Library consultants speak on Jackson split from FRL
The June 24 vote by Jackson County commissioners to leave the Fontana Regional Library system was only the beginning of the process.
Jackson County government photo
In the first of what will be many additional expenditures of taxpayer funds related to the withdrawal from the Fontana Regional Library system, Jackson County commissioners have formally engaged a library consulting firm to help them understand what it takes to run an independent public library and to facilitate the transition if necessary.
According to the county’s retainer agreement with Hall and White Library Consultants LLC, the county plans to spend an amount not to exceed $50,000, with consultants Jeff Hall and Suzanne White each billing $140 per hour.
“We are both retired library directors, and after we retired, we realized through the State Library that many libraries needed additional help, whether it’s strategic planning or facilities planning, space needs reviews, collections, sometimes mentoring, sometimes communications,” said White. “In this case, we got a call saying, ‘Hey, we need some help with navigating this whole process we’re going through with Jackson County.’”
White began her career in education in Onslow County before moving into public library service, holding roles in the Neuse Regional Library System and Rowan Public Library, including reference supervisor, technical services supervisor and public services manager. She later became Director of the Catawba County Library, a position she held for nine years. In that role, she led the library’s strategic planning efforts and also guided countywide planning in arts and culture.
Hall served as director of the Rowan Public Library for 12 years but has worked in library services for more than three decades. During that time, he held multiple leadership roles, including circulation supervisor and operations manager and leading the development of several strategic plans. Since 2019, Hall has partnered with White or worked independently on a variety of library-related consulting projects.
Hall and White will invoice the county monthly, will provide a six- to 12-month project timeline beginning in late summer or early fall, and will also outline a recommended transition process to guide county facilitation thereof.
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Among their responsibilities is determining Jackson County’s eligibility for continued state library funding. That funding, which flows through the State Library of North Carolina, is contingent upon Jackson demonstrating it can maintain a consistent level of financial support for its libraries.
“A big part of the process for state aid is maintaining a certain level of funding year after year after year,” White said. “In order to continue to get your state aid allotments, you have to continue to fund your library at an average level that you have over past years.”
Their role, Hall added, is advisory. They cannot submit the funding application themselves, but will guide county staff through the process, helping them gather the necessary financial and operational data — a task already handled by FRL.
White and Hall will also help the county develop a transition plan for physical and digital library collections currently shared among FRL members. That includes determining which materials were purchased by Jackson County and can remain in the system, as well as assessing the cost of maintaining digital services independently.
“’Libby’ is one of those things that’s very popular in your region,” Hall said, referring to the e-book lending app tied to the state’s OverDrive consortium. “We want to let them know exactly what it would cost to keep that service.”
Another piece of their work involves drafting or updating library policy recommendations. Hall said they’ve done this work for other systems, such as Sandhills Regional, where they addressed everything from personnel procedures to meeting room availability, internet use and book challenge protocols.
“The key is having a policy that your community supports,” White said, “but also that aligns with the library profession and the freedom to read, and intellectual freedom.”
On the technical side, Hall and White will explore how Jackson County could maintain access to the NC Cardinal system, the statewide shared catalog that allows for interlibrary borrowing. That access depends not only on software integration but also on logistics.
“Typically, that’s done through FedEx,” Hall said. “So you have a budget for FedEx, and then what do you do about the ones within Jackson County? You hire a courier to take materials back and forth to maintain that service. There’s a logistic part of that that [FRL has been handling that if Jackson separates, they will have to address.”
One of the FRL’s six headquarters employees currently performs this task.
White added that the county would likely need to develop a new technical services department to handle book ordering, processing and cataloging — tasks currently centralized through FRL headquarters — and would need to make decisions about outsourcing versus hiring dedicated staff.
Hall and White will also advise on continued participation in the federal e-rate program, which provides discounted telecommunications services to libraries.
“It’s a complicated process — federal, FCC, you can imagine, it’s very complicated, and it’s a reimbursement process,” White said. “You need somebody who’s skilled and knowledgeable on staff to handle that process.”
While the consultants can offer guidance, and the State Library remains a resource, ultimately the county must develop in-house expertise or contract out for it.
Hall has also offered to serve as interim director of the Jackson County Public Library, “following, or at any appropriate time during our transition consulting.”
County Manager Kevin King told The Smoky Mountain News on Aug. 5 that the county has not yet executed that agreement and gave no indication if the county would or wouldn’t.
If commissioners take Hall’s offer, he will be responsible for day to-day library operations under the supervision of King, at a cost of $7,500 per month, or about $90,000 annually.
Salary.com says that as of July 1, 2025, the median annual salary for a library director in the United States is around $76,018, with a typical range from approximately $63,000 to $92,000.
According to FRL’s 2024 tax filing, Current Library Director Tracy Fitzmaurice earned $87,000 for serving as both the Jackson County Public Library director and the FRL regional director — essentially, paid less for wearing two hats than some are for wearing one.
As interim director, Hall would also interview FRL employees who work at the JCPL and make re-hiring recommendations based on the employee’s record and then help find a permanent director.
The firm’s references include libraries large and small, mostly from the eastern part of the state. Services provided to these libraries include strategic planning, space needs and facility planning, ADA compliance and service recommendations, however White said it was her firm’s first experience with the dismantling of a multi-county regional library system.
White’s comments directly conflict with a statement attributed to Jackson County Commission Chairman Mark Letson the Aug. 6 edition of the Sylva Herald that reads, “The firm has led efforts to dissolve other library systems in the state, Letson said.”
“This particular project is new to us, but as retired library directors, we’re familiar with the process and we can help,” White told SMN.
“She’s right on the money,” Hall said. “I mean, we have primarily strategic planning and building programs in the past, but we are familiar with state aid applications and NC Cardinal to some extent, and the whole of how a library operates. You know, a lot of people think libraries are just book warehouses, but there’s a whole lot more than that.”
Hall and White know that they’re stepping into a politically charged environment and that based on hours of public comment, hundreds of emails, sobering financial projections and growing property tax rates, the decision to withdraw from the FRL system is deeply unpopular. They stressed that they’re totally impartial and strictly concerned with outlining how the technical processes of disentanglement over the coming year would work, and how much it would cost — if commissioners decide to go through with it.
“This ‘demonstration year’ is for the county to say, ‘Hey, yeah, we can continue to provide these services,’ and potentially at the end, I guess your commissioners could say, ’Oh, you know what? Let’s just stick with [FRL] then,’” White said. “Who knows what your folks are thinking there, but we’ll make sure we have all the good information on what it’s going to take and initiate those steps as needed, or if they change their mind, that’s okay, too.”
