Kenton County public library director Dave Schroeder gave an update on the progress of the public libraries at the February Kenton County Fiscal Court Meeting.
Nine years ago, expansions of the Kenton County libraries began, starting with the expansion of the Covington branch, the Erlanger branch, then the Independence branch, and finally, the Latonia branch, which is set to open sometime this fall. Along the way, the public library administration building was also completed in 2018.
“We did, like everybody else, and made it work,” explains Schroeder when describing how they persevered through COVID-19 during this process. “We were very fortunate that we have drive-throughs in all of our locations, so we were able to be up and running before most libraries in the state. We had a glass barrier between us and patrons. I will tell you as soon as the state allowed us to open, we opened that day. We had a four hour long waiting line to get books [the first day open.]”
When it comes to future plans for Kenton County Public Libraries, Schroeder said he is hoping to work towards participating in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. His overall goals include utilizing the expansions that have been done for good in the community.
“Not only is Dave an elite professional administrator of libraries, but you can tell every time he talks how much he believes in Kenton County,” said John Stanton, external affairs representative. “There is the added benefit of not just having an elite professional administrator of the library system, but to have someone who thinks about the Kenton County angle on things.”