News

May 31, 2019 – Leonardtown, Md. – The St. Mary’s County Library invites the public to the second annual Choose Civility: Southern Maryland Longest Table. Share a meal and conversation with someone you don’t know, exchange stories about life in St. Mary’s County, and discover both common ground and new ideas.

Join us on Friday, June 21 at 6 p.m. for a community conversation over a family-style meal from Mission BBQ. The event will be held at the St. Mary’s County Government Center, on the front lawn near Miedzinski Park (23145 Leonard Hall Drive, Leonardtown). Tickets are $10, to cover expenses. Purchase your ticket online.

During the meal, participants will discuss how to Choose Civility in their everyday interactions. To enhance the experience of getting to know different people, guests will not be seated with their companions.

“St. Mary’s County Library is incredibly excited to bring the Longest Table once again to St. Mary’s County,” said Laura Boonchaisri, Marketing and Communications Coordinator for St. Mary’s County Library. “We hope to continue the community conversation we started at last year’s event about what civility looks like for St. Mary’s County and Southern Maryland. We hope participants will discuss how to Choose Civility in everyday interactions with each other.”

A special thank you to the Human Relations Commission of St. Mary’s County, Mission BBQ, Bailey’s Party Rentals, Southern Maryland Regional Library, St. Mary’s County Government, Barefoot Graphics, and Community Mediation of St. Mary’s County for support, partnership, and sponsorships. If your organization is interested in becoming a partner for this or future Choose Civility: Southern Maryland events, please contact Laura Boonchaisri, lboonchaisri@stmalib.org or 301-475-2846 ext. 1007.

The Southern Maryland libraries (Calvert, Charles, St. Mary’s, and the Southern Maryland Regional Library) have come together to support Choose Civility: Southern Maryland. The Choose Civility initiative started with the Howard County Library and then grew throughout Maryland and beyond. For more information about Choose Civility, visit choosecivility.org.

May 6, 2019 – Leonardtown, Md. – The St. Mary’s County Library is conducting strategic planning to focus on the services it should offer our developing County over the next four years. As part of the process, St. Mary’s County Library is surveying our community to gain a more precise understanding of the community’s needs, interests, and priorities. Please share your perceptions about the Library and offer feedback regarding what resources and services you wish to see provided by taking our online survey. The survey is available here until Monday, May 27.

You do not have to have a library card or currently use the library to take the survey. The survey is open to all, regardless of age. Those under 18 will be counted as “17 and under.” The survey software provides respondents with complete anonymity. You will not be asked to identify yourself, nor will your IP address be captured at any time over the course of data collection. Individual responses will not be shared. We welcome feedback from everyone in our community.

“We are very excited to be engaged in strategic planning,” said Michael Blackwell, St. Mary’s County Library Director, “and are thankful to the State of Maryland and the Southern Maryland Regional Library Association for providing a grant, much of it federal money, so that we may engage a planning consultant without cost to County residents. We hope that our nearly 40,000 card holders will respond but also very much hope to hear from those who do not use the Library frequently or at all. The Library is here for everyone. We want to identify what our County residents want so that we can provide the very best materials in the most appropriate formats and the most desirable programs and other services.”

When asked if he thought the survey would provide any surprises or new directions, Blackwell said “There seems to be a trend among young people back to preferring print over digital. I wonder if that is true in our area. We are going into the process with an open mind and without preconceptions, though, and we’re interested in finding out what our County has to say. I hope our community will tell us ways we might make the Library more appealing and heavily used.”

POSITION: Library Assistant I, Part-Time

CLOSING DATE: May 8, 2019

LOCATION: Charlotte Hall Library

START DATE: June 10, 2019

HOURS: 14 hours per week, including every Saturday and at least one evening shift per week

SALARY: Grade 1, $14.99 per hour

BENEFITS: 7% mandatory State Pension contribution; 35 hours paid time off; Direct deposit; AFLAC; 457 plans

REQUISITES:

• High School Diploma or G.E.D.
• Six (6) months or more of customer service experience.
• Ability to learn St. Mary’s County Library policies and procedures.
• Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues, Library trustees, local government elected and appointed officials, community leaders, vendors, and citizens.
• Ability to learn to operate relevant computer systems (including hardware and software), current audio-visual equipment, and office machines.
• Excellent communication skills, both in writing and orally.
• Excellent customer service skills.
• Excellent decision-making and problem solving skills with emphasis on personal responsibility and willingness to deal with issues at hand.

DUTIES INCLUDE:

• Performs circulation procedures, such as checking materials in and out, checking hold lists, conducting financial transactions, answering the phone.
• Greets customers and provides directions or refers them to appropriate staff members if needed.
• Spends time on the Library floor assisting customers at their point of need, merchandising, and monitoring the Library to maintain a safe space.
• Assists customers with basic information and reader’s advisory questions; basic computer, eBook, email, and internet questions; self-checkout machine, copier, fax machine, and printer; use of library resources and databases; information on library activities, facilities, and services.
• Special projects as assigned.

