# library-board-of-trustees — 9 documents, concatenated for reading and search # # This is a CONVENIENCE BUNDLE, not a source. Every document below is # published separately and byte-identically; cite the individual file, # whose path is given in each header, rather than this bundle. # Index of all boards: https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/minutes/INDEX.txt # The town's own scanned original is linked per document. ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2025-06-12-minutes-7260.txt BOARD : library-board-of-trustees DATE : 2025-06-12 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/library-board-of-trustees/2025-06-12-minutes-7260.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_06122025-7260 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Public Library Trustees of Lunenburg Public Library, Meeting Minutes June 12, 2025 Attending: Harry Kubetz, Maia Wentrup, Laura Boussom, Jana-Lee Balish, David Niose, Robin Venezia, Stephanie Trudel, Muir Haman, Glenn McLeod The LPLBT meeting was called to order at 7:21 p.m. by Chairperson Harry Kubetz. Reception for Donna Saiia & Dick Mailloux ● The reception to recognize Dick’s and Donna’s service to the library and town was held on the back patio at the library before our meeting. Public Comment ● No public comment. Agenda Items ● Welcome to new trustees Robin Venezia & Stephanie Trudel ○ The board welcomed the new members. ● Thanks to David Niose for returning for his 1st full term. ○ Harry thanked David for staying for another 3 years ● Board Reorganization ○ Chair - Jana nominated Harry, Maia seconded, vote was unanimous in favor. ○ Vice Chair - Harry nominated David, Jana seconded, David declined. Jana nominated Maia, Harry seconded, vote was unanimous in favor. ○ Secretary - Robin nominated Laura, Harry seconded, vote was unanimous in favor. ○ Treasurer - Harry nominated Robin, Maia seconded, vote was unanimous in favor. ○ Budget Subcommittee - Harry nominated Laura and Jana, Robin seconded, vote was unanimous in favor. ○ Friends Endowment Subcommittee - Harry nominated Jana, Maia seconded, vote was unanimous in favor. ○ Personnel Subcommittee - Maia nominated Jana, Harry seconded. Maia nominated Harry, Jana seconded.Harry nominated Stephanie, Robin seconded. Harry nominated Maia, Jana seconded. Vote for all was unanimous in favor. ○ Policy Subcommittee - Maia nominated David, Harry seconded, Harry nominated Laura, Maia seconded, vote was unanimous in favor. ○ Trust Fund Investment Subcommittee - we no longer need this subcommittee since we have a treasurer. ○ Master Plan Steering Committee Representative - Harry nominated David, Laura seconded, vote was unanimous in favor. ● Approval of Minutes of May 15, 2025 ○ Robin made a motion to accept the minutes of May 15, 2025, as amended, seconded by Harry. The motion passed, with Robin and Stephanie abstaining. ● Acceptance of Women’s Club Gift ○ Passed over. Will do at our next meeting. ● Director’s Report ○ FY2025 Budget Update The fiscal year is 94% completed. Yearly subscriptions will be paid this month from the Library Materials budget. ○ FY2026 Budget Update No update on the town’s FY2026 budget. ===PAGE 2=== The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) historically has provided funding to the states for library services. Due to funding cuts at the federal level, it is likely we will see a $3.5 million shortfall at the state level. This means the MBLC will need to cut support for research databases that, in the past, have been made available to libraries across the state. Starting 7/1/25, statewide research database offerings will be significantly reduced due to this cut in federal funding. We have been able to get a discount on some databases and will be paying for them directly from library funds. MBLC staff is also supported by IMLS funds, and there could be some cuts there. ○ Staff Update Melanie attended the annual MLA conference in May. She attended sessions that covered book challenges and legal frameworks, civic literacy post-election, and updates on current challenges around IMLS funding and cuts. Muir was certified as a Mental Health First Aid respondent. The skills learned will be valuable in referring those in need to resources that will help them. Muir has been meeting with Deb Bookis (Director of Teaching and Learning) and Tara Bastien (STEM teacher) to discuss ongoing collaborations with the schools, and to hopefully resume 5th grade visits to the library. They plan on sharing resources and support around STEM topics, including our circulating STEM kits