Public Library Board of Directors

BO AR D M EM BE R S Laura Nicole Miller, President Katherine Bagdis, Vice President Roseann Fitzgerald, Secretary Matthew Noe, Treasurer Christina Andrianopoulos Harriette Chandler Mary Chenaille David Dominguez BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING AGENDA Gail Schuyler June 25, 2025 - Green Room Kimberly Smalley Worcester Public Library Sheila Trapasso 3 Salem Square William Wallace C ON T A CT This Board of Directors for the Worcester Public Library meeting will be • Address: 3 Salem Square held in-person at the date, time and location listed above. Meeting • Phone: 508-799-1655 attendees will additionally have options to participate remotely by • Email: comms@mywpl.org joining online or by phone: • Use the following link to join the meeting via computer • Website: www.mywpl.org https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85630724293? Note: If technological problems interrupt the virtual meeting The Worcester Public Library is committed to component, the meeting will continue in-person. ensuring that its public meetings are accessible to all. Should you require interpretation, auxiliary aids, services, written materials in other formats, Application materials may be viewed by appointment at the Main or reasonable modifications in policies and Branch of the Worcester Public Library between 9:00 a.m. – 5 p.m., procedures, please contact the library a minimum of 2 business days in advance of the scheduled Monday through Friday. meeting. Hay disponibles servicios de interpretación y For more information concerning this meeting, please contact the otras adaptaciones con solicitud previa. Worcester Public Library by email at comms@mywpl.org. Please send written comments, requests for reasonable accommodation, or ‫ﺗﺘﻮﻓﺮ اﻟﺘﺮﺟﻤﺔ اﻟﻔﻮرﯾﺔ وﻏﯿﺮھﺎ ﻣﻦ وﺳﺎﺋﻞ اﻟﺘﯿﺴﯿﺮ ﻋﻨﺪ اﻟﻄﻠﺐ اﻟﻤﺴﺒﻖ‬ requests for language interpretation 2 business days or more in advance अनवु ◌ाद र अ6य आवसह अ'-म अनरोधपचत ◌ु उपल5ध of the meeting. हु6छ। Interpretação e outras adaptações estão Call to Order – 5:00pm disponíveis mediante solicitação prévia. Approval of May 28, 2025 Minutes Përkthimi dhe akomodime të tjera janë në dispozicion me kërkesë paraprake. President’s notes Kasa nkyerɛaseɛ ɛne akwanya afoforɔ da hɔ Report of the Executive Director ma wɔn a wɔn bɛ bisa ato hɔ. Phiên dịch và các hỗ trợ khác có sẵn theo • Report Attached yêu cầu trước. • Questions from the Board of Directors Finance Committee Report W PL L EA D ER SH I P Administration Committee Report Jason Homer, Executive Director • Vote: Motion to approve the Administration Committee serve the duties of the full Board the W PL MIS SI ON months of July and August until the full Board As the heart of the community, we strive reconvenes in September. to nurture lifelong learning, cultivate Friends of the Library updates knowledge, and champion Worcester Public Library Foundation updates intellectual freedom. New Business Adjourn 1  Worcester Public Library Library Board of Directors Wednesday, May 28, 2025 5:00 PM Worcester Public Library 3 Salem Square Worcester, MA 01608 In Person: Laura Nicole Miller, Mary Chenaille, Roseann Fitzgerald, Matthew Noe, Gail Schuyler, Kimberly Smalley, Sheila Trapasso, William Wallace Library Staff: Jason Homer (Executive Director), Sulma Robert-Silva (Director for Administration and Operations), Angela Bennett (Deputy Director for Youth Services), Jennifer Marien (Deputy Director for Adult Services), Peggy Lelievre (Human Resources and Development Manager), Cara Stone (Executive Assistant to the Executive Director) Virtual Attendance: Christina Andrianopoulos, Christine Murray (WPL Foundation) Not in Attendance: Katie Bagdis, Sen. Harriet Chandler, David Dominguez Others: John Carnegie (former WPL Director) 1. Call to Order President Laura Nicole Miller called the meeting to order at 5:01 PM. 2. Approval of April 2025 Minutes Nicole Miller asked the WPl board if there were any comments or questions about the April 2025 minutes. Since there were no questions or comments, she asked for a motion to approve the minutes. MOTION TO APPROVE: Matthew Noe and SECONDED by Sheila Trapasso. 3. President’s Report (Nicole Miller) Nicole Miller opened her report with a warm welcome to new board directors, William Wallace and Mary Chenaille. 4. Nominations and Vote for Finance Committee Member Nicole Miller asked the board to nominate and vote for a WPL director to serve on the Finance Committee. She noted that Bill Wallace had indicated a willingness to serve on the committee. Paper ballots were distributed to the board directors in attendance. The completed ballots were tallied by Cara Stone and there were 7 votes for Bill Wallace and one vote for Matthew Noe. Bill Wallace was elected to the WPL Finance Committee. 