Public Library Board of Directors

B OAR D MEMB ER 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 November 19, 2025 - Green Room Kimberly Smalley Worcester Public Library Sheila Trapasso 3 Salem Square William Wallace CONT ACT 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/4360264614?pwd=dx5JnsYiFSaCF RmJOwmFf093t93x2Q.1&omn=87091378169 The Worcester Public Library is committed to • Meeting ID: 436 026 4614 ensuring that its public meetings are accessible to all. Should you require interpretation, auxiliary • Passcode: 7991655 aids, services, written materials in other formats, Note: If technological problems interrupt the virtual meeting or reasonable modifications in policies and component, the meeting will continue in-person. procedures, please contact the library a minimum of 2 business days in advance of the scheduled meeting. Application materials may be viewed by appointment at the Main Hay disponibles servicios de interpretación y Branch of the Worcester Public Library between 9:00 a.m. – 5 p.m., otras adaptaciones con solicitud previa. Monday through Friday. ‫ﺗﺘﻮﻓﺮ اﻟﺘﺮﺟﻤﺔ اﻟﻔﻮرﯾﺔ وﻏﯿﺮھﺎ ﻣﻦ وﺳﺎﺋﻞ اﻟﺘﯿﺴﯿﺮ ﻋﻨﺪ اﻟﻄ ﻠﺐ اﻟﻤﺴﺒﻖ‬ For more information concerning this meeting, please contact the अनवु ◌ाद र अ6य आवसह अ'-म अनरोधपचत ◌ु Worcester Public Library by email at comms@mywpl.org. Please send उपल5ध हु6छ। written comments, requests for reasonable accommodation, or Interpretação e outras adaptações estão requests for language interpretation 2 business days or more in advance disponíveis mediante solicitação prévia. of the meeting. Përkthimi dhe akomodime të tjera janë në dispozicion me kërkesë paraprake. Call to Order – 5:00pm Kasa nkyerɛaseɛ ɛne akwanya afoforɔ da hɔ Approval of September 24, 2025 Minutes ma wɔn a wɔn bɛ bisa ato hɔ. President’s notes Phiên dịch và các hỗ trợ khác có sẵn theo yêu cầu trước. Report of the Executive Director • October Report Attached WPL LEADER SHI P • November Report Attached Jason Homer, Executive Director • Questions from the Board of Directors Administration Committee Report WPL MI SSI ON • Executive Director Evaluation Updates As the heart of the community, we strive Friends of the Library updates to nurture lifelong learning, cultivate Worcester Public Library Foundation updates knowledge, and champion intellectual freedom. New Business Adjourn 1  BOARD OF DIRECTORS WORCESTER PUBLIC LIBRARY Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 24, 2025 Worcester Public Library 3 Salem Square, Green Room Directors Present: Laura Nicole Miller, President Christina Adrianapoulos Kathryn Bagdis Sen. Harriett Chandler Mary Chenaille Roseann Fitzgerald Matthew Noe Kimberly Smalley Shela Trapasso Directors Remote: David Dominguez Gail Schuyler Directors Absent: William Wallace Staff Present: Jason Homer, Executive Director Sulma Rubert-Silva, Director for Administration and Operations (Remote) Peggy Lelievre, HR and Development Manager Angela Bennett, Deputy Director for Youth Services Jen Marien, Deputy Director for Adult Services Zoey Mills, Manager of Adult Services Guests: Christine Murray, Executive Director, WPL Foundation 1. Call to Order at 5:00 PM President Laura Nicole Miller called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM. 2. Approval of June 25, Minutes Nicole Miller asked the WPL Board if there were any comments or questions about the June 25, 2025 minutes. Mary Chenaille requested a slight edit in the wording on who provides security at Food for the Poor on page 7, 4th paragraph. There were no additional questions or comments. President Nicole Miller asked for a motion to approve the amended minutes. MOTION TO APPROVE: Christina Adrianapoulos and SECONDED by Mary Chenaille. 3. President’s Notes (Nicole Miller) President Nicole Miller reminded the WPL Directors about upcoming events at the Library including the Charles M. Schulz Museum Exhibit Celebrating 75 years of Peanuts opening on October 4th which will be on display for three months until January 4, 2026. She noted that the Celebrate Our Libraries fundraising event takes place on Thursday, 11/6 from 5:45 PM to 9:00 PM at the Worcester Public Library. She recommended buying tickets soon since it has been very popular. She also recommended reading the books by the featured authors (Wally Lamb, Chris Bohjalian, Kristina Forest). President Miller noted that the annual Board retreat will take place in Winter 2026 and she will send a poll on possible future dates for the event. 