with the Primary School. Muir will be presenting on the library’s anticipated FY27 needs to the new town Tri-Board in August. This means Muir and Lydia will need to complete the staffing study earlier than they originally planned. A sample for the staffing study was done to track an average week in May and June. Another sample will be done during July to capture our busiest time of year during the Summer Reading Program. Debbie Laffond, our Children’s Librarian, will be retiring this fall. ○ Programs Update The Summer Reading program registration is ongoing. Events are starting 6/23 and will again include a free lunch program. Main Street Bank has donated $9,225 to support the lunch program in June and July. Muir is exploring options to continue the program through August until the start of school. There were a few program cancellations in the past month due to low registration numbers. North End Subaru has committed to another year of support for the monthly music program.. ○ Outreach The staff is assembling a Welcome to Lunenburg and the Library packet of resources. Recent outreach events have included the All Vendor Fair at TCP and Lunenburg Cruise Night. Future events are planned for the Arrive Lunenburg Monthly Event, the Lunenburg Artisan Market, and the Lunenburg Farmers’ Market. ○ Technology Update One Verkada camera failed and has been replaced under warranty. 3D printing as a public service should be ready in the next few months. We are waiting to get more than one person trained on the machines and software. We have purchased some Raspberry Pi devices to support a coding club that is planned for the fall. ○ Building & Maintenance Update The projector screen in the Community Room may be damaged and we are waiting on an assessment from an expert. Facilities protected the pump in the water feature from accidental damage, and it has been running for two weeks. But the pump stopped working today for some reason that is not yet known. ● Trustee Handbook Discussion ○ Muir suggested we have a review of the MBLC Trustee Handbook at our upcoming meetings for the new trustees. ===PAGE 3=== ● Conroy Memorial Garden discussion ○ Robin Venezia, Lydia Henshaw, and family and friends of Bob Conroy gathered in May to begin planting the garden. It is now about half planted. Kevin Boussom will be delivering the sculpture before fall, and the planting can then be finished. ● Room Use Policy Discussion ○ We reviewed the updated Room Use Policy. Harry made a motion to accept the policy as amended. David seconded. The vote was unanimous to accept the policy. ● Library Invested Funds update ○ We do not have the June statement yet. It was at 99K last month. ○ There is approximately 4K in a money market account, 36K in a CD, and 56K in a managed balanced fund. ○ Nicole Groskreutz of Edward Jones will be at our September meeting to review our investments with us. ● Brooks House Update ○ No update. ● Friends Update ○ Update on the 20th anniversary of the library building celebration. ○ The Friends’ annual meeting is 7/26/25 at 9 a.m. There will be a breakfast buffet. ○ The spring book sale made $2,610.50, and the bake sale made $1,011.00. ● Discussion about having a LPL Board of Trustees meeting in August ○ It will be difficult to plan a meeting to work around everyone’s summer plans. ● Board Comments ○ Jana will not be able to attend our September meeting. ○ Glenn forwarded us an article, SJC Decision Guides Open Meeting Law Compliance, and said it would help us understand the latest rulings about how to complete Muir’s review without violating the open meeting law. ● Other ○ None ● Adjourn ○ A motion to adjourn was made by Harry, seconded by Jana. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 9:29 p.m. ● Attached Documents ○ June 2025 Director’s Report ○ June 2025 Children’s Services Trustee Report ○ June 2025 Young Adult Services Report ○ June 2025 Adult Services Department Report ===PAGE 4=== LUNENBURG PUBLIC LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT FY25 Budget Update *Accounts Payable warrant submitted today in the amount of $18,272.90, I will update this spreadsheet Thursday to reflect. FY26 Budget Update No update from last meeting. Town Meeting approved the following Library budget: FY25 Budget Budget Expended % Expended Calendar Completion LIBRARY DIRECTOR SALARY 90,726$ 81,688$ 90% 94% ASST LIBRARY DIRECTOR SALARY 64,023$ 57,286$ 89% LIBRARY STAFF SALARIES 242,984$ 224,125$ 92% BLDG REPAIRS & MTC -$ -$ SEWERAGE DISPOSAL 1,268$ 1,268$ 100% ELECTRICITY CHARGES 22,500$ 13,897$ 62% HEATING CHARGES/NATURAL GAS 