1 5. Executive Director’s Updates and Report Q&A (Homer) Highlights from May 2025 Report. Library Advocacy: ED reported that April 2025 has been an exciting time. He went to DC for IMLS Advocacy Funding. At that time, there were only two staff working at the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Since then, two judges have turned over the executive order to eliminate the IMLS. As of now, the staff are back in the office per court order. The current director of the IMLS is appealing that decision and ED believes that the lawsuit will likely go to the US Supreme Court. State Funding Update: The Worcester Talking Book library (TBL) was level funded by the Commonwealth of MA, but Rep. Mary Keefe did recommend an increase which did not make it through. Despite not receiving an increase in funding, TBL will be OK. ED noted that . TBL had the highest amount of circulation in April 2025. Lee Ann Hooley will continue to break records with large print circulation. ED reviewed some recent staff hires including Karen Wall (former director of Charlton Public Library who joined the staff of the Talking Book Library. He noted that there are now four former director of libraries working for WPL. ED then described the changes on the first floor. Prominent display of Library of Things offerings when enter the Salem Street entrance. The collection has grown, and librarians have been continually curating the collection. If an item has been checked out, there is a HOT PINK bookmark that indicates that the item has been checked out. ED congratulated Chrissy Murray and the WPL Foundation on a successful Mini-Golf event. Busier Saturday than expected but not a single security incident that weekend. Update on Frances Perkins: Canisters are being collected. Mitigation for radon is complete. 0.061 is safe reading. (Previously the reading was over 20). ED is planning for a date to reopen the Frances Perkins Branch and there will be a party planned by Angela and Youth Services. ED noted that in his April 2025 report focused on the great stories about librarians helping patrons. He mentioned Azajuah Johnson-Fils (Social Services Specialist) helping a patron with fuel assistance and how to apply for SS retirement benefits. Jackie received an email from a patron who was appreciative of the Small Business Resources she shared with him. Invest in Staff (Goal 4). Tween Librarian Alicia was one of two recipients in the U.S. to receive a scholarship to attend the American Library Association meeting. ED mentioned that the newspaper and magazines staff were nominated for MLA’s Paralibrarian of the Year. Although they did not win, ED did attend a ceremony celebrating this recognition. Director of Library Services job posted today and the WPL is working on the recruitment plan. Awards and Accolades: WPL won the International Federation of Libraries and Institutions (IMLA) Marketing Award over China for the “March Meowness Campaign” The award ceremony will be at the 2025 World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) in Astana, 2 Kazakhstan on August 20, 2025. The award includes a free subscription to Press Reade which costs $15,000. On May 29th, Linnea Sheldon will receive the Thomas Green Award for Public Service at 5:00 PM at Mechanics Hall. She is the third WPL staff member in four years to receive this prominent award for public service to the City of Worcester. Other recipients include Cara Stone, Kaitlyn Duncan, Joel Wentworth, and the WPL Public Services whole team. Jason Homer was named a 2025 Movers and Shakers in the Change Agent category by Library Journal. ED asked if the WPL board had questions on his report. Since there were none, Nicole Miller handed the floor back to Jason for his presentation on safety and security at the WPL. . 6. Overview and Discussion of Safety at the Worcester Public Library (Homer) ED began his presentation with the proviso that he has only worked at the WPL for five years, but other staff members with longer tenures then himself have noticed an exceptional amount of change in security at the Library. He began the report with two news articles from 2018 which show Christina Connolly and Security Officer Kaseem Hargrove are on the front lines to combat opioid deaths. ED noted that libraries nationwide are dealing with these issues. He noted that there are two binders of incident reports (4 inches thick) for 2025. Problems are not new, and the problems are getting worse. He noted that many of these reports detail people who are in crisis. The incident reports are color coded by police incident, fight, overdose incident, etc. The problems are increasing. When the RMV Shelter closed in 2024, there was an uptick. This year, the WPL staff were more prepared when downtown shelter closed in April 2025 Invest in Training Staff: The WPL has paid for online staff Niche academy