The Coplay Public Library is meeting state requirements for staffing but should be cautious about relying on volunteers, a state official says.

At its November meeting, the Coplay Public Library Board announced plans to hire a director "as a position of one." At the Jan. 9 meeting of the board, members appointed Sharon Dougherty to the position of library director.

Former Director Anne Morris resigned in December 2009. She was replaced by Julie Hughes, who resigned in May 2011. The board appointed Maryrose Farqhuar interim director at a meeting Oct. 13, 2011, and then appointed Sharon Dougherty codirector at a meeting Aug. 9, 2012.

"Bare bones, Coplay needs a person who is certified as a library assistant and who has to work at least 20 hours a week, said Mark Sullivan, district consultant librarian, in an interview with The Press Dec. 5, 2013. He serves as a liaison between the state and libraries in Carbon and Lehigh counties.

Parallel to that, the library needs a minimum of one full-time employee working at least 35 hours a week.

"Hiring a library assistant for 35 hours a week would ensure there is a qualified person running the library," Sullivan said.

Library law includes the expectation that someone is designated as a head librarian.

"The local library shall be in the charge of a person who has been trained to recognize and provide for the informational, educational, and recreational needs of the residents of the library's service area," reads section 141.25 of the Pennsylvania code, which supplements the Library Code with more detailed requirements.

"I think partially the state ... just assumed that everyone would be on the same page and didn't think of somebody that would want to get by with the absolute minimum," Sullivan said.

State standards are put in place to make sure the library is not just a shoestring operation and that there is some added value to the patron experience.

In addition to waiting on patrons, library staff have a variety of tasks to perform. Their time is not limited to assisting patrons.

Library staff, particularly the head librarian, must make several annual reports to the state, Sullivan said. One of them is a report on how the library plans to use its state aid. Another is a detailed report of library finances and patron activity. This includes patron use of electronic resources, the use of books, DVDs and other materials and the number of reference questions staff answered for patrons.

The director or head librarian will also prepare annual reports for the library's funding municipalities.

Sullivan cautioned that library resources and their organization "are not necessarily intuitive" and require proper training.

Sullivan said a public library is like a small business with the same problems faced by any other small business.

"The director is the day-to-day administrator and also the administrator of the budget, plant manager, supervisor of staff, all the things that the owner of a small business would have to deal with a library director has to deal with," Sullivan said. "It behooves the library to have a qualified person."

In a related issue, the library board has made it known it hopes to run the library with a mix of staff and volunteers.

"We are always looking for volunteers," said Eisenhauer. "We need them to help our staff. We certainly are looking for people with all types of skills."

Library board members hope volunteers can help with simpler tasks, such as shelving, freeing up staff for administrative tasks.

In an effort to save money on salaries, the board decided recently not to allow any more than two staff members to work at one time. In many instances, only one staff person works, accompanied by a volunteer.

At library board meetings, the board has discussed safety as one of the reasons for having volunteers. Board members have agreed they want at least two people – either two staff or a volunteer and a staff member – working at any given time.

"Yes, it will help from a safety issues but that is not the original intent," said Eisenhauer. "It is to help our staff with their duties. Most libraries have volunteers that help out."

Sullivan supports using volunteers but cautioned they come with limitations, especially where technology is concerned.

The program used to check out patron materials, known as the integrated library system or ILS, is not a particularly easy system to learn. Even if a volunteer were to learn it working just a few hours a month, maintaining that skill set would be an issue.

In addition, library staff are expected to be skilled in using other electronic resources such as computer programs and databases.

"To expect a volunteer to stay abreast of all that is simply unrealistic," he said. "Obviously it bodes well for the success of the program and the organization to have qualified people."