Algood Library Looks To Increase Hours

The Putnam County Library System wants to add a full-time librarian at its Algood branch.

System Director Phil Schaller said a full-time staffer would allow the system to expand hours for citizens.

“The Algood branch is the one with the most limited hours,” Schaller said. “We have been trying to get this branch full-time for quite sometime, and we have been talking to the city manager in Algood to figure out how to make this a reality.”

The Fourth Avenue library currently serves the community Monday-Thursday Noon to 4pm. The limited hours, Schaller said, has also made it difficult to keep employees.

“We have cycled through librarians, because it is a part-time position,” Schaller said. “It is hard to keep somebody there as a librarian, so we would have some really good librarians there and then for whatever reason, they would have to move on cause they weren’t getting full-time hours.”

The position will be part of the upcoming budget discussions for both the county and the city of Algood. In order to afford a full-time librarian, the Putnam County Library System requested the city to pay the salary and payroll taxes. Putnam County would cover benefits.

“Basically, it allows us to give our services more freely and abundantly to the people of Algood,” Schaller said. “It will also allow the librarian to do some outreach to our community. Not only will it make the building more accessible, but it will make the actual librarian more accessible to the city of Algood.”