Buncombe County libraries adjust to life under Helene-related hiring freeze

When Buncombe County reduced hours at six libraries in January due to a Tropical Storm Helene-related countywide hiring freeze, some community members voiced concerns. That included parents who rely on children’s programs at the county’s 12 library branches.

But Library Director Jason Hyatt doesn’t view such feedback as a bad thing.

“I never want to make people unhappy, but one of the indicators that people deeply care about their library is how fired up they get when there’s any type of change,” he explains. “Just seeing that initial public response to the temporary reduction of hours was a big indicator to me that these are people who really, really care about their library. They don’t want to see any reduction in services and they’ll help us support the restoration of those services when the time comes.”

In late January, six branches cut the number of days they’re open. The Black Mountain, Fairview, Leicester and Weaverville libraries are now closed on Tuesdays, while the Oakley and Swannanoa branches are closed Wednesdays and Fridays. All county libraries were already closed on Sundays and Mondays.

The highest-use library locations — Pack Memorial, East Asheville, Enka-Candler, North Asheville, South Buncombe and West Asheville — kept regular Tuesday-Saturday schedules.

“I’ve stressed to everybody that this is not our long-term, permanent operations plan,” Hyatt says. “We’re hopeful that as we come out of the hiring freeze, we’ll be able to transition back to our standard hours.”

 The hiring freeze is one way the county is dealing with a projected $15.6 million drop in property and sales tax revenues this fiscal year because of Tropical Storm Helene. Currently, the library system has about 14 open positions. Hyatt also had to find ways to cut $200,000 from his budget. Cuts were made to materials and programming as well as staff travel and training.

To prevent laying off staff or cutting their hours, library staff is shuffled to other branches on the days their regular branch is closed. Another goal was to continue offering core programming, such as youth services, program planning, community outreach and collection development, Hyatt says.

“It was a priority for us when we made this change that, regardless of what the hours look like, all locations would still maintain their programming,” he says.

Kid stuff

Among those feeling the effects of the reduced library hours are parents of young children.

Every month, Buncombe libraries offer 150-250 programs for babies through teens. That includes everything from Dungeons and Dragons and Lego clubs to scavenger hunts, puppet shows and reading challenges. One of the most popular programs, especially among parents, is Story Time, which is offered for babies, toddlers, preschoolers and families. There is also a Spanish-language version.

“Story Time is an opportunity for children to come together to hear stories and participate in activities,” Hyatt says. “They have been at all of our locations and they’re led by dedicated youth services librarians. The goal for every story time is to help convey a love of reading and get kids excited about books.”

In 2024, Buncombe libraries averaged about 2,000 children attending the 20- to 30-minute Story Time sessions every month. The sessions often offer an informal gathering for families afterward, Hyatt says. “It creates an opportunity for social interaction and learning and sharing and meeting other families and kids who have also come to Story Time,” he explains.

All branches have continued to offer Story Time and other family programming despite the reduced hours, though some shifted days programs are offered, he says.

That shift has been inconvenient for some parents. Tatiana Rivest Calder says the county’s libraries have been “an amazing resource” for her family since her 6-year-old daughter was a baby. While her daughter has aged out of Story Time, she still participates in kids programs like yoga and fairy crafts at the Weaverville Library, which is now closed on Tuesdays.

“Typically, I would take her in the beginning of the week, but now I have to take her at the end of the week,” says Rivest Calder, who is married to Xpress Managing Editor Thomas Calder. “For working parents, it’s a little crazier at the tail end of the week, so we’re not going as much. We went from going weekly to maybe once every two to three weeks. As a taxpayer, it’s pretty frustrating to not have these kinds of free community resources that were promised.”

West Asheville resident Tessa Fontaine, the mother of a 3-year-old daughter, is similarly frustrated by the decision to reduce library hours.

“It just feels really sad and confusing that this is one of the places that the county is making budgetary cuts,” she says. “I think community programming should be pretty high on the agenda of things that we make sure are maintained.”

Asheville already lacks activities geared toward young families, Fontaine says, making it particularly painful to have some of the few places that are consistently open for kids be affected by the hiring freeze.

“I really love Asheville, but it feels like there are decisions that get made with tourists in mind ahead of what might be best for people who live here,” she says. “This just feels like another version of that. Shouldn’t we be paying attention to what actually makes life good for the people who live here?”

Positive sign

Hyatt understands the frustrations of parents and other library patrons. But he thinks most people understand the budgetary issues the county is facing.

“People have been asking what they can do to support the library and how they can encourage getting hours and staffing levels back to where they were,” he says. “They want to know who to contact at the county to help impress upon them that the library is important. So it’s moved away from complaints and is more about how they can help.”

Some library patrons are facing a further temporary inconvenience. The North Asheville Library will be closed Tuesday, April 15-Friday, May 9, while the building’s interior is repainted and a new carpet is installed. The branch’s programming will be on hold during the closure.

But there is reason for optimism, Hyatt says. The county is letting some departments fill vacancies. Hyatt says he will be able to advertise three positions starting in mid-April.

That won’t give the libraries enough staff members  to reopen the branches on days they are now closed, but it’s a step in the right direction, Hyatt says.

“We’ll still have a significant amount of vacancies and we anticipate that it’ll take many months for us to get all those positions filled, unfortunately,” he says. “But I’m excited knowing that things are getting better for us and the county as a whole.”