St. Tammany Parish’s new library chief is not easing into the job. Trevor Collings, who took over as director of the St. Tammany Parish Library earlier this year, says the Northshore system’s branches are "well used and loved" and that the community’s enthusiasm is what will drive a wave of events and building projects. He is pitching a lineup of author talks, family-friendly pop-ups and facility upgrades as the system works to translate a recent voter-backed millage into new rooms and expanded outreach services.
The Library Board of Control selected Collings in January and he officially started on Feb. 23, according to St. Tammany Parish Library. The hire followed months of turnover and heated debate over the library system’s collection policies, with WDSU reporting on the leadership changes and the tensions that came with them.
Funding and scale
Voters renewed the library millage in March 2025, a measure the system says "provides 96% of the Library’s funding" and covers both day-to-day operations and capital projects. The library lists 12 branches and says it serves roughly 273,263 residents, with more than 1,006,741 items circulated in 2024. As outlined by St. Tammany Parish Library, that millage revenue is what will bankroll planned renovations and a replacement branch in Lacombe.
Projects and priorities
Library leaders have earmarked the millage proceeds for a new, larger Lacombe branch, a renovation of the Mandeville location and an expansion of the Slidell main branch to add study rooms and a makerspace. Collings, who previously led the Audubon Regional Library system, says the building work is designed to keep pace with demand and make more room for programs. According to Audubon Regional Library, he arrives on the Northshore with nearly 15 years of library experience.
Programs for families and teens
The system's calendar is set to pair that capital work with a steady stream of programming. Organizers are lining up a concert series, a touch-a-truck event for kids and the return of "Teentober" for readers ages 12 to 17. The outreach push also includes a mobile branch and a books-by-mail service aimed at homebound residents, and the schedule flags an author visit from Vera Brosgol this September, according to NOLA.com.
"Despite the problems in the world, I don’t have problems sleeping at night because libraries are always part of the solution," Collings told NOLA.com. With funding in hand and a packed program slate, Collings and library trustees say the coming months will be about turning voter support into rooms, services and events that keep St. Tammany’s branches busy for years to come.
