ACPL Board: Regional Library System

The Tennessee Secretary Of State, through its Planning and Development Section of the Tennessee State Library and Archives, provides assistance, statewide consultation, and leadership to local public libraries and county library boards  throughout the state through the Regional Library System. 

The Tennessee Regional Library System is composed of nine multi-county regions serving 211 small and medium-sized public libraries throughout the state of Tennessee. Membership in the Regional Library System is voluntary.  The four metropolitan library systems (Memphis Public Library, Knox County Library, Nashville Public Library, and the Chattanooga- Hamilton County Bicentennial Public Library) are considered single-county regions.

The mission of the Tennessee Regional Library System is to make libraries better by:

• assisting local governments and public libraries in the development and improvement of public library services;
• assisting libraries in the selection, maintenance and use of library technologies;
• providing supplementary library materials and digital content to member public libraries and facilitating the preparation of materials for public use;
• facilitating the sharing of resources between libraries through a delivery system;
• providing opportunities to participate in shared automation systems;
• and providing continuing education to local library staff and trustees.

State assistance received by local public libraries through the Regional Library System is intended to supplement local appropriations as required in the establishment of public libraries by the Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 10, Chapter 3.  In return for State assistance, each public library desiring to belong to the Multi-County Regional system must maintain “the allocation of locally appropriated funds at a level not less than the amount appropriated the last fiscal year as well as the expenditure of locally appropriated funds at a level not less than the total amount expended in the last fiscal year.”  

Annual Maintenance of Effort agreements between the State Library and Archives and local cities and counties make certain that State funding does not supplant the fiscal responsibility of local governments on behalf of their public libraries.

Cumberland County is a member of the Falling Water River Regional Library along with 13 other counties located in central Tennessee.

The vision of the Falling Water River Regional Library, and its counterpart regional libraries across the state of Tennessee, is that the citizens of Tennessee will have the information they need for personal growth and development. 

Regional Library responsibilities include:

• The cooperative relationship between the individual county library, the regional library, and the state library, for the improvement of library service.
• Professional and technical assistance to boards and library staff.
• Hands on assistance whenever appropriate and requested.
• Keeping library boards and staff informed of changes in library laws and proposed legislation that would affect the quality of library service.
• Provide training and resources for both boards and library staff. 

Falling Water River Regional Library serves fourteen counties: Bledsoe, Clay, Cumberland, DeKalb, Fentress, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Picket, Putnam, Sequatchie, Smith, Van Buren, and White.  The Falling Water River Regional Library has gone through several iterations before it's current grouping of libraries. 

Click the LINK below to see the history of the Falling Water River Regional Library.

Director

Matt Kirby

Asst. Director

Claire Broyles

Administrative Services Assistant

Angel Payne

Technical Services Assistant

Nicole Blanton

Library Information Systems Specialist

Karen Howard