18,026$ 11,517$ 64% WATER CHARGES 1,200$ 1,125$ 94% NETWORK MAINTENANCE 500$ 29$ 6% BOOK SERVICE 4,500$ 4,476$ 99% PROGRAMS 15,000$ 13,166$ 88% CONTRACTED SERVICES 2,500$ 732$ 29% CWMARS NETWORK 22,630$ 22,630$ 100% POSTAGE 900$ 642$ 71% OFFICE SUPPLIES 7,000$ 4,213$ 60% CUSTODIAL SUPPLIES 300$ 306$ 102% LIBRARY MATERIAL 94,000$ 45,366$ 48% MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT 4,000$ 1,299$ 32% TOTALS 592,057$ 483,765$ 82% ===PAGE 5=== LUNENBURG PUBLIC LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT Staff Update May 19th, Melanie attended the annual MLA conference. Some valuable sessions included discussion of book challenges and legal frameworks, civic literacy post-election, and updates on the current challenges around IMLS funding and cuts. I was certified as a Mental Health First Aid responded at a workshop on May 20, and the skills learned should prove valuable in referring those in need to resources that will help them and in reducing stigma around mental health challenges. I met with Deb Bookis and Tara Bastien of the schools to discuss ongoing parterships and collaborations. It seems as if these efforts may result in resumption of 5th grade visits! We plan to share resources and support around STEM topics as well. Town Administration will be initiating “Tri-Board” (Select Board, FinComm, and School Board) meetings starting this month. Their charge will be to advise on a comprehensive fiscal plan for the town’s future. This group will ask for more information, earlier about FY27 needs. I will be presenting in August about the library’s anticipated needs. This puts a little more pressure on Lydia and I to complete our staffing study earlier than we thought we might. The Conroy Memorial Garden is about half planted. Around 20 people gathered on May 24, including Robin, Lydia, Susan Conroy, and family and friends. Kevin Boussom is working on the sculpture and anticipates delivery before the fall. North End Subaru has expressed their commitment to another year of support for the Month Music Series, and their intention to support us long-term. Both Library and Jason from North End are appreciative of the partnership. Programs Mother’s Day Planting 2.0 had 38 attendees! Our Enchanted Plants program brought 16, despite competition with the rescheduled Cruise Night. Niki’s Weight Strengthening sessions has seen a dip in attendance. A few program cancellations happened this past month due to low registration numbers, like the Women in Jazz performance, Sew Simple Sessions, movie night, and video game night. You may not have realized it but our magnificent Children’s Librarian Debbie Laffond held her final storytime in May. Her retirement will come in the Fall, and she will not deliver the Fall storytime sessions. Coming up: Summer Reading! Registration is ongoing, events start 6/23, including free summer lunches! Outreach We have been reaching out to potential partners for outreach services, including Arrive Lunenburg and Tri-Town Apartments, and Smokestack Coffee Roasters. We are assembling a Welcome to Lunenburg and the Library packet of resources. • All Vendor Fair at the T.C. Passios building - Saturday, May 10th, 11:00-6:00 ===PAGE 6=== LUNENBURG PUBLIC LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT o Weather started rainy, and ended windy, but this was a positive event with solid attendance. Robin manned the booth with Melody from the Friends and were joined by Melanie and Joslyn from the staff. Chatted with about 15 people, about half were not regular library users. • Lunenburg Cruise Night at T.C Passios Wednesday May 21 POSTPONED • Lunenburg Cruise Night at T.C Passios Wednesday May 28 ~137 interactions, many library users, lots of families and children • Arrive Lunenburg Monthly Event BBQ Afternoon June 13 12-3pm • Lunenburg Artisan Market at 186 Massachusetts Ave: o Sunday, June 8, 9:00-12:00 Quiet day with fewer than 20 interactions, fewer than usual vendors, GRADUATION PARTY competition? o Sunday, July 20, 9:00-12:00 o Sunday, August 31, 9:00-12:00 • Lunenburg Farmers Market at T.C. Passios: o Friday, June 13, 4:00-7:00 o Friday, July 11, 4:00-7:00 o Friday, August 8, 4:00-7:00 o Friday, September 12, 4:00-7:00 ▪ Building & Maintenance Our HVAC system has been blasting cold air lately. Seems ready for summer! Facilities helped protect the water feature pump from accidental damage, and the water has been running for two weeks now! The projector screen may be damaged, we are waiting on an assessment from an expert. ▪ Technology One Verkada camera failed, and it has been replaced. 