Copperas Cove hires Jessica McCart as new library director

Copperas Cove’s public library has a new director at a time when families, students and seniors depend on it for more than shelves and story time. Jessica McCart has been hired to lead the Copperas Cove Public Library, with the appointment effective May 18, and city officials said her first tests will be the day-to-day services residents notice most: programming, access, staffing and the library’s ability to keep pace with demand.

McCart arrives with more than a decade of public-library experience in Texas and Louisiana. She most recently served as assistant director of library services for Kyle Public Library, where she oversaw circulation and technical-services operations and worked on strategic planning and budget development. City officials also pointed to her role in helping Kyle move to a fine-free model and in establishing the library’s first formal policies, experience that could matter in Copperas Cove as the city weighs how to balance access, rules and service.

Before Kyle, McCart worked as a youth librarian at Austin Public Library and held leadership roles with Hutto Public Library and Bossier Parish Libraries. She earned a Master of Library Science from Louisiana State University and is active in the Texas Library Association and the American Library Association. A graduate of Harker Heights High School, she returns to Central Texas with a résumé shaped by both public-facing programming and administrative work.

For Copperas Cove residents, the library’s new leadership comes with clear expectations. The city’s public library page says the annual Summer Reading program runs from mid-June into late July, with special activities and performers each week. The library also offers 23 public computers with internet access, with one-hour sessions that can be renewed if no one is waiting. Those services put pressure on staff, especially with the city directory showing Hannah Wilson as library supervisor and the Adult Services Librarian position vacant.

The library’s work also runs through city government. Copperas Cove operates under a council-manager form of government, and the City Manager’s Office is directly responsible for the library department. The Library Advisory Board, a City Council-appointed board with nine members serving three-year terms, meets monthly on the second Monday and reviews the annual library budget while making policy and program recommendations.

The Friends of the Library group also remains part of the library’s support network, raising money for projects and running an ongoing used-book sale. Membership costs $5 for an individual or $10 for a family. Copperas Cove’s accreditation-related materials show the library also submits annual reports to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, underscoring the reporting and standards McCart inherits as she steps into the job at 501 South Main Street.