The evening of 2023-06-26 was a meeting of the Mendon Public Library Board of Trustee meeting.
Today (or tomorrow, there was some uncertainty) is the 12 year anniversary of the library being in it’s new building. Been a while. I remember one meeting of this group at the previous building where they took a ‘field trip’ to look over the site for the new library. Details change with time, but the job continues.
It’s that time again, the Summer Reading Program has started back up. This years theme looks to be ‘All Together Now’. Either way, you’ve got an excuse to read more (as if one is needed), and more activities to do.
And if you need another reason to bring your youngsters in, there are new toys and such in the childrens area. The kitchen appears to be very popular. Sounds like there was a donation (or similar) to cover the expenses.
There was an amusing hiccup with phone finances. A couple years back, the Library moved to a new phone service. For whatever reason, they recently received a refund from that service. Which was beneficial, as it roughly matched some extra expenses with the current phone service. I’m sure there was a story on both sides of that equation, but all’s well that ends well.
The Library is working on putting together their budget for next year, although the discussion on that wasn’t very interested. But it drifted in interesting tangents.
They are looking into having a second certified librarian, to function as an assistant librarian. Not for this next year, thus not a direct budget impact now. But down the road, as part of longer term plans. I got the impression they want to train up someone already on staff, but there are concerns around navigating the civil service requirements. Which may well be part of why this is not part of this years plan.
The book drop at Mendon Meadows may be going away. Came up as there is a cost to having it there. Not massive, but it looks to average out to ~$1.25 for each book returned this way. I would not be surprised if this gets removed before the year is out. To soften the blow, it may coincide with ending late fines. While those topics are not directly related, I get the impression ending fines was being looked at anyways. It was even said that, if there are no late fees, there is no rush to return the books. They can be returned to the library when new books are being checked out. We’ll see how this plays out, there was no commitment either way tonight.
Due to scheduling issues, the next meeting of this group was moved to July 24. This will likely be formally published soon enough. While I am generally a fan of sticking to patterns, I also don’t get to most of this Board’s meetings when they do. Much like tonight, it was off pattern and I could attend.
And those are my Observations From Audience Land for the June 26, 2023 meeting of the Mendon Public Library Board of Trustees.
Link to agenda on Library website until they update it, losing the past.
As an aside, the Town of Mendon had a special meeting at the same time as this one. From what Cynthia (Town Board) said when she arrived at this meeting, the Town’s primary discussion was around how to make the Splash Park less slippery when wet. As I wasn’t there, I can’t really say more. But I will point out a recording is available here.