Winooski Memorial Library Committee

6/3/2021 - Minutes I. Call to Order Members Present: P. Doherty, A. Hurd, J. Wignall City Staff Present: R. Coffey, N. Eddy, J. Neilson Guests Present: None Call to Order by: N. Eddy Meeting Start Time: 6:37 PM Minutes Recorded by: J. Wignall II. Approve Previous Meeting Minutes Decision: Approved Motion by: P. Doherty Second: A. Hurd III. Public Comment None IV. Committee Member Updates A. Hurd and J. Wignall are now members of the Vermont Library Association. V. Library Updates June Reopening l As of last Tuesday, no appointments are necessary to visit the library, except Wednesdays. Kids and families have been visiting the library. l There was communication from the city about masking at city-sponsored events and city buildings. Masks are not required in city buildings if you are vaccinated or at outdoor events if you are vaccinated. However, anywhere or anytime a child is present under 12 or if a person is unvaccinated (by self reporting), masks are required. The library serves adult and children, so the decision was made to require universal masking in the library regardless of age or vaccination status. l Masks are required at O’Brien Center and at the pool, which are places where anyone under 12 might be regularly. l As restrictions relax, the library will be back to normal hours, dependent on staffing. l The Youth Engagement post closes tomorrow. 8 applications have been received. l The Teen Employment positions (two total), will be posted Monday. l Donna will be taking a 4-month leave of absence starting in June, but the library is planning to find someone to temporarily help during that time. The plan is to post the library clerk position next week. l Will adjust schedules to have 2 staff during all opening hours, but will adjust opening hours if needed based on staffing levels. Upcoming June Programming  planning to find someone to temporarily help during that time. The plan is to post the library clerk position next week. l Will adjust schedules to have 2 staff during all opening hours, but will adjust opening hours if needed based on staffing levels. Upcoming June Programming l Outdoor story times are happening on Tues and Thurs. When the weather is good, participation is good. l Starting June 23, the library is partnering with Thrive during an 8-week summer camp for story time on Wednesdays. l Adult book club is still ongoing. l Park and museum passes are available for loan. o Birding backpacks are available for checkout thanks to Audubon, and the library has a telescope from the VT Astronomical Society. Monthly Stats Also of note: l 14 ILLs received/24 provided l 9 youth/3 adult virtual programs with 52 in attendance; 8 youth in-person programs with 41 in attendance l 44 volunteer hours completed l 19 new card registrations l Overall visits were lower than the previous month. l A lot of people use the table out front to connect to wifi. l The library held more programs, both virtually and in person, with increased attendance. l Now that the library is moving into drop-in and in-person programming, the committee discussed additional statistics to track. P. Doherty suggested tracking the number of people instead of just number of visits. Previously the library tracked that manually, but has recently ordered a door sensor that would track entrances and exits, which is a more automated approach. Previous tracking also included tracking reference use. If the library  attendance. l Now that the library is moving into drop-in and in-person programming, the committee discussed additional statistics to track. P. Doherty suggested tracking the number of people instead of just number of visits. Previously the library tracked that manually, but has recently ordered a door sensor that would track entrances and exits, which is a more automated approach. Previous tracking also included tracking reference use. If the library were to track types of questions, the library could better understand helpful partnerships and services that would address community needs. Some of the tracking will continue as its related to statistics required by the state. l For future meetings, N. Eddy will provide statistics for review and the committee members will flag anything requiring discussion. Josh Neilson, Youth Services Coordinator l Dungeons and Dragons is going well. l Developing a Quest program for Landry, based on program for waterways exploration. It uses riddles and problem solving to explore. Aiming to post it in Landry before July 4. l June 21 will be Music Day and the library will have an event to make and play instruments, and will parade around the building. l Pokemon Go will start next week. VI. Previous Meeting Action Items Decision: Charter approved Motion by: A. Hurd Second: P. Doherty l A. Hurd motioned to approve the charter. P. Doherty seconded. The charter was approved by the committee. l R. Coffey will add the charter to the agenda for the meeting on June 21. R. Coffey will put together a memo describing what changed and why and will send to N. Eddy for review. l R. Coffey will also add the revised committee description to the meeting agenda VII. Winooski Master Plan Review There are 22 goals and objectives of the Safe, Healthy, Connected People, which is the section under which the library falls. The committee discussed how the library is doing to support the goals through their services. l Goal 1: Wayfinding could be improved, including signage pointing to the library and in the context of planned construction at O’Brien Center. A formal wayfinding plan has been adopted by the city within the last 2 years. The city is actively looking for funds to implement the plan, though it is mostly focused on traffic. R. Coffey suggested sharing the wayfinding plan with the library committee for their review. The group agreed wayfinding is a priority for the library committee and encouraged city staff to discuss this. P. Doherty suggested using the construction to raise the profile of the library through creative short- term signage. R. Coffey noted there will be opportunities to engage with the developer over the time of the project and can open this discussion with them. There might be a way with grants through the VT Arts Council to visually activate the building. A. Hurd noted that Champlain Housing Trust might be invested in emphasizing the library location to potential tenants. l Goal 5: The committee discussed that the library currently supports this goal, such as through the Teen Employment position and J. Neilson’s work. l Goals 6, 7, 8: The committee discussed the potential for the library to support these goals. The free lunch program will be at the pool this year. The committee agreed that the library could support these goals through collection development and providing resources  tenants. l Goal 5: The committee discussed that the library currently supports this goal, such as through the Teen Employment position and J. Neilson’s work. l Goals 6, 7, 8: The committee discussed the potential for the library to support these goals. The free lunch program will be at the pool this year. The committee agreed that the library could support these goals through collection development and providing resources to patrons. A. Hurd suggested reaching out to City Market to ask about a pass for a membership similar to the park passes. The committee discussed partnering with health partners, such as the Health Department and community health centers, to provide health information and science to the community. The city and those health partners are interested in maintaining relationships post-covid, and those groups can consider how the library might provide a unique contribution to help with those partnerships. The city is training staff on NARCAN administration if staff opt-in to the training. A. Hurd mentioned in the past the library had been considered as potential space for meetings such as AA and NA. l Goal 9: N. Eddy is interested in developing further relationships with other tenants in the O’Brien Community Center and will make that a priority. l Goal 10: P. Doherty pointed out that “enhancing the library facility” might be difficult as there is not much room to enhance. If the committee wants to emphasize the importance of feasibility planning for improvements, then we can ask that it be a priority. Past discussions have included using the OCC for more city services, expanding the space the library uses, or other changes. The committee agreed to further discuss desired additions or improvements. N. Eddy pointed out that with increased square footage comes increased staff requirements, which would have to be planned for. l Goal 15: The library website within the city website lacks clarity and ease of use. The department is interested in improving the website for other recreational services too. It’s unlikely the library would have its own space, but the site could look and feel different than other parts of the city website. The committee discussed how this project could align with the skillsets of the future teen employees, such as projects around user experiences and website redesign. l Goal 18: The library is supporting this goal through committee membership and engagement. VIII. Vermont Library Association 2021 Conference N. Eddy attended the keynote session, which was fantastic. Videos of the event are posted IX. Other Business None. X. Adjourn Adjourned at 8:04 PM Motion by: P. Doherty Second: A. Hurd