4. Report of the Executive Director (Homer) Review of Community Report: ED Homer distributed print copies of the Worcester Public Library’s first community report which began with a letters from President Laura Nicole Miller, ED Jason Homer and a summary of the many community outreach activities over the last year. ED thanked the huge group of WPL staff who helped with editing and layout of the publication. ED plans to share this throughout the community and highlight the successful work in the Children’s Department, the standing room only success of the Local History programming and the continued growth of the Talking Book Library. He noted that it bookends the WPL Foundation’s Annual Report which highlights the Library’s Tech Services department. Christina Adrianapoulos noted that it was a wonderful marketing tool. ED Homer noted that he has been asked to present at the October City Manager’s Cabinet meeting and will distribute copies at the meeting. If WPL Directors need copies of the Community Report, please let him know. There is a plan to also post the Community Report on the WPL website. Highlights from the Monthly Library Report: ED noted that the September 2025 report was lengthy because the WPL staff has been doing some great things over the summer months. He noted that the groundbreaking for the new Employment Opportunity Center for the Worcester Housing Authority is scheduled for October 2, 2025 at 1:30 PM. Lt. Gov. Driscoll and Secretary of Housing Augustus will be in attendance for the Center which will include an expanded Great Brook Valley Library which will occupy a third of the lowest level of the building. WPL is hosting the Advocacy Bootcamp for Massachusetts Librarians on Tuesday, October 7th from 10:00 AM to 3 PM. The first keynote will be executive 2 director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, and the final keynote will be Tim Garvin, President and CEO of the United Way of Central MA who loves the Worcester Public Library. Staff took on the WPL Strategic Imperatives throughout the summer months thanks to the leadership of Jen Marrien and Angela Bennett. Summer Reading was less formulaic than previous years, and WPL staff are already planning next year’s summer reading programming. Questions? Mary Chanaille asked about the hiring goals in the September 2025 Report. ED reviewed the new hires and promotions and said all have started working at the WPL. Peggy Lelievre has taken over the hiring of the third security and compliance officer from the City of Worcester. Peggy is finishing the third round of interviews for the security officer next week. There are now two security officers on staff since June who are getting a lot of positive feedback. Safety Report: ED noted that Peggy has taken over the hiring of security from City Hall so that the security officers are “trauma-informed” and “library informed.” He noted that the officers have new uniforms effective today which the security officers chose themselves after they submitted a report with their research for uniforms that would be authoritative but also approachable. ED also noted that the WPL is doing demonstrations for a new incident reporting software. They currently use Mock Form which is like an Excel spreadsheet. Other library systems use PITS or Orange Boy. The WPL is reviewing both products that allow them to pull their own trends. They met with Quincy, MA Thomas Crane Public Library to see how they use PITS and they have had a positive experience. Features include two-factor authentication, and the ability to record incidents with patrons at multiple branches. In addition, the ED has asked the WPL staff for this quarter to report on how much time they are spending on security. They launched a tool for the first three months to extrapolate what we are working on, what we are dealing with and within those first two weeks, there were 213 reports from staff. He noted that the things that bother staff are not the “big things” but the constant little things, so it is his attempt to document the constant little things. Mary Chenaille asked for clarification on the number of incidents at Great Brook Valley from the report. ED noted that GBV has by far the most number of submissions out of any service point in the entire library, because they are doing constant behavior modification of unsupervised children. ED explained that there a constant behavior modifications because many parents are struggling to control their children and teachers are struggling to control their students. He noted that these are all the pandemic children who were all either born or did not have any socialization time when everything was shut down. The WPL is seeing a 3 shift in behaviors that is exacerbating staff and the WPL is trying to dig into it. He repeated that there were 213 reports from all branches and all service locations. 185 of those incidents were just monitoring and 28 were incident reports. Filing an incident report can take one minute or one hour depending on the severity of the incident. Sen. Harriet Chandler asked about the security in the branches of the Worcester Public Library. ED responded that there is no security officers stationed at the branches. Staff will diagnose problems and then security could be sent out to the branches based on the severity of patron behavior. ED noted that the librarians at Great Brook Valley have several children under the age of five coming to the Library alone. The librarians are not only looking at this as an incident but also look at it through a trauma-informed lens, so that we can reach out to the parent or have the social worker work with the family. Most of the