trainings on homelessness and substance use. At the same time, in Fall 2023, trained all staff on the updated patron behavior policy. Peggy also oversees staff development days three times a year which include topics on mental health, neurodiversity In February 2025: ED did a staff training at FYI Fridays on Enforcing Library Policies ED shows the WPL board a Screenshot on where the incident happened and how to submit a good incident report (Incident Report 101): • Be clear and factual • Describe the incident thoroughly • Use neutral language • Follow the chain of events • Ensure completeness • Document social services resources shared with patrons 3  • Knowledge of library policies/rules/procedures. What the Data Tells Us: Over an 18 month period, incidents spike on afternoons-- 10-3 PM (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays). ED says that it is common knowledge when the police are trading shifts. There are no incidents on Mondays or Thursdays because security guards are on duty. In 2024, the WPL added a second security guard. Also, WPL board advocacy added a social service specialist. In FY2026, the position is funded through ARPA (American Rescue Plan funding) interest. ED asked the WPL Board to advocate for this position to be included in the Library’s tax levy budget. Post Incident Tracking: When a staff member was attacked in August 2024, the WPL remained closed and there was a staff meeting the next day of what the WPL could do, what external agencies could do, legal, and preparations in case an incident happened again. ED noted that at the same time of the attack, the WPL had a lost child incident at the same time. Angela and her staff found the lost child and reunited the child with the parent. Staff recommendations: WPL staff wanted the outside benches removed on the Franklin Street entrance. Christina Connolly is on the Day Resource Committee. In FY2026 budget, the City Manager has added a third security guard added to the WPL. City Hall has its own security team, and the long term goal is to unite security under one department (Dept of Public Facilities). As members of the Urban Libraries Council, the WPL has been having conversations with other urban libraries, 75% of public librarians do not feel safe at work. ED feels strongly that the WPL should not have metal detectors or patrons should be searched. Some patrons do carry weapons. Some sleep near the building because of cameras—they feel safer. ED opens the floor to questions or concerns from the WPL board Gail Schuyler asked if ICE (US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) has been to the WPL? ED responded that the WPL has a plan for protecting patrons’ privacy and intellectual property. He was not aware of any ICE visits. John Carnegie asked “What is the full time equivalent cost for each security officer? ED or Sulma did not have the figure but noted that the third guard would fill in the gaps particularly on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. John noted that there might be some funding available through federal funding through the Commonwealth of MA. Matthew Noe inquired about having security under one umbrella in the City of Worcester. ED noted that the security officers will be tasked to enforce the WPL patron/behavior policy set by the WPL board of directors. 4 Mary Chanaille asked if the City of Worcester is doing anything about public bathrooms this summer? ED said that he is not aware of anything. The Downtown Business Improvement District completed a comprehensive study for public restrooms and more public art. The art project was completed last year with “You Belong Here” Mural. There is a new ED at Downtown Business Improvement District - Katelyn O'Brien—she is eager to look at downtown bathrooms and making them more accessible. Nicole Miller thanked Jason for his report and will help support him and WPL staff. 7. Finance Committee Report (Noe) Finance committee Meeting held a meeting on 4/29/2025 which was the annual update from Bartholomew & Company. Minutes from the meeting were in the May 2025 Board packet. The portfolio is down about 1% as of 4/30/2025. The spending policy is 3% for the Green Fund and 2.5% for other WPL endowment funds. Nicole Miller thanked Matthew for his report and asked for the Friends of the Library report. 8. Friends of the Library Updates (Stone) David Dominguez was not present to report on the Friends. In his stead, Cara Stone reported that the book sale at the end of the April vacation brought in $1,900. There was $4,460 for the month of April 2025. They sold all the wrapped blind books for Mother’s Day. They have new volunteers from UMASS Chan/United Way. Nicole Miller thanked Cara for the report and then asked Roseann Fitzgerald for the WPL Foundation report. 