The Windham Public Library children’s room assistant now has increased hours and health insurance, following action Tuesday by the town council. The change will cost taxpayers between $6,000 and $8,000 annually.

Library Director Inese Gruber said the change makes the title of children’s room assistant “a more solid position than it has been in the past. It’s an important position.”

Gruber first made the suggestion at a Jan. 2 council workshop meeting. It was unanimously approved at the start of the meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 9.

Children’s room assistant Diane Karpowitz, who has been employed by the library for the past 10 years, had worked 25 hours per week. With the approved change, Karpowitz will work 30 hours a week and qualify for health and dental coverage. Under town policy, Karpowitz will receive 75 percent of insurance coverage because she works 30 and not 40 hours each week.

Karpowitz would also have the option of paying part of her wages into a retirement plan. If she does not take the retirement plan, the library’s yearly budget will increase by $6,637.20, Gruber said, or $8,109.20 if she does.

The library, which currently has a staff of 10, has a yearly budget of $329,136, according to Gruber.

Gruber said the suggested change was “prompted by circumstance.” The goal, Gruber said, is to keep Karpowitz employed. Karpowitz lost her husband in November to cancer and is now unable to afford health insurance on her own.

The plan also eliminated a library-aid position. Gruber said she froze a single library-aid position in preparation for the plan after one of the 11-hours-a-week positions became vacant at the end of the summer.

Council David Tobin said Gruber does an excellent job of running the library, and that he trusted her judgment in this situation. Other town councilors suggested that hiring a replacement would have hindered the library.

“I was glad to see that they recognize the importance and value of keeping a good employee,” Gruber said.

Although the change was tailored to Karpowitz, Gruber said it is a permanent modification to the job role. Gruber said she and her staff have not had much trouble doing the work of the deleted library-aid position, which included putting away books.