incidents that involve security happen at the Main Library and it is an anomaly for anything to happen at the branches. Christina Adrianapoulos asked the ED if the incident reports are shared with the City of Worcester, the Police Department so that it blends with their own incident reports on behavior issues. ED responded that the incident reports are shared with the City Manager and the Dept of Public Facilities. ED noted that the security issues at the WPL are not like the security issues at City Hall. Sulma meets frequently with the Captain of the Police Department assigned to the area of the WPL. Mary Chenaille added that she is at St. John’s Food for the Poor and that things have been escalating down there and noted that it is great that the WPL is working closely with the Worcester Police Department. ED noted that there are lot of new faces visiting the WPL and the enforced WPL behavior policy has been effective in heading off some problems. He noted that late September-early October is the time where more people show up at the Library before more shelter spaces open in November. Roseann Fitzgerald asked is the age that unaccompanied children can go to Great Brook Valley. ED responded that many of the problems of One City One Library and Great Brook Valley is many are latchkey kids with parents who work multiple jobs. The rules at the Main Library at Salem Square are stricter than the others because there are very capable 7-year olds that are walking to the Library from their homes. Jen Marrien added that there is no hard number but it is about the maturity level of the child and the child’s ability to communicate. ED added that the new tracking system is helping the WPL diagnose issues with some younger patrons. Safety Huddles: ED reported that four staff have signed up for weekly safety huddles which will start in October. Sulma and ED attended the Library Journal 4  Public Library Safety Summit earlier this month at the Hartford Public Library. It was a good opportunity, and he plans to approach the Finance Committee to fund some new trainings for WPL staff. There is a successful training program out in California which would be about $100,000 each year. Sulma is looking at possibly implementing this training in phased approaches. Mary Chenaille asked how City Hall is responding to the Library’s concerns about safety. ED responded that he has had some great conversations with the City Manager, and he and WPL staff are busy collecting data about incidents, so the WPL is prepared for tough times. Seeing five days of rain changes the ED’s To- Do List. The WPL Librarians have designed systems on their own to prepare for possible incidents. Kimberly Smalley told the ED that she really appreciated the report from staff on their concerns on safety at the WPL. She found it interesting that after that strongly worded letter we received, there were only seven responses. The ED responded that some leaders in the City of Worcester have an attitude that consists of “only fight the battles that win but never fight the good fight.” ED prefers to engage in productive conversations and to collaborate on fixing problems. He is looking for more opportunities for WPL staff to express themselves and looking for ways for staff not to take on fear that they do not need. Kimberly asked for more details about the California training. ED noted that it is a 40-hour training that includes de-escalation, a body autonomy, and a general safety. The training is rooted in situational awareness. If things happen, how to keep your nervous system calm. Sen. Harriet Chandler inquired if there are any mental health resources available to WPL staff in addition to the CA Training program? Peggy Lelievre has run multiple group sessions, wellness sessions and made sure that staff are aware of the City’s EAP program. There are a lot of mental health structures in place that are part of the monthly staff meetings. Laura Nicole Miller mentioned that the Administration Committee will review the proposal and that the WPL will have a larger conversation about the proposal and what the alternatives might be. She asked if there were any further comments on Safety. Since there were none, Nicole Smith requested the Administration Committee report from Matthew Noe. 5. Administration Committee Report (Noe) Matthew Noe reported that the Administration Committee met three times to review candidates for the Director of Innovation and Public Services. August 12 and August 13 were virtual executive sessions basically to discuss feedback on the candidates. 5  President Nicole Miller requested a motion to accept the minutes for August 12, 2025, August 13, 2025, and August 25, 2025. Kimberly Smalley made the MOTION To ACCEPT the minutes which was SECONDED by Roseann Fitzgerald. The Board approved the minutes unanimously by a show of hands. 