8. Worcester Public Library Foundation Updates (Fitzgerald) Roseann reported the following from Christine Murray, Executive Director of the WPL Foundation. Murray thanked everyone who supported the WPL Foundation’s Mini Golf event. After expenses, the WPL Foundation netted a little over $21,000. The WPL Foundation is currently doing author outreach and sponsor requests for the Celebrate Our Library event which is scheduled for 11/6/2025. Please mark your calendars. Stephanie Pasha will moderate the event again. Jason and Christine had a successful meeting/tour of the library with Warner Fletcher and others representing the Worcester philanthropic foundations that supported the recent capital campaign. There was representation from The Alden Trust, The Stoddard Foundation, Fletcher Foundation, Hoche-Scofield, Wyman Gordon, and Gifford Charitable Trust. The goal of the gathering was to show the board members some intentional changes made to the spaces since the completion of 5 the renovation in 2021. Feel free to contact Christine Murray if the WPL board has other questions 9, New Business There was no new business reported previously. Matthew Noe noted that MBLC has announced that because of the cutbacks in federal funding, access to certain databases would change. He asked Jason Homer if the WPL would be announcing any changes? ED said that when the IMLS funding is removed, the $3.6M received by the MBLC is spent on online resources, databases, and staff. The first pass will be the elimination of the Gale databases, Transparent Languages, and Career and Test Prep. Every student in the Commonwealth of MA will lose access to these important databases. ED noted that Rep. Jim McGovern and Rep. Bacon (R-Nebraska) co-sponsored a bill to protect library funding. Roseann asked if the College and Universities could provide access to their databases? ED responded that the Colleges and Universities are also losing funding for their databases. Matthew Noe and Kimberly Smalley noted they are both losing funding for their libraries. John Carnegie asked what is the budgetary impact for databases being shut off? ED responded that he was not sure. The WPL needs more data about which databases are being used from MBLC. The WPL will analyze the materials budget and possibly move some funds to fund online databases. ED said we will inform the public when the WPL has more clarity on whether the online databases will go away. 10. Adjournment President Nicole Miller requested a motion to adjourn. MOTION TO ADJOURN: Gail Schuyler. SECONDED by Christina Andrianopoulos The meeting was adjourned at 6:12 PM Respectfully submitted, Roseann Fitzgerald 6 Monthly Report June 2025  Report of the Executive Director Frances Perkins: The Worcester Public Library wants to extend our appreciation for the hard work of the Worcester Public Facilities Department for the reopening of Frances Perkins! Our reopening was delayed one additional week to begin the insulation work for the new HVAC system being installed in that branch through our partnerships with the departments of Sustainability and Public Facilities. That work will be ongoing through the coming weeks, but we will anticipate it being a smooth process. With the new electric box outside of the building, we will look for opportunities to wrap the box in art mirroring the Cultural Development Office’s project. SummerQuest: This year’s Summer Reading, called SummerQuest is a testament to creativity and hard working nature of the WPL staff! Deputy Directors Angela and Jen led our teams in the most collaborative effort to date, reducing the barriers of access and working to increase the number of participants. Age groups have their own special game- inspired board to complete for various prizes. Both Sarina and Fowzia deserve a special shout out for the amazing decorations and art work created for SummerQuest! The library has been transformed by their approach and the collaborative nature has been inspiring to all. The children’s department knocked it out of the park with their Candyland inspired decorations for the Summer. Walking through the colored-square trail, you will reminisce about your days playing the game and discover which of your favorite characters have evolved and which have stayed exactly as you remember them. Make sure to visit the Pappas Children’s Center at the end of the summer when we turn the room into life-sized Candyland. Boston Pride: The Foundation for the Worcester Public Library paid for a spot in the 2025 Boston Pride for the People Parade. We submitted under “Massachusetts Librarians for Pride” and invited librarians from all over to march with us, giving out approximately 500 books that have been recently banned or challenged across the country. This was met with feverish response by parade attendees and many have followed up on social media to