The new director of Humboldt County’s public library system said so far, he’s seen oodles of enthusiasm. About a month into his new position, Director of Library Services Jeff Scott has toured the library’s branches and spoken to community members and staff.

“This has been very inspiring because all the staff here are just so excited about serving the community,” he told the Outpost in a recent interview. “My job is basically making sure they have the resources to do that.”

Scott said the department will soon be working on a new plan that will guide the library for the next few years, collecting input on what people want to see from their system.

Photo via LinkedIn.

Less than 1% of the total county budget goes to the library system, which runs on about $6 million a year. These tax dollars help pay for 32 full time workers who run the Eureka main library, plus 10 branch libraries and the Bookmobile (which brings books to far flung places across the county).

There’s been a bit of a gap in a permanent director for the library system. Prior to Scott’s appointment by the Board of Supervisors, the county library was headed by Sean Inman, who served as Interim Library Services Director. Chris Cooper served before that, through late 2020.

Scott comes to Humboldt County after serving as the Director of Library Services for Washoe County, Nevada. He’s worked in this position for counties of similar population size as Humboldt County, as well as for libraries in more urban areas.

In his view, the biggest draw to a library is the person who works at the desk. Talking with a real person — who happens to know exactly how to help you track down a piece of information, fill out a job application or find a good book to read — grounds the library’s purpose.

“This is a community service,” he said. “We want to make sure you’re talking to a person, in person. The staff like that. The public likes that. That’s the goal.”

He recalled an early moment in his career, working at the Arizona Historical Foundation; he had just finished the grunt work of reorganizing a map case, and a woman sought to find disputed maps of Texas during the Mexican–American War. He realized he knew exactly where to find them.

“I love helping people find information and getting help with whatever they need and finding just the right source,” he said.

Scott is still getting his bearings, but is currently working towards drafting that broader plan to help shape the next three to five years. This strategic plan process will be started roughly in December and be wrapped up sometime next summer, he said.

He’s taken on these plans in previous libraries, and said it’s time for Humboldt County to have an updated roadmap. They can help the system use resources more efficiently for the biggest needs, and help fundraise from grants and initiatives, he said.

“It’s a fun process because you go out, you talk to the community and you ask them: ‘If your community was a utopia, what would it look like? What are some of the barriers to that? What are some of the opportunities for that? And then, where does the library play a role in that?” he said.

This process will bring a myriad of meetings and surveys to get some data on the system as a whole.

Doing community outreach, he finds many don’t realize that libraries can solve community problems.

Libraries can be a place to bring children, to learn about the world, to get help with research or entertainment, to charge a phone or to work using the free WiFi. Libraries are often community centers and provide shelter from the rain.

Scott supports certain modernization tools that could help on the back end of systems, but feels like the aim should be to increase face-to-face time with the library staff.

He acknowledged fiscal challenges (the County of Humboldt is facing ongoing budgetary constraints) and said he wants to make sure things are sustainable. Right now, he’s focused on getting to know the system as a whole.

Nationally, libraries have become the unlikely battlegrounds for political skirmishes — according to free-expression non-profit PEN America, public schools in the U.S. saw the highest number of book bans in a single year in the 2025-2026 school year, largely driven by state level censorship in Texas.

No stranger to political forces, Scott resigned in 2025 under pressure from board members and anti-LGBTQ activists, according to reporting from KUNR Public Radio.

In retrospect, he said he’s proud of the work he did in Washoe County across his ten years. He said his approach to politics has always been the same.

“We’re here to serve everybody. And I think it’s like: when you come into a library, I can guarantee you’re going to find something that you like. And it doesn’t matter what part of the political spectrum you are,” he said.