3D printing as a public service should be ready at some point soon in the next few months. We are really just waiting for an opportunity to get more than one person trained on the machines and software. We have purchased a number of Raspberry Pi devices to support a coding club that is planned for the Fall. ===PAGE 7=== JUNE 2025 Children's Services Trustee Report MAY STATS: ACTIVITY NUMBER / PARTICIPANTS LITTLE LISTENERS STORYTIME 2 59 PRESCHOOL STORY TIME 2 55 MAGIC TREE HOUSE BOOK CLUB KITS 1 6 KIDS COMIC CLUB KITS 1 10 LEGOS AT THE LIBRARY 1 11 AUTHOR STORY TIME 1 15 MOTHER’S DAY PLANTING 1 38 MONTHLY BUDGET REPORT: https://tinyurl.com/ydrjvra8 HIGHLIGHTS FOR MAY: Story times, book clubs, Legos at the Library,& drop-in crafts all are put on pause by mid-May. We use the last few weeks to gear up for Summer Reading 2025 “20,00 Reads under the Sea” making sure we have everything ready and organized for all our wonderful upcoming events! STORY TIME WITH LOCAL AUTHOR STEPHANIE LUCIER Local, beloved elementary teacher Stephanie Lucier came by to share her story based on her cat Binx: Lucky believes that he is the unluckiest cat in the world. He has tried every good luck charm he can think of and still he finds himself involved in silly mishap after mishap. But with the help of his mom and positive thinking, Lucky perseveres and learns that luck is something you get to make for yourself! Ms. Lucier teaches at the Lunenburg Primary School and has a passion for writing. She currently resides in Massachusetts, with her family and her own little "Lucky" named Binx. The children were very excited to have their teacher as a guest reader and really enjoyed the story and accompanying craft. ===PAGE 8=== MOTHER’S DAY PLANTING The kids who had planted seeds in April came back to the library to repot them into larger containers, after decorating them for someone special, to give away for Mother’s Day. They were quite impressed to see how the seeds had grown into small plants! We all worked diligently to make sure the seedlings survived and were happy to send them on to their new homes! CRUISE NIGHT By delaying this event for 1 week, we were able to enjoy a beautiful evening outside on the green space at T C Passios for Cruise Night 2025. The library sponsored a nature scavenger hunt- with bubbles and lollipops as prizes and shared lots of information about our upcoming Summer Reading Program. I also assisted at the Scout table where we offered the kids a chance to make a wind powered balloon car- a very popular craft! All of this was accompanied by millions of bubbles produced by the library's bubble machine! ===PAGE 9=== SENSORY STORY TIME WITH MISS PAM Pam Wockenfuss presented another of her delightful sensory story time programs with the kids and families. This month's story was Sam’s Sandwich by David Pelham. After reading this fun book, Pam gave the children time to experience the story with all of their senses as each was presented with a plastic box, which they were allowed to keep, containing many elements from the story. UPCOMING EVENTS FOR JUNE: • June 2nd- Registration for Summer Reading begins! • June 11th- Author Story Time visit ===PAGE 10=== • June 16th – Last Day of School • June 23rd- programming begins for SRP- “Make it Monday” • June 24th- First week of Lego Bucket Challenges • June 25th- Whimsical Wednesday Lunch and Story Time • June 26th- SRP Kick-Off with Davis Bates Debbie Laffond, Children’s Services Librarian Joslyn Davis, Library Assistant, Children’s Area ===PAGE 11=== Kaitlyn Himmelberger Young Adult Services June 2025 Summary - Programs o Past programs: ▪ TAB Meeting – 3 participants ▪ Homeschool Craft Corner – no participants ▪ Drippy Sky Painting – 4 participants ▪ End-of-School Henna – 18 participants ▪ Video Game Night – Cancelled due to low attendance ▪ TAB volunteer day – 2 participants o Upcoming teen programs: ▪ TAB Meeting ▪ Summer Take & Make Kits ▪ Dungeons and Dragons one-shot ▪ Sewing for Teens Other news/updates - School Visits: I visited two 6th grade classes at the school library in order to promote summer reading. Both visits went well, and I was also able to promote some of the summer events as well. Pam (the school librarian) also passed along Summer Reading info to the ELA teachers for the 7th & 8th grade classes. - Teen Summer Reading: We currently have 13 teens signed up on beanstack (as of 6/9). The first of the summer reading events was the end of school henna and that was a successful program with 18 total participants. Mandy from WickedGoodHenna is great and always draws a crowd. - SHAPIRO