express their gratitude. Security at the Library: The Office of the City Manager has taken a strong approach to safety at the library, giving us an additional guard and allowing us to train all 4 city hall security officers to be back up for when we need additional assistance. Our newest hire, Don has been a breath of fresh air and professionalism. Save the Dates: The Board of Directors are all invited to the WPL Staff cookout on July 10th at 12 noon. The WPL Block Party will be on August 9th at 11:30 am  Goal 1 Connect our Community South High’s preschool class, along with its high schoolers studying early education, came to the library for a field trip in which Rezarta taught them all about the library. One of the teachers said, “I was listening to our high schoolers, and most said they’ve never been here!” Allison scheduled a teen librarian to also be present at this event, so the high schoolers understood that the library is here for them, too. This hopefully strengthened our connection with South so we can continue to connect them to library resources. Two patrons in Cara’s Happy Homeschoolers group stayed until the end of the program to master the goal of creating songs from an electric keyboard (part of a SNAP Circuit sound kit). Alicia hosted local author, educator, and mindfulness expert Wendy O’Leary for a book talk for adults based on her latest title, Growing Self-Compassionate Children, and a storytime for ages 0-5 with their adults based on her popular picture book It’s OK: Being Kind to Yourself When Things Feel Hard. Adult and youth patrons alike learned and practiced simple techniques to help build emotional resilience. The kids at Stacy’s Pokémon club have been working as a team for several sessions to complete this 300-piece puzzle. What a since of accomplishment the kids felt when they completed it this month! This month GBV has seen many patrons drop in for Switch gaming and Whimsical Workshop. For the past several months, we have seen a consistent quartet of kids play Switch games, but this month yielded new players each session. Our regular players and our new players rotated turns congenially so that everyone would get an equal chance to play. Switch gaming fostered friendly competition and collaboration among friends and strangers.  Goal 2 Promote Learning & Literacy The children’s center hosted the EcoTarium for their Invisible Forces: Electricity and Magnetism program for children ages 7-12. The kids asked the best questions about atoms and were introduced to concepts such as electromagnetism in a fun, interactive way. The Teen department, with the extra help of the Tween librarian, concluded the month of May by starting a School-Visit-Sprint: We will be conducting 25+ visits to all of WPS’s middle and high schools and several 6th grade classes in the final 3 weeks of the school year. We will be meeting with 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th graders to share information about how they can participate in SummerQuest, highlight the programs we will have for them to attend this summer, and to bring copies of the Summer Reading titles that we were able to buy with funds received from the Library in Every Classroom budget. Copies are the students’ to keep or pass along to their classmates. Local History Librarian Alex had 43 attendees for his Worcester History Deep-Dive program on the city’s historic diner and restaurant industry. Attendees came out on a rainy Saturday afternoon to learn about how Worcester’s lunch car and diner manufacturing industry impacted not just the city, but the country as a whole! The patrons had great questions and stories about such Worcester classics as the Miss Worcester and the Boulevard Diner. Alex’s Worcester History Deep-Dive program is starting to gain a following, so much so that registration has increased from 25 to 45 to accommodate interested patrons. Goal 3 Nurture Inclusion & Ideas The library held our first ever Spirit Week, open to children and teens at any of the library branches, with the help of Winter, Rachel, and Stacy. Over 100 participants either created a theme-of–the-day craft or dressed according to the daily theme. Some of the fun themes included “fictional character Friday” and “sports day Saturday.” 