Mariel Williams
editor@mitchellnews.com
Regional Director Amber Westall Briggs gave an update on the AMY (Avery Mitchell Yancey) Regional Library System at a recent meeting of the Mitchell County Board of Commissioners.
Briggs thanked the county commissioners, past and present, who have taken the time to serve on the library board.
“The best library boards, they work well when they have county or town representation on the boards, because there is a line of communication,” Briggs said.
Losing Yancey
Over the summer, Yancey County opted to leave the AMY system in 2025. Briggs said there is still time for Yancey authorities to change their minds on that withdrawal, but she does not anticipate that they will.
“The AMY Regional System ... was in the best position financially that we have ever been,” she said. “As you all know ... Yancey County will be withdrawing from the system, unless they change their mind before July 1, 2025.”
Briggs said that she is ready to move forward and focus her attention more on Mitchell and Avery counties.
“While that will change what we receive from state aid, that doesn’t change how the AMY regional library system will work — it will change the name, and there will be changes that will occur, but as far as the funding for our counties, we will be fine,” Briggs said. “We do not expect to lose staff.”
The board members thanked Briggs for her update on the library system.
Outside funding
Briggs said that the Mitchell County Library is preparing to use funding from the Helen McBee Trust to make improvements to the library’s front room.
“We are so lucky with our library ... that we have the McBee Trust,” Briggs said. “Ms. McBee left us funding, whereas we have interest that accrues, and we’re able to receive that twice a year.”
The trust’s contribution is designed to be extra funding on top of the library’s operating budget.
Briggs also said that over a year ago the library received a $180,000 grant from the High Country Council of Governments that funded hiring a digital literacy librarian this past March.
“Today she was in Spruce Pine doing individual one-on-one help for patrons who need assistance with their computers, need digital literacy help,” Briggs said.
Digital divide
Briggs said that the Dogwood Health Trust also approved a $270,000 grant for AMY Regional Library to serve as a “digital hub” for the tri-county area. Some of that money will go toward offering grants to partner organizations.
“Obviously we want folks to have access to computers, laptops and hotspots,” Briggs said. “Right now we have been surveying the community, and doing some research on mobile connectivity ... it means when you’re in a dead zone and you can’t send a text or you can’t connect to the internet with your mobile phone, that is also a part of digital literacy.”
Briggs said that most of the library system’s information on who has reliable access to the internet has come from Mitchell County.
“Of the three counties surveyed we have more information on Mitchell County than anywhere,” she said. “So that’s really good to know that people are paying attention and giving us specific addresses of ‘there’s nothing here, this is a dead zone, what can we do.’”
Briggs said that addressing this “digital divide” is a challenge.
“It is intimidating, because we know that hotspots don’t work everywhere,” she said.