6. Worcester Public Library Foundation Updates (C. Murray) Christine Murray provided an update from the WPL Foundation. The Foundation held its annual meeting in September and was pleased by how it turned out. She noted if you could not attend, she had some WPL Foundation Annual Reports in her office that will be mailed later this fall. They are full steam ahead for the Celebration of Authors event on 11/6/2025. Ticket sales have been strong because there are three fantastic authors, and the event might sell out. 7. New Business Roseann Fitzgerald noted that the Boston Public Library just canceled their Hoopla subscription. ED said that he and Jan would be happy to do a report on eBook pricing, and current legislation on eBooks. Sen. Harriet Chandler noted that the City of Worcester is about to enter the final stages of municipal elections. She would like to have the Legislative Committee meet once and find out how those who are running for office stand on the issue of Banned Books. The Legislative Committee should meet and develop a one or two sentence statement on where we stand. Sen. Chandler recommended that the candidates should come into the WPL and see the good work of WPL staff. 8. Friends of the Library Report (Dominguez) David Dominguez reported that the Friends Meeting was held at the Green Room of the WPL, on September 16th,2025 at 4:30 PM. Ø Last meeting minutes were approved. Ø There were no Financial nor Membership reports. Ø There was no Friends participation in the “Out To Lunch” events on the Common this year. 6  Ø Sulma & Angela requested financial support for the WPL programs which the Friends approved. Ø Linnea Sheldon attended to share information about the upcoming Peanuts event on 10/4/2025. The Friends are excited to be part of it. Ø They are working on organizing a Book sale at the Frances Perkins Branch which is proposed to take place on 1/29/2026. Ø The Mass Friends of Libraries meeting will be held on Saturday, 11/8/2025 and are working with Mass Friends on the event schedule. More details at the next meeting. There was a discussion among board members about the need for a Recording Secretary. ED will double check on the need for this position and get back to the board. Matthew Noe also reported that on Saturday, October 11th from 1:00 to 3:00 PM would be a screening of “The Librarians” at the Worcester Public Library and Jason Homer plans to attend after the screening. Also on 10/11/2025 between 2:00 and 4:00 PM, the Massachusetts Authors Against Book Bans will host a postcard writing event where people can learn about book ban challenges and write cards to legislators. Laura Nicole Miller asked if there was any more new business. Since there was none, she asked for a motion to adjourn. MOTION TO ADJOURN by Katie Bagdis and SECONDED by Matthew Noe. The meeting was adjourned at 6:07 PM. 10. Adjournment at 6:07 PM Respectfully submitted, R. Fitzgerald 7 BOARD REPORT OCTOBER 2025  Report of the Executive Director Peanuts Exhibit: On October 4, we hosted Happiness is 75 Years of Peanuts! With 423 attendees joining us at the Main Library to celebrate kindness, connection, and a little Snoopy-inspired joy. The event marked the debut of the Charles M. Schulz Museum’s “Taking Care of Each Other” exhibit, which will be on display through January 4, 2026. Patrons enjoyed meet-and-greets with Snoopy, a community art project led by local artist Jennessa Burks, themed crafts, photo ops, giveaways, and even a 200-pound Great Pumpkin centerpiece that became one of the day’s favorite photo stops. We also invited everyone to fill out a short survey, and thanks to our “choose your prize” baskets, we received hundreds of responses that will help us measure community impact and guide future programming. This joyful event was made possible through the Worcester Public Library Foundation, College of the Holy Cross, and our incredible Friends of WPL and youth ambassadors, who helped create a welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere. The celebration continues at our branches throughout October, where each location is hosting its own Peanuts-themed programs. Beyond celebrating Snoopy and the gang, this event was about fostering kindness and reducing social isolation by bringing neighbors together in fun, shared spaces. It also built on the national momentum of our John Cotton Dana Award–winning “March Meowness” campaign, with that award’s funding helping us bring the Schulz Museum exhibit to Worcester. Great Brook Valley: The groundbreaking for the new Economic Opportunity Center, future home of the Great Brook Valley Branch Library, took place on October 2, 2025, and was a great event. Every speaker, including state and city leaders, emphasized the importance of the library in this redevelopment. Worcester Housing Authority Board Chair shared that before the first branch opened in 1981, the bookmobile regularly served Great Brook Valley, underscoring the library’s long-standing commitment to this community. Updated renderings of the new branch will be worked on in the coming weeks to prepare of the Celebrate Our Library event November 6th. Banned Book Week: The Library hosted a powerful afternoon on Saturday, October 11, in celebration of Banned Books Week, with over 70 community members attending a free screening of the documentary The Librarians, followed by a read-in, discussion on censorship, and a tote-bag screen-printing activity. Local leaders and staff emphasized the value of intellectual freedom, and two board members were present, reinforcing our shared commitment to open access and resisting book bans. Advocacy Bootcamp: The Library hosted the MLA Legislative Bootcamp on October 7th to almost 90 participants from all over the state. With keynotes from both MMA Executive Director Adam Chapdelaine and United Way’s Tim Garvin, it was a great day of learning for all.  