Rowe will head GC Library Board
Attorney Merek Rowe was elected the chair of the Garland County Library Board of Directors during its regular monthly meeting Monday afternoon.
Rowe takes over the position from current chair Karen Harbut, a local pharmacist whose second term on the board expires later this year. Rowe was the only board member nominated for the one-year position, and his term expires in 2025.
The election of a chair was the only actionable business before the board, but a patron asked questions about the library’s digital services — Hoopla and Libby.
“As I understand Hoopla — and this has to do with folks fussing over what the library has for materials available,” Sharon Parrett said. “Hoopla is (similar to) you subscribe to Resort TV; you have no control over what Resort TV puts on, as in Hoopla. You don’t purchase any of the books?”
Library Director Adam Webb agreed regarding the platform that allows digital access to books and other digital items, such as movies.
“It’s a platform that we’re purchasing access to,” he said.
Parrett then asked about the Libby platform, which gives digital access to books.
“We have more control over what’s on Libby because we purchase content for it, but we are in a consortium as well with 60 other libraries,” Webb said, noting both digital platforms have parental controls to limit what children can access.
“So you know when you go on there and borrow a book, you might be borrowing it from … Arkansas River Valley Regional or North Little Rock library. So it’s more of a — it’s our platform and the content that we purchase, and you also have kind of on-demand, interlibrary loan where you can borrow from another library,” he said.
The board also discussed the possibility of a memorial for Shafer Morrissey, a patron whose family listed the library as a place for memorial donations after he passed earlier this month.
“Shafer was coming here from the moment he could,” Webb told the board. “The family designated the library as one of the places to send memorials for Shafer, and he made such a lasting impact on library staff here that employees who haven’t worked here for years called and emailed staff to let us know that he passed away.”
While the library typically purchases a book and adds a plaque with the memorial, several people contacted the library explaining they were wanting to do something larger. Webb said a separate fund has been established for the memorials, and he hopes to have a better idea of how much will be donated by next month’s meeting so a plan can be established.