Adams County Library Marks National Library Week, Highlights Services Beyond Books

A free Wi-Fi connection at the library can matter as much as a book checkout in Adams County, where the public library system logged nearly 175,000 Wi-Fi sessions last year and more than 84,000 in-person visits.

As National Library Week ran through April 25, Adams County Public Library used the observance to remind residents that its four branches in Peebles, Manchester, North Adams in Seaman and West Union do far more than lend books. The system lists computers and Wi-Fi, copies, scans and faxes, genealogy research help, digital materials, databases, eBooks, room reservations, technology help and voter registration support among the services available at its branches.

Executive Director Nicholas Slone said the week is meant to celebrate libraries and encourage people to visit their local branch, leave comments on the appreciation boards the system has put out, and reconnect with services they may not have used in a while. He described libraries as essential services and “everyday problem solvers,” a description backed by the system’s own traffic and use numbers.

Those numbers show how deeply the county relies on the branches. In the last year, the library system circulated more than 250,000 items and drew more than 13,000 participants to programs. The figures point to a public institution that serves families looking for story times, students working on assignments, job seekers who need internet access and older adults who need help navigating technology or tracing family history.

The library did not tie the week to one big special event. Instead, it leaned on its regular programming, including story times and other educational offerings, to show how much the branches already do for West Union, Peebles, Manchester, Seaman and the surrounding communities. That approach fits a system that has long operated as a shared county resource, not just a place to browse shelves.

Adams County Public Library’s history page says Manchester Public Library and Peebles Public Library were consolidated in 1971 into the Ohio Valley District Free Public Library, and the North Adams Public Library building on Moores Road in Seaman opened in 2013. The library also says it belongs to the Serving Every Ohioan Library Consortium, a reminder that the local system is part of a broader effort to keep public access, technology and early literacy within reach. A December 11, 2024 board record showed Slone had submitted grants for hotspots and $18,000 for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, reinforcing the library’s role as both a digital lifeline and an early-learning hub.