Goal 1 Connect our Community Librarian Rezarta’s Baby Bounce program has built a strong community of young families who adore her engaging approach. In appreciation, they collaborated on a handmade book of photos and rhymes to celebrate the impact she’s had on their children’s early literacy journeys. Volunteer Fair: Forty-four patrons visited the tables of nine community organizations who were seeking volunteers (including Worcester Public Library and the Worcester Talking Book Library) at Amy’s Volunteer Fair on Saturday, September 20. This was our 8th Volunteer Fair held at WPL and many of the organizations and attendees were grateful for the opportunity to potentially fill open volunteer slots. Some of the organizational representatives also visited the other tables to find out about their respective organizations so there was the potential for future community partnerships. Introduction to Finding Grants: Two staff, including the Grants and Reporting Specialist from Veterans Inc., came to a session of Introduction to Finding Grants this summer. This monthly class covers how to use the Foundation Directory Database and is for nonprofits. Veterans Inc. has recently expanded their development team, so three new employees came to the September class which Jackie was advised of prior to the class date. Jackie has also provided follow-up guidance and additional resources to a member of the Green Island Neighborhood Association who is now leading their fundraising efforts and who also came to a class this summer. “Your Tax Dollars at Work” program: Four representatives (including two new department Commissioners) from the City Clerk’s Office, the Department of Administration & Finance, the Department of Inspectional Services, and the Department of Public Works & Parks participated in Amy and Sam’s civic engagement panel program, “Your Tax Dollars at Work” on Wednesday, September 10. The ten attendees were quite engaged and asked many questions of the presenters, including about the municipal budget process, coordinating roadwork and construction projects, ballot questions, reporting trash bag violations, and more. DIY Crafts, Knitting Circle, Crochet for Beginners, Cricut Class: Our library’s craft programs provide meaningful opportunities for social connection and creative engagement, playing a valuable role in combating social isolation and contributing to community well-being. While libraries have always been gateways for people to make new connections, it wasn’t until recently that significant research and advocacy for combating loneliness has come to the forefront of discussions regarding wellbeing and mental health. Led by Missy and Kira, these classes have served as a fun way for patrons to interact and learn something new in a judgement-free zone and make connections over shared interests. continued: Connect our Community Outreach at QCC, Holy Cross, and WSU: Reference and circulation staff issued over 140 library cards at two annual college outreach events to promote Library Card Sign- up Month. On September 4, WPL hosted a Library Card Sign-up Day at Quinsigamond Community College during their ‘Welcome Day’ at the start of the semester. QCC’s Office of Student Life and Leadership coordinates the event which takes place outside in the Quad by the Main Entrance. This was an ideal location that provided a lot of foot traffic as students traveled to their classes. Tara, Xuhong and Dot from Adult Services and Karen from The Talking Book Library manned WPL’s tables. Ashlee Givens, Director of Student Life and Leadership, along with two other members of her team and Tiger Swan, Coordinator of Library Reference & Instruction Services assisted students with QCC related questions. In addition to students, faculty and administrators stopped by our table. Dr. Luis Pedraja, QCC President, also stopped by to welcome us. Karen from The Talking Book Library signed up several people for their services and stepped in to assist Adult Services staff with the overflow of students. WPL librarians signed up 20 students for library cards and spoke to over 100 students, faculty and staff answering various questions about our resources, programs, events and study spaces. Some students who stopped by were non-traditional students who wanted to learn about the library’s programs and services for families. On Thursday, September 13, WPL had another very successful Library Card Sign-up event at Worcester State University's