HOW TO APPLY:
See full job description and apply online now.

St. Mary’s County Library is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
Law requires all applicants to show proof of identity and right to work in U.S.

POSITION: Youth Services Intern, 21 hours per week for 10 weeks

CLOSING DATE: May 17, 2019

LOCATION: One intern at each Library branch

START DATE: June 10, 2019

SALARY: $10.10 per hour

DUTIES INCLUDE:

• Assists children and teens in using Library resources
• Assists with storytimes
• Develops early learning activities and hand-outs
• Assists with Summer Reading Program activities

REQUISITES:

• 18 years or older, with an interest in careers that involve Early Childhood and Early Literacy
• High School Diploma or GED
• Ability to work with youth of all ages, especially young children
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Good physical strength and stamina: Work requires physical effort in the handling of materials or boxes in non-strenuous work positions up to 30 pounds and/or continual standing or walking of 75%+ of the time

HOW TO APPLY:
See full job description and apply online now.

These positions are funded by the Lindsay Paul Rudolph Donation Fund and the Friends of the St. Mary’s County Library.
St. Mary’s County Library is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
Law requires all applicants to show proof of identity and right to work in U.S.

POSITION: Security Associate I, Full-Time

CLOSING DATE: March 21, 2019

LOCATION: Lexington Park Library

START DATE: March 29, 2019

HOURS: 35.5 hours per week including days, nights, Saturdays, and Sundays

SALARY: Grade 1, $25,899 per year

BENEFITS: Health, Life, Dental, Long Term Disability, Vision, AFLAC & Prescription Insurance; 457 Plans; Direct Deposit; 10 days vacation; 15 sick days; 3 personal days, 12 holidays & 3 floating holidays.

REQUISITES:

• High School Diploma or G.E.D.
• One or more years of security related experience is preferred.
• Ability to learn St. Mary’s County Library policies and procedures.
• Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues, Library trustees, local government elected and appointed officials, community leaders, vendors, and citizens.
• Ability to operate relevant computer systems (including hardware and software), current audio-visual equipment, and office machines.
• Ability to learn security camera software specific to the Library.
• Excellent communication skills, both in writing and orally.
• Excellent customer service skills.
• Excellent decision-making and problem solving skills with emphasis on personal responsibility and willingness to deal with issues at hand.
• Travel throughout the system and community, work a variety of schedules that include evenings and weekends, and accept system-wide transfers.

DUTIES INCLUDE:

• Performs a variety of activities to ensure the safety and security of staff and the public under the direction of the Branch Manager.
• Greets customers and provides directions or refers them to appropriate staff members if needed.
• Monitors customer behavior and enforces Library rules.
• Assists staff and customers in situations relating to safety and security.
• Conducts inside and outside patrol checks on a regular basis.
• Writes security reports.
• Functions as liaison to police and court system.
• Performs other duties and participates in special projects, as assigned.

HOW TO APPLY:
See full job description and apply online now.

St. Mary’s County Library is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
Law requires all applicants to show proof of identity and right to work in U.S.

POSITION: Library Assistant I, Part-Time

CLOSING DATE: March 14, 2019

LOCATION: Lexington Park Library

START DATE: April 15, 2019

HOURS: 21 hours per week: Monday 12-8, Tuesday 9-5, rotating Friday/Saturday 9-5

SALARY: Grade 1, $14.99 per hour

BENEFITS: 7% mandatory State Pension contribution; 42 hours paid time off; Direct deposit; AFLAC; 457 plans

REQUISITES:

• High School Diploma or G.E.D.
• Six (6) months or more of customer service experience.
• Ability to learn St. Mary’s County Library policies and procedures.
• Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues, Library trustees, local government elected and appointed officials, community leaders, vendors, and citizens.
• Ability to learn to operate relevant computer systems (including hardware and software), current audio-visual equipment, and office machines.
• Excellent communication skills, both in writing and orally.
• Excellent customer service skills.
• Excellent decision-making and problem solving skills with emphasis on personal responsibility and willingness to deal with issues at hand.

DUTIES INCLUDE:

• Performs circulation procedures, such as checking materials in and out, checking hold lists, conducting financial transactions, answering the phone.
• Greets customers and provides directions or refers them to appropriate staff members if needed.
• Spends time on the Library floor assisting customers at their point of need, merchandising, and monitoring the Library to maintain a safe space.
• Assists customers with basic information and reader’s advisory questions; basic computer, eBook, email, and internet questions; self-checkout machine, copier, fax machine, and printer; use of library resources and databases; information on library activities, facilities, and services.
• Special projects as assigned.

HOW TO APPLY:
See full job description and apply online now.

St. Mary’s County Library is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
Law requires all applicants to show proof of identity and right to work in U.S.