Winooski Memorial Library Committee

10/7/2021 - Minutes I. Call to Order Members Present: l P. Doherty l A. Hurd l J. Wignall City Staff Present: l N. Eddy Guests Present: l None Call to Order by: l N. Eddy Meeting Start Time: l 6:43 pm Minutes Recorded by: l J. Wignall II. Public Comment None III. Approve Previous Meeting Minutes Decision: Approved Motion by: A. Hurd Second: P. Doherty IV. Committee Member Updates The committee discussed the Butternut Station construction impacts. Construction is happening and moving quickly. Communication has been really good from the project manager, including weekly updates. The library is feeling an impact, especially related to foot traffic which is low. Library patronage is lower. Those getting covid tests will often visit briefly, but are often not Winooski residents. The O’Brien Center is expected to be “completely invisible” once IV. Committee Member Updates The committee discussed the Butternut Station construction impacts. Construction is happening and moving quickly. Communication has been really good from the project manager, including weekly updates. The library is feeling an impact, especially related to foot traffic which is low. Library patronage is lower. Those getting covid tests will often visit briefly, but are often not Winooski residents. The O’Brien Center is expected to be “completely invisible” once construction is complete. There are ongoing conversations about filling the vacancy left by North End Studios. It’s unclear what the long-term impacts and use of the space might be. It’s possible that with opening the driveway on the side, impacts might be lessened. V. Library Updates Staffing l Josh Neilson has been out on leave since September and as of now will be out through October. l Donna is hoping to return near the end of October. l The library has assembled a staffing pool of temporary clerks who will be available on- call as needed. l Kirsten Wilson continues to work on children’s programming. Addison is working about 15 hours/week as a clerk. Programming l J. Neilson is still running virtual D&D once a week, but other programs he coordinated are on hold pending staff availability. l The library is hosting English courses and citizen test preparation classes. Participation in the former has fluctuated. The library is trying to increase participation, such as by partnering with the school. l The veggie distribution program is ending at the end of October. That has been a successful partnership that will hopefully continue in 2022. Depending on weather, approximately 30-50 people attend each week. l The monthly book group maintains strong participation (8-9 each month, 13-14 people total). The writing group is continuing to grow. l The library partnered with a credit union to offer financial literacy courses on Saturdays, though participation has been limited. l Spectrum is facilitating tutoring next week. Tutoring is no longer included as part of J. Neilson’s role. l K. Wilson hosts story time and play groups for children 0 to 5 yrs old. She hosted some STEAM programming on Saturdays. The Dad Guild will be doing a playgroup at the library later in the month. Monthly Stats l Stats were low this month compared to previous months. This is likely due to construction and return to school impacts. Winooski Halloween plans l The library will be picking and carving pumpkins for the rotary display. The library will have a booth Saturday afternoon and will likely do a craft activity, card sign-ups, and corn hole. The library will plan to do a story walk as well. New computers l The library is purchasing new public computers. The cost will be around $3000 for two new desktop computers. There is $2000 in the equipment fund, and additional funds from a previous grant that can cover the difference. They will likely be installed shortly.  New computers l The library is purchasing new public computers. The cost will be around $3000 for two new desktop computers. There is $2000 in the equipment fund, and additional funds from a previous grant that can cover the difference. They will likely be installed shortly. l The library is waiting to hear about the possible Chrome Books available via ARPA funding. VI. New Member Recruitment Council approved the updated charter and committee member description. The library committee can begin recruiting new members. There are two open positions. The committee can reach out through Front Porch Forum, but the library can also advertise through its accounts on Facebook, Instagram, etc. The process for reviewing has been opaque in the past as it wasn’t clear what the city would do to vet candidates. Other committees have done full interviews for new members, which the library committee agreed would make sense for these positions. The process would need to be fleshed out further, to determine if the city or committee members coordinate the interviews (handling applications, scheduling interviews). Committee members could attend the interviews. P. Doherty will post on Front Porch Forum and let interested residents know they can ask members about the role. Committee members will help review resumes. Prior to advertising the position, N. Eddy will confirm that the updated charter and position description and applications are posted online. He will also confirm who receives the applications on the city side. Committee members should be staggered in their terms, which last 3 years. Members can be re-appointed. VII. Policies for Review There is a draft Computer and Internet Access policy. The committee agreed that N. Eddy should develop a new draft of the policy for review by the committee. N. Eddy noted that the library is not missing other public policies that would be expected. He will review for other potential policies. VIII. Other Business The committee members discussed the check out process, including receipts and automatic overdue notices. IX. Adjourn Decision: Adjourned at 7:52 PM Motion by: P. Doherty Second: A. Hurd Second: A. Hurd