Learning Resource Center. Vicki Gruzynski, WSU Librarian for Teaching and Learning, facilitated and promoted the event to the WSU community. Brandon and Dot from WPL’s Adult Services and Grit from Circulation made 125 new library cards. Several faculty sent their classes to sign up for library cards and learn about the library’s programs, events and resources. Matt Bejunehe, Executive Director of WSU’s library, stopped by and was thrilled at how many students were signing up and renewing their cards. WPL staff spoke to over 150 students, faculty and staff. Both these events provided the opportunity to engage with the academic community, bring awareness of all the library has to offer, promote how accessible it is, and to encourage students to take advantage of their local public library. In addition to WPL’s program and events, students were particularly interested in the free online resources such as test prep, ebooks, audiobooks, newspapers, music and movie streaming services, that aren’t available through their college library. There was much interest in the Library of Things’ robust collection. WPL’s resources for children and teens were also promoted, since many students are non-traditional students returning to college, who have families. Students were happy to hear about the convenience of all the branch locations and being on the bus routes, especially the Francis Perkins branch right down the street. All enjoyed the variety of fun giveaways and raffle contests.” continued: Connect our Community Tara, Zoey and Rita attended the Holy Cross LibFest on September 10th. Many students and faculty members were excited to see the library represented at the event. Rita created over 50 library cards, and Tara and Zoey were able to promote our programs and resources, and give attendees a chance to spin the prize wheel - students were especially happy to win the cutlery set! Zoey and Tara also made sure the students, many of whom had never been to WPL and were first year students new to the area, knew the bus was free and that WPL was on the bus line. Chelsea, the organizer of the event, expressed interest in working with WPL again. In September, Youth Services visited 10 Worcester Public Schools’ Know Your School Nights, seeing over 2,000 people! Connecting with families unfamiliar with library services is the goal, but we also often connect with families that may have forgotten about our services. Children’s librarians Alyssa and Rachel hosted a Pride Dance Party for families with children ages 0-12. The party was attended by around 50 individuals who had a blast dancing, making their own pride wands, finding pride flags in a scavenger hunt, and receiving beautiful glitter tattoos from the Glitter Girls. Ed the Magician performed to an audience of 85 children and their families. Ed has a style that is extremely funny, and kids could be heard laughing throughout the program Branch services Youth Librarian Rebecca continues to host a half an hour playgroup as a part of Family Storytime. We have seen parents and kids form meaningful relationships that continue out of the library. Teen Librarian Susan met Worcester Academy’s 8th grade class when they visited the Main Library. She was able to talk about Teen Services to 45 students and 8 adults. A handful of teens even signed up for new library cards, while others were able to replace lost cards. After going over LoT, what they can do in the Teen Space, and what databases they can access from the library or at home with their library card, Susan also took them into the Innovation Center and talked about our Open Maker Hours along with Teen Innovators Club. The teacher that organized the visit sent a follow-up email saying: “Thank you for a wonderful visit last Friday! The kids had a great time, and many are excited to come back. I am so grateful for your time and energy. Attached, please find a picture of the 8th grade in front of the Typewriter Mural. You will see many smiles, despite the heat!” The Worcester Public Library is now fully certified as a sensory friendly location by KultureCity. This certification covers all locations and both bookmobiles. We have received and put together the sensory friendly kits. Lee Anne has also been working with Linnea and branch staff such as Chloe and Victoria to become to develop “social stories.” These are web guides to help neurodivergent visitors prepare for their trip to Worcester Public Library. Once these are taken care of, Lee Anne will begin to work with Linnea on promotion. Goal 2 Promote Learning & Literacy Winter taught 4-H Babysitter Training over the course of four workshops, with eight teens receiving a certificate and ID at the end of the program. The babysitters had a great time learning the basics of safety, first aid, nutrition, entertainment, and much more, leaving positive reviews and feedback that will help improve the next round of workshops! Cara ran a program where homeschoolers and their families were invited to do a variety of engineering challenges using apples. The patrons collaborated