group: I met with the director of the SHAPIRO group to discuss the teen summer visits. They will come four days a week, Mon-Thurs, at 1pm. I will have activities for them to participate in throughout the week, including lego challenges, coloring, board games, and a craft activity one day a week. The young adult group might come as well for some classes such as how to apply and interview for jobs etc. - Homeschool Craft Corner/Meet-Up: These events are over for the summer but will be back in the fall. Overall they were regularly attended by 15 – 20 individuals ===PAGE 12=== consistently, which was about 6 families. Attendance did drop off in the late spring once the weather turned nice. - Professional Development: I attended a three-week course on Youth Engagement that was hosted by the Library Journal. It was a thorough course with lots of good ideas and suggestions. o I also took a short course on how to successfully support coworkers during conflicts with patrons. - The TAB group met on Saturday, June 7th in order to put together the Summer take and make kits. At our last meeting we decided to change our meeting times to a little earlier since three of our members are also pages at the library in order to better accommodate their work schedules. We will also be meeting through out the summer. ===PAGE 13=== Trustee Report Adult Services Department June 2025 Summary of Last Month’s Programs & Events ➢ On Saturday May 1st we had 12 people join us for the final session of the music clinic series. Due to their success, we will negotiate continuing the series in the fall of this year. ➢ We hosted a fabulous Floral Design Workshop on Tuesday, May 13th. There were 15 people in attendance, and it was a very engaging group that made the workshop a huge success! ➢ The annual Spring Puzzle Swap that took place on Saturday, May 17th was another successful swap event. We had 52 people visit to exchange 472 tickets for selections from the 656 donated puzzles. ➢ Wednesday May 21st we postponed our Monthly Music Series program with jazz flutist Galen Abdur- Razzaq on Zoom for a tribute to women in jazz performance. We will most likely reschedule in late winter or early spring when virtual programs may be more appealing. ➢ On Friday May 23rd, we hosted an opening reception for the art exhibit: Lunenburg High School AP & Honors Art Thesis Show. That was very well attended, with an estimated 58 people visiting the reception. The exhibit ran May 17th-31st and is something we will continue to do with the school in the coming years. ➢ The library sponsored author Varla Ventura for a unique talk on botanical folklore based on information from her book Enchanted Plants on Wednesday May 28th. There were 16 people at this informative and engaging talk, despite the draw of Cruise Night happening concurrently outside. ➢ On Thursday May 29th the folk-rock duo Creeque Alley returned to perform. One of our most popular, well-received, and enthusiastic performers, we were very excited to welcome them back! There were 25 people enjoying the music and singing along that evening. This Month’s Programs & Events ➢ Local Lunenburg resident and personal crisis coach Pamela Dussault visited on June 4th for a talk on managing caregiver burnout. There were 11 people here for the program and it was very well received, with calls for more support groups and workshops to be held at the library in the future. ➢ On Thursday June 12th we will host a return visit with Mark & Raianne for a folk duo concert as part of the Monthly Music Series. ➢ There will be a summer puzzle race on June 17th. ➢ For a creative workshop, the library will be holding a fused glass pendant making class on June 18th. ➢ And as part of summer reading, on June 25th there will be a “bad art” night for patrons of all ages to come to the library and make creative artwork using odds and ends pieces from the craft supply. It should be a fun event to mark the beginning of summer! ===PAGE 14=== Recurring Program Update ➢ Book clubs are doing well with excellent discussions at our monthly meetings. o The 100 Books Bucket List book club meets every first Tuesday morning. We average 9 attendees at each meeting. o The Brighter Days book club met every second Wednesday evening. It is being rebranded as Between the Bookends book club, where we will read through suggestions from our regular readers instead of working on a set theme for the year. There are now 10 consistent members of that discussion group. ➢ Stitchcraft knitting and crochet group attendance remains steady at 5-6 per week. ➢ The monthly Board