Library Board of Commissioners

LIBRARY BOARD of COMMISSIONERS Wednesday, September 17, 2025, 7:45 am New North End Branch, Fletcher Free Library Minutes Present: Gale Batsimm, Sally Blanchard-O’Brien, Jonathan Chapple-Sokol, Sam Doherty, Samantha Donalds, Patrick Halladay, David Lines, Cate MacLachlan, Wells Shelley, Nick Tatakis, Rebecca Thompson, Mona Tolba. Approval of minutes: from July 16. Patrick Halladay moved, Rebecca Thompson seconded, approved. Approval of agenda: Sally Blanchard-O’Brien moved, Nick Tatakis seconded, approved. Public Forum: No public in attendance. Friends of FFL Report:. • Friends are working on MoU with the City. • Friends’ Annual Meeting will be 9/29 at 4:30 pm at the Main Library. • Friends’ book sale will be 9/27 & 9/28 at the Main Library. • Capital Campaign is moving ahead and has been planning events, including Civic Reads book discussions in partnership with Champlain College and UVM on October 16 and November 4. Director’s Report: • Construction Fest, a partnership with FFL, Dad Guild, Church Street Marketplace, and DPW, sponsored by DR Power Equipment and BOHO Baby, will take place on Saturday 10/4 from 10 am to noon at Church and Main. • Immediately following Construction Fest on 10/4 there will be a check presentation from T-Mobile on the library lawn at 12:15. Commissioners are encouraged to attend. This newly awarded grant supports the historic preservation work. • VLA is organizing an AI Summit in Barre on October 4. • NonFiction Comics Fest will take place at the Library November 15. • Green Mountain Book Festival will bring John Scalzi to FFL on October 18. • Vermont Reads programming around The Light Pirate is being planned for 2026. • Preservation Project is on schedule, follow FFL Facebook page for weekly updates. • New A/V equipment is being installed in the Fletcher Room with a grant from the Vermont Arts Council. • Bringing Security in-house has been beneficial in many ways including having access to building, utilizing shared staff network, and training. Subcommittee update: • Strategic Planning Committee awaits city approval of the 2025-2028 Strategic Directions. It will be brought to PACC and then City Council for review. • Policy Committee has been drafting social media policy. New/Other Business: Next meeting is Wednesday, November 19, 7:45am Recess: Mona Tolba moved, Patrick Halladay seconded, all approved to reconvene at 9 am for presentation by FFL Patron Outreach Specialist. Reconvene: Sam Donalds moved, Sally Blanchard-O’Brien seconded, all approved. Staff Update: David Lines discussed his role as a member of the Howard Street Team embedded at Fletcher Free Library. David has been onsite for six months. A staff survey has been completed to gauge impact of this position. David noted that one helpful action the community can take is to download the phone numbers from the Community Resource pamphlet onto phones. Adjournment: Nick Tatakis moved, Sally Blanchard-O’Brien seconded. Approved.