April Board Update: Markle Branch Library
A Message from the Director
April 20, 2026
Over the last few weeks we have heard from many people about the Markle Branch Library and we have had many conversations with Library staff and the Library Board of Trustees.
This past Wednesday, April 15, 2026, the Library Board received a report about the service and usage statistics from the branch. As a group, we discussed many topics that were brought to our attention when analyzing these statistics.
We want to make sure that the public and local stakeholders are informed about any conversations that the Board is having about the future of the Markle Branch. If you would like to hear directly from myself and the Library Board, the conversation about the Markle Branch can be heard in full on the recording of the Library Board meeting on the Board page of our website.
While we are still considering all options for the hours and staffing of the branch, the Board and our administrative team remain convinced that full closure of the branch is not our best option and we are currently considering options that will not involve closing the branch. Our current concerns center around the limited engagement of cardholders and limited use of the branch’s services. We will continue to investigate the trends of use and will likely be doing more study and surveys in the future.
The Library Board will be hearing more information about the use and operations of the Branch and will be discussing this information at their regular meeting on Wednesday, May 20 at 5:15 p.m. This meeting will be held at the Markle Branch. This will allow Markle residents easier access to speak to the Board about their concerns and preferences. We will provide specific additional public input time for this meeting. Please understand that we are taking this discussion very seriously and we will likely not have a final decision until June or July.
Many people have asked me what they can do to support the library to keep the Markle Branch in full operation. My first answer to this is always to use the library frequently and to encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same.
In this case, there is another option for anyone who is concerned about the Markle Branch library and Indiana libraries in general. That option is to support funding for libraries at state and local levels whenever you can. A large part of the concern and reason for this discussion about the Markle Branch Library is the pressure that has been placed on library budgets in recent years at a state level. Changes to property taxes have meant that we stand to lose more than $100,000 in funding this year alone.
We have been focusing on cutting spending at every opportunity for the last 9 months. We have already left one staff position unfilled in Huntington, we have reduced spending on supplies, electronic databases, and periodicals, as well as eliminating some expensive processes like RFID tagging. We will continue to carefully monitor all of our decisions to ensure that we are spending money in the most effective way and this conversation about the Markle Branch is part of that.
This year, the state legislature has again severely reduced our ability to grow our budgets by limiting libraries to half of the growth limit that other government units are allowed. This will make it more difficult to afford higher costs in staffing, insurance, supplies, materials, and utilities while maintaining the same levels of service that everyone has come to expect.
If you value your libraries and want to continue to see them provide critical services and materials to our communities, I encourage you to contact your State Representative and State Senator to let them know that libraries and library funding are important to you.
As always, we value the feedback and comments of our residents. I encourage you to contact me directly at rlemons@hctpl.info and I will gladly answer any questions or address concerns.