Winooski Memorial Library Committee

8/5/2021 - Minutes I. Call to Order Members Present: P. Doherty, A. Hurd, J. Wignall City Staff Present: N. Eddy, K. Wilson Call to Order by N. Eddy Meeting Start Time: 6:35 PM Minutes Recorded by J. Wignall II. Approve Previous Meeting Minutes Decision: Approved Motion by: A. Hurd Second: P. Doherty June 2021 meeting minutes were approved. III. Public Comment None IV. Committee Member Updates None V. Library Updates Staffing l Kirsten Wilson, the new Children’s Engagement Specialist, is taking over storytime and thinking through future programming for children. Examples include planning an event with the Howard Center and other activities related to outreach for the community. She is working 20 hours per week. J. Nielson is still working with older youth while K. Wilson is filling out the programming for younger children. J. Nielson is coordinating with the school around programming for students. l Two additional hires include the teen fund hire who will be with the library for about 10 weeks at 20 hours per week and the temporary library clerk who is filling in 12 hours per week. Grants l VT Library ARPA Funding – This is a non-competitive grant that is open to every public library in the state of Vermont. The Department of Libraries uses a formula to determine the allocation of funds, mostly centered on broadband access, community poverty level, and other typical indicators. Based on the formula, Winooski is eligible for $10,762, and this was approved by City Council. The library plans to use the funds for a new book drop,  l VT Library ARPA Funding – This is a non-competitive grant that is open to every public library in the state of Vermont. The Department of Libraries uses a formula to determine the allocation of funds, mostly centered on broadband access, community poverty level, and other typical indicators. Based on the formula, Winooski is eligible for $10,762, and this was approved by City Council. The library plans to use the funds for a new book drop, outdoor bistro seating, and replacing interior tables and chairs. With leftover funds, additional circulation materials will be bought. l P. Doherty noted that square tables would be preferred to accommodate flexible arrangements. l P. Doherty asked if the circulation materials will be anything in particular. N. Eddy noted that he would supplement the e-book and audiobook collection due to their expense. A. Hurd agreed this would be useful for patrons and also suggested considering diversity in the collection. l The spending deadline is September 2022. l Emergency Connectivity Fund – This is also an ARPA fund. It allows for the purchase of mobile hotspots or ChromeBooks for patrons. The hotspots do not include a data plan, which would need to be provided by the patrons, so the library will apply for 6 Chromebooks and have them available for loan. The application was submitted and is expected to be funded. The application period closes in late August. Current and Upcoming Programming l The library has been doing storytime weekly behind the library. Attendance has been variable, but the library hopes that over time attendance will increase. l The THRIVE program ran a summer camp, at which N. Eddy did a storytime weekly. l Summer school groups have visited the library, from K-4 th grade. l The library is hosting ESL classes. Attendance has been variable. The library is partnering with the school to increase the visibility of the program. l One-on-one tech assistance is available to patrons Saturday mornings. l The library is partnering with Intervale to distribute vegetables and non-perishables weekly. Approximately 30 to 50 people visit each week. l Next week the library will have an Old Spokes mobile repair kit visiting for free bicycle tune-ups. l J. Nielson is continuing to host Pokemon Go and Dungeons and Dragons. l The adult book club is continuing with There There by Tommy Orange. l Mary Hussmann is hosting a Creative Writing Workshop. l The library, in partnership with the Howard Center, is initiating weekly playgroups to also create a space for parents to access resources. K. Wilson will be co-facilitating the group with a Howard Center representative. A. Hurd pointed out patrons might be interested in covid-specific support. Monthly Stats l We reviewed the monthly statistics for July, during which the library fully opened to regular hours. The library hosted 48 programs total, virtual and in-person. The state has asked the library to collect statistics in terms of the target audience (by age) and virtual vs. in-person programming. Circulation increased over previous months. Card registrations also increased; N. Eddy has been registering members at the farmer’s market. l A. Hurd pointed out the low number of teen materials, which N. Eddy noted was likely due to low teen attendance at the library. l N. Eddy noted that the majority of reference questions related to “reader’s advisory” type questions. The library has started to post book reviews on social media. N. Eddy encouraged library committee members to submit reviews if they’re interested. Other library staff plans to submit book reviews as well.  type questions. The library has started to post book reviews on social media. N. Eddy encouraged library committee members to submit reviews if they’re interested. Other library staff plans to submit book reviews as well. VI. Butternut Station Construction The site builders are having monthly meetings with the O’Brien Community Center (OCC) tenants. Construction has been advancing each week. Right now the builders are building the foundation. The OCC tenants have voiced concerns around parking, and once a library patron did say they were unable to find parking. The city is monitoring the situation, including considering if increased enforcement would be needed. N. Eddy clarified that the library cannot have reserved spots. The city is considering re-striping the lines to facilitate angled parking and additional space. The biggest impacts have been the closure of one of the entrances and the lack of visibility to the street. N. Eddy asked the builders about a pedestrian access point at the original entrance. The library will be purchasing a customized and graphical sandwich board to advertise that the library is there and open. P. Doherty mentioned that the library has previously borrowed sandwich boards from the city. Wayfinding is a city priority. N. Eddy will continue to investigate signage. P. Doherty noted the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission might be of help with this issue. The sign at the front of the complex needs updating and refreshing. The noise is not very disruptive inside the library. VII. Committee & Library Workflows The library committee discussed the workflows of the committee in partnership with the library. P. Doherty noted that things are working well and have a good rhythm. N. Eddy noted his appreciation for input from the committee members during the meetings. Discussions amongst the members are limited to the meetings to comply with open meetings laws. P. Doherty noted that sometimes the library needs to take action quickly (e.g., on grants) but when possible, providing lead time on a topic would allow the committee to provide additional input. N. Eddy agreed that working over a longer period on topics such as the policy updates worked well. The committee discussed the open committee position. The position description needs to go in front of the city council before a new member can be added, which is expected to happen soon. N. Eddy noted that it would be beneficial to have increased engagement from the Friends of the Library to support library programming. The committee discussed ways to support city goals and agreed that pursuing longer-term projects related to diversity (e.g., with respect to increasing attendance at library programs, library committee membership, tracking metrics), wayfinding, and participation with the city council would be of interest to the group. The group agreed to have a check-in discussion related to workflow and communication every 6 months. VIII. Other Business  The group agreed to have a check-in discussion related to workflow and communication every 6 months. VIII. Other Business P. Doherty noted that the increase in library staffing is significant and the realization of a long- term goal of increasing library capacity. IX. Adjourn Decision: Adjourned at 7:52 PM Motion by: P. Doherty Second: A. Hurd