Game Brunch programs have been moderately successful. There were no participants in April, but 3 new people for May’s meeting. ➢ Monthly Movie Nights have been dragging with the weather change for spring. The May program had no one attend. We may take a break for the summertime and bring it back for the cooler weather. ➢ The Tuesday Tune-Up Sessions with Niki Holtzman started strong but have already tapered off. These are bi-weekly mini exercise classes for former attendees and new patrons. This is a compromise between the weekly meetings we usually do for a six-week series in fall and winter, and the break we normally take in the busy summer months. We had 11 people in our first class on Tuesday May 6th, canceled the May 20th session, and only had 3 at our June 3rd meeting. Virtual Program Update ➢ There are no virtual programs booked in May or June, but there are several on deck for July and August that we will promote soon. Programming Financial Report ADULT PROGRAMS AS OF 6/9/2025 BUDGET LINE TOTAL % SPENT % ENCUMBERED % REMAINING TOWN $4,500 95% 0% 5% FRIENDS - PROGRAM $3,000 84% 12% 4% FRIENDS - SUPPLIES $500 90% 0% 10% MUSIC SERIES $6,600 76% 9% 15% GRAND TOTAL $14,600 86% 5% 9% Respectfully submitted, Lydia Paolilli ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2025-09-18-agenda-7403.txt BOARD : library-board-of-trustees DATE : 2025-09-18 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/library-board-of-trustees/2025-09-18-agenda-7403.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09182025-7403 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Public Library 1023 Massachusetts Avenue • Lunenburg, MA 01462 • (978) 582-4140 Agenda Lunenburg Public Library Board of September 18, 2025 AGENDA Lunenburg Public Library Board of Trustees Thursday, September 18, 2025 6:45 p.m. Lunenburg Public Library • Public Comments • Agenda Items · Presentation by Edward Jones · Verbal conf. fmTrustees to allow Edward Jones to communicate with Treasurer · Treasurer’s Report · Approval of Minutes of June 12, 2025 · Discussion of thanks to Debbie Laffond whose last working day will be Sat, Oct 4 · Acceptance of gifts from Women’s Club, Nashoba Velley Pride, & Memorial Bench · Director’s Report • FY 2025 Budget Update • FY 2026 Budget Update • Staff Update • Programs Update • Technology Update • Building & Maintenance Update · Master Plan Steering Committee Feedback to Draft Recommendations for 2025 · Trustee Handbook discussion · Conroy Memorial Garden update · Room Use Policy Discussion · Brooks House update / discussion · Friends Update · Book Challenge discussion · Open Meeting Law Discussion (as it applies to ‘reviews’) • Board Comments • Other • Adjourn ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2025-09-18-minutes-7403.txt BOARD : library-board-of-trustees DATE : 2025-09-18 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/library-board-of-trustees/2025-09-18-minutes-7403.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_09182025-7403 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Public Library Trustees of Lunenburg Public Library, Meeting Minutes September 18, 2025 Attending: Harry Kubetz (remote), Maia Wentrup (Acting Chair), Laura Boussom, Robin Venezia, Stephanie Trudel, Muir Haman The LPLBT meeting was called to order at 6:45 p.m. by Acting Chair Maia Wentrup. Public Comment ● Laura explained the Library of Services fundraiser to the Trustees and passed out forms in case anyone had a service they wished to donate. Agenda Items ● Presentation by Edward Jones ○ Nicole Groskreutz of Edward Jones met with the Trustees for our annual review of investments. Total investments as of 9/17/25 was $107,733.20. ○ We are staying with the same investment strategy. ○ Robin requested that funds in CDs automatically roll into a money market fund upon maturity. Nicole will need a letter of authorization for this to happen. ● Verbal confirmation from Trustees to allow Edward Jones to communicate with Treasurer ○ Edward Jones already has permission from Myleen Mallari, Town Treasurer, to talk to Robin, Treasurer of the Trustees. Nothing further needs to be done. ● Treasurer’s Report ○ Robin explained that the Trustees’ Investment Policy needs to be updated to reflect current practices and correct out-of-date information. Due to gains in the Edward Jones managed/balanced account, the current distribution of funds no longer matches the original investment percentages the Library Trustees established on May 18, 2023: ■ 40% principal protection (CD), ■ 2% liquidity, and ■ 58% in a managed/balanced account