staff were able to accomplish this with much hard work and outreach.”
Revel Pogue, board chair, Mary Vinson Library
“When we were faced with potential cuts from city and county officials, we had to become more active and engaged with community stakeholders to save our library funding. The board rallied the community, engaged the media, and protested in front of the local courthouse.
And then, when our library merged with another system, we served as guides for our library in the transition process. This has made our board transition from a governing board to an advisory board. There’s been intentional work by all of the board in bringing our priorities and culture into a larger organization. We are advocates to our funding agencies and community for library usage and support.
The board has been instrumental in rehabbing and creating the Hancock Branch area, opening a north branch of the library, renovating the main branch building, and planning a Harrisburg library branch in the near future. We have an excellent board that works hard in our community.”
“Our trustees do all the usual critical functions like hire and supervise the director, approve policies, and ensure we have a proper budget in place, but they also are actively engaged in our activities too. For example, two trustees acted as suspects in our Friends of the Library Murder Mystery fundraiser! Many trustees generally support the library by volunteering for book sales, outreach events, and even moving assistance when we were relocating. They work with our funding officials to express library needs and represent the library at official functions such as Commission meetings and the Capitol. We have an active board construction committee that has been instrumental in making sure our new and renovated buildings represent the community’s needs, and they are very involved in our strategic planning process,” said Lisa MacKinney, director of Hall County Library System. Pictured here is the Friends of the Library Murder Mystery fundraiser which two of the library’s trustees volunteered in.
Interested to learn more about serving on a library board? Contact your local library to get involved.
