The Livingston County Board of Supervisors approved $97,000 in funding for the Pioneer Library System (PLS) this week during their July 28 regular board meeting. The funds will go directly toward improving and expanding PLS library services in their eight Livingston County library locations.
“Livingston County is the only one of our four counties in the Pioneer Library System that offers any type of county-based funding directly to libraries,” said PLS Executive Director Ron Kirsop. “I think that’s pretty incredible and I can’t commend Ian Coyle and the rest of the Board enough for their continued support, especially considering what we’ve been through with COVID and tighter funding. We appreciate it a lot and we’re glad they keep libraries, literacy, and education at the forefront of their minds.”
A large portion of the funding will go directly toward supporting Livingston County libraries and the services they offer, such as community outreach, training and education, and inter-library loans. PLS will earmark a smaller percentage of the funds for competitive grants among those same libraries. The grants will make possible specific, small-scale capital improvement projects that wouldn’t otherwise be covered under currently available library construction aid. Kirsop explained these projects could be anything from general maintenance to repairs and upgrades.
PLS is a New York State-chartered, cooperative public library system, which serves 42 public libraries in Livingston, Ontario, Wayne, and Wyoming counties. One of 23 public library systems in New York State, PLS was created to enhance the service of and promote cooperation among its member libraries.
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