with their caregivers and stayed past the program's end time to finish their engineering creations. After several years of effort in the Talking Book Library, Karen has successfully launched our first Reading2Connect Book Club, providing individuals in memory care with an opportunity to gather, read, and connect. This evidence-based program, now hosted at the Worcester Senior Center, has been shown to foster community and improve quality of life for people living with dementia, and we’re exploring expansion to additional sites. In addition, TBL staff Joel and Lee Anne have partnered with St. Francis Preparatory School in Springfield, MA, to feature a tactile art exhibit created by the school’s STEM Club. Their teacher, Sheila Slawiak, reached out this summer, and the Talking Book Library will host the exhibit from October through early January, with the students visiting on October 1 to present their work to staff and patrons—a wonderful opportunity to highlight inclusive, youth-led innovation. Goal 3 Nurture Inclusion & Ideas New Americans Librarian Katelyn was awarded a $2500 Mass Library Systems Conference Scholarship, which paid for her attendance at the REFORMA (The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish- Speaking) conference in Long Beach, CA this past month. This month, WPL began/restarted outreach partnerships with the Veterans Inc Outreach Van, AdCare and Everyday Miracles Peer Support. Also, the Ronald McDonald Van signed on to do library stops biweekly through the remainder of the year. On 9/24, WPL hosted a Community Engagement Mixer at which approximately 450 UMass Chan medical students showcased their work with 20 local social service agencies. Several circulation staff helped process 250 new library cards, and Adult Services, along with Azajuah our Social Services Specialist, introduced attendees to the library’s many and varied services, programs and materials. Combining Katelyn and Azajuah’s drop-in hours and impromptu 1-on-1 assistance provided by all Community Resources department members, a total of 62 patrons received focused, expert help, for average of 20 minutes each, on resources including immigration, citizenship, language translation and ESOL learning, writing and resume help, mentoring, first aid, clothing, toiletries, and social services of all types during June, July and August. SMOC, Safe Exit Initiative, MassHire, CHL, Open Sky, Our Special Ideas Autism Support, ABA Centers, Tri-Valley Elder Services, Clemente Course in the Humanities and Veterans Inc. provided support to patrons on a drop-in basis in the Community Resources Office and in the Main Lobby for a total of 56 hours over the summer. Executive Director Jason Homer spoke at the Ambassador’s Dinner for the Genesis Club, an organization that supports members in rebuilding purpose and independence through work, education, wellness, and connection. This organization named the WPL as their “employer of excellence” last year. In September, Alyssa wrote 2 blog posts: one about books and resources about bullying and one about Hispanic Heritage Month Book Recommendations. The blog received 773 views that month! For Hispanic Heritage Month, the Children’s Room hosted Bright Star Touring Theater’s performance of Hispanic Folktales. Forty-nine attendees enjoyed learning about folktales from all over the Spanish-speaking world.  Goal 4 Invest in Staff New Hires/Promotions (1) L2 Circulation – External Hire – Eff. 9/2/2025 (1) Page Circulation – External Hire – Eff. 9/2/2025 Open (2) Page Circulation – Posted 9/3/2025 – top two candidates withdrew – New interviews (1) Security Compliance Officer – Offer Accepted – Starting 10/27/25 (1) Projects & Special Events Coord – JD with City Hall (1) Director of Library Innovation & Pub Svcs – External Hire – Eff. 11/10/2025 (1) L4 OCOL Branch Supervisor – JD ith City Hall Goal 5 Prepare Community for the Future National Digital Inclusion Week:Executive Director Jason Homer represented the City of Worcester and the broader Central Massachusetts region at the Massachusetts Goes DigitALL event on October 8. The event brought together community leaders, policymakers, and digital-inclusion stakeholders to celebrate progress on bridging the digital divide, showcase innovative local programs, and connect with partners working on digital skills, device access, and broadband equity. The event also featured the Digital Ecosystem Awards, which recognized individuals and organizations for outstanding contributions to digital access and community impact. This award included one for the City of Worcester, which Jason accepted on the city’s behalf and one to the Worcester Housing Authority for the work of the Employment Opportunity Center, which is the same building that will house the new GBV Branch when it is complete in Spring of 2027. Jason’s participation reinforced our leadership in advancing digital equity locally, strengthened relationships with regional networks, and positioned our library as a vital hub for device access, digital literacy, and community outreach.