31 library staff members participated and thanked YS for “so much fun”. GBV staff members, Victoria and Chloe, even made a TikTok inspired by the Decades Day theme! On May 6th, Kira partnered with the Teen room staff on a program for graduating high school seniors where they were invited to decorate their graduation caps in the Teen room of the Main Branch. They purchased and pulled out of storage fake flowers, butterflies, cardstock, markers, ribbon, and anything else they could have possibly wanted. They were even able to set up a Cricut machine from the Innovation Center in the Teen room to custom cut vinyl decals of quotes to further personalize their graduation caps. Though Erin was Kira’s main collaborator, Winter was also available to give them an extra set of hands and grab additional supplies from the basement to help one of our attendees achieve their full vision. There were 10 attendees, many of whom saw the program promoted on the Teen Instagram account. The teens really appreciated the number of supplies we were able to provide to them as decorating one's graduation cap to be "Pinterest Perfect" can be prohibitively expensive. One of the beauties of the program was that Erin, Winter, and Kira all had unique skills and that contributed to the patron’s experience in different ways. Multiple staff members told us that some of the teens who had attended the program had stopped them on their way out of the library to show off their finished graduation cap. In a previous Staff Development Day, Peggy, Human Resources and Development Manager, found a fun project for staff to do that involved painting a mural that would be gifted to a hospital. We received the attached photo from a clinic in Indiana that specializes in women’s health as well as services to the unhoused. We were delighted to see our staff’s creation making somewhere else feel more welcoming and inclusive.  Goal 4 Invest in Staff Allison viewed webinar Cultural Humility in Public Libraries: Colleagues and Customers Cara viewed a webinar: Readers' Advisory: Ideas and Practice: Hot Tips for Hand-Selling which focused on reading book reviews (as a consistent way to keep up with the vast number of published materials for children) to zero in on the appeal factors (tone, characters, setting, etc.) that readers are most seeking. Stacy reviewed the ALA book Supporting children’s mental health through literature. Tara recently presented at MLA about adult programming to a full house - a lovely surprise considering it was at 8 am! Titled “It’s Alive! Reanimating Adult Programming in New England’s Second Largest City”, Tara discussed how she revamped adult programming since she became Manager of Adult Services in March 2023. Using photos from actual programs hosted at the Main Library, Tara illustrated how to keep up with current trends, dealing with positive and negative patron feedback, working with outside presenters, the value of all types of programs from educational to entertaining, marketing and promotion, and staff buy-in. Afterwards, several librarians asked Tara for advice about various aspects of program planning, including a librarian brand new to the field. During the Massachusetts Library Association annual conference, Manager of Adult Services Zoey presented on the success and challenges of running a Senior Advisory Board, which was based on a previous project at her former library, Medford Public Library. Throughout the presentation, she spoke about the importance of senior advisory boards and how others can form their own Senior Advisory Board. The presentation was a success, despite an interruption from a fire evacuation. Thankfully, the association is disseminating a recording of the presentation to those who may have missed information during the evacuation. She looks forward to using this knowledge to implement similar projects at WPL. Recruitment and Employment Activity – April 2025 New Hires/Promotions (1) L2 Circulation – Internal Transfer from PT - Start 5/5/25 (1) Page Circulation – External Hire – Start 5/27/25 (1) Security Guard – External Hire – Started with City Training 5/27/25 Open (1) Director of Library Innovation and Adult Services – Posting up (1) GL2 Adult Services – External Hire – Starting 6/23/25 (1) L2 N&M – Made two offers to external candidates – both withdrew (1) PT L2 Circulation – Posting closes 6/6/25 – Interviews to start (1) L2 Circulation – Waiting for RFP from City (1) Administrative Assistant – Waiting for RFP from City  LIBRARY USE APRIL 2025 17,551 30,888 Patron Assists Patron Visits (all transactions) (all branches) CIRCULATION (PHYSICAL) Children YA Adult 77,704 30000 Items circulated in 25000 May 2025 (including eBooks) 20000 15000 10000 3,766 23,610 29,802 20,489 4,416 3,791 25,184 26,421 23,736 20,203 Museum Passes 5000 21,739 3,351 205 0 Feb Mar Apr May Library of Things 547 Despite having Frances Perkins closed to the public due to radon mitigation, circulation did not see as severe of a drop than anticipated. EBOOK CIRC APRIL Express Sessions 25000 886 20000 Computer Sessions 21,317 20,888 15000 20,328 19,288 5,206 10000 Wireless Sessions 5000 109,665 0 Website Visitors Feb Mar April May 46,437 TALKING BOOK LIBRARY ONE CITY, ONE LIBRARY Digital Books 7,305 LargeType Books 626 265 Class Visits Juv Books 5 5,188 Class Braille Books 34 Serials 381 attendance BARD downloads 1,175 WORCESTER PUBLIC LIBRARY