with Edward Jones. ○ The percentages as of the August 29, 2025 statement were: ■ 34% in a CD, ■ 5% liquidity, and ■ 61% managed/balanced account. ○ Robin will work with Muir to draft an updated investment policy and establish working guidelines on how the funds should be distributed between these three categories. When finished, the draft policy will be presented to the entire Board of Trustees for discussion. ● Approval of Minutes of June 12, 2025 ○ Robin made a motion to accept the minutes of June 12, 2025, as amended, seconded by Stephanie. The motion passed unanimously by roll call vote. ● Discussion of thanks to Debbie Laffond whose last working day will be Sat, Oct 4 ○ We discussed what the Trustees could do to recognize Debbie’s years of service to the library and town. ○ Monday, October 6 has been publicized as a day the public can come by to say goodbye to Debbie. ● Acceptance of gifts from Women’s Club, Nashoba Valley Pride, & Memorial Bench ○ The Lunenburg Women’s Club gave a $100 gift to the library with no restrictions attached. The library can use this money as they see fit. ===PAGE 2=== ○ Nashoba Valley Pride gave a $100 gift to the library to be used for books and/or materials related to LGBTQIA+ topics. ○ Robin made a motion to accept the gifts from the Lunenburg Women’s Club and Nashoba Valley Pride, seconded by Harry. The motion passed unanimously by roll call vote. Muir will send thank you notes for these two donations. ○ A granite bench in memory of Regina McGee will be donated to the library. It will be located near the water feature. A proposal for this project will be available for us next month. ○ Muir is developing a gift policy that he will present to us next month. ● Director’s Report ○ FY2025 Budget Update Muir is waiting for two outstanding invoices. One is from SHI for $2,400, which will be entered under office supplies. The other is from Baker & Taylor for $1,300, and will be paid from library materials. ○ FY2026 Budget Update Electricity is higher than last year. This could be due to the HVAC repairs and now having a fully functioning system. Maia asked if a meter had recently been replaced and could be causing this increase. Muir will check on this. The heat has not been turned on yet. The $70 amount is a minimum monthly charge. Muir will be stopping our current book service in FY27. We need to start thinking about what we will be doing for our next five-year plan. If we hire a consultant for this, it will be budgeted under contracted services. ○ Staff Update The Summer Reading Program was a wild success with more than 400 participants. More than 1,600 free lunches were served, thanks to donations from Main Street Bank and the Friends. Harry will write a thank you note to Main Street Bank. FY25 ended with very positive statistics. For the year, there were 68,459 visitors, 77,543 physical items circulated, and another 34,363 digital circulations. These are all increases over FY24, with the digital circulations increasing by almost 30%. Debbie Laffond, Children’s Librarian, is retiring in October. The celebration of the 20th anniversary of the building will be held throughout the month of October. Penelope Balish has been hired as a Library Page. Muir will be starting interviews for the Children’s Librarian position within the next week. Marabeth Balboni was recognized for excellence at the town employee event in August. Muir presented his anticipated FY27 library budget to the Tri-Board on August 26. Muir participated in the Massachusetts Library Aid Association scholarship selection process. Joslyn and Kaitee have been participating in a number of professional development courses and workshops over the summer and will continue to do so this fall. Joslyn has worked hard to develop a story-time calendar for September through December, and will be delivering those story-times. Kaitee is focusing on customer service and reader’s advisory skills. Muir will be targeting two grants this fall. One is from Emerson Hospital for memory kits to be used at the Memory Cafe at the Lunenburg Adult Activity Center. The other is a Community Foundation grant. The library will be partnering with the LAAC to deliver books to home bound individuals using Meals on Wheels drivers to deliver and pick up books. Muir met with Jodi Fortuna, the new Superintendent of Schools. She is onboard with reviving the 5th grade visits to the library and with other collaborations. ○ Programs Update FY2025 programs brought in nearly 7,000 attendees to 410 programs. August was a quiet month, but once school started activity at the library has increased. ===PAGE 3=== The Teen Room is offering less-structured activities and having a more “come and go” atmosphere rather than scheduled programs. Hopefully this flexibility will increase attendance. The opening event for the 20th Anniversary Celebration is on 10/3, and the closing event will be on 10/24. Scavenger hunts for three different age groups will be held throughout this time. ○ Outreach The library will be participating in the Lunenburg Business Association’s Trunk or Treat event in October. Visits are also planned to Arrive and Tri-Town apartment complexes. Muir is working on outreach at Smokestack Roasters. ○ Technology Update In preparation for the Tri-Board presentation, Muir met with the IT department to discuss our technology replacement schedule and needs. We now have a 5-year replacement schedule and this will be a part of the IT department’s presentations moving forward. Our ongoing hard drive issues have turned out to be a result of improper selection of hardware. Due to our use of Deep Freeze, we will need to upgrade to Enterprise quality SSDs to avoid damage to the hard drives. We upgraded to cloud-based management of Deep Freeze which will save a significant amount of time for Melanie. ○ Building & Maintenance Update DPW patched our parking lot. Muir had a discussion with Chris Ruth, Facilities Manager, about our future capital needs, including sidewalk repairs. Two Friends-funded projects are in the works for the bidding process. They are for a sail shade for the patio and motorized shades in the Main Hall. An order for cafe furniture has been placed with Blockhouse. The cost is $900 over what the Friends allocated. Muir will bring this up at the next Friends’ meeting. The projector screen motor was repaired this summer, and the projector cart is having its caster wheels repaired. The projector should be installed from the ceiling in the Community Room sometime this year. The rainwater garden design is complete, and the garden should be installed this fall. ● Master Plan Steering Committee Feedback to Draft Recommendations for 2025 ○ We will discuss this next month when David is here, since he is our representative to the MPSC. ● Trustee Handbook Discussion ○ Did not discuss. Will put it on next month’s agenda. ● Conroy Memorial Garden discussion ○ Kevin Boussom installed the sculpture, and it has been fastened to the granite. Robin Venezia and volunteers completed the plantings. ○ Muir will ask Bob Conroy’s family if they would like a plaque installed or a dedication ceremony. ● Room Use Policy Discussion ○ The volume of tutors using the quiet study rooms has been steady over the summer, and they have been receptive to the policy changes. ○ Muir would like to add a stipulation that the contact person of any group using the library should live in Lunenburg. ○ Other discussion was had about how to keep room use fair and equitable. ● Brooks House Update ○ The new superintendent may have some interest in the Brooks House. ● Friends Update ○ The annual meeting was in July. Thirteen members were in attendance. ===PAGE 4=== ○ Chris Harlow is now the Assistant Treasurer. All other officers were re-elected to their existing roles. ○ There are 326 active members of the Friends as of 6/30/25. ○ The 20K contingency for the Teen Room reno has been released and will be deposited in a CD. ○ Museum pass use is down and the Friends are having a discussion about opening up pass use to non-Friends. ○ The meeting on 9/8 discussed final plans for the 20th anniversary celebration. ○ The Book and Bake Sale will be Nov. 7 & 8. ● Book Challenge Discussion ○ A patron called and spoke with Muir about a children’s book that concerned them. Muir heard them out and told them they would need to fill out a form for reconsideration if they would like a formal review of the book. ● Open Meeting Law Discussion (as it applies to reviews) ○ Defer to next month when David will be here. ○ Harry will discuss this with Jennifer Warren, the Town Manager, to get her opinion. ● Board Comments ○ None ● Other ○ None ● Adjourn ○ A motion to adjourn was made by Laura, seconded by Stephanie. The motion passed unanimously by roll call vote. The meeting was adjourned at 10:35 p.m. ● Attached Documents ○ September 2025 Director’s Report ○ September 2025 Children’s Services Trustee Report ○ September 2025 Adult Services Department Report ===PAGE 5=== LUNENBURG PUBLIC LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT FY25 Budget Update FY26 Budget Update FY25 Budget Budget Expended % Expended Calendar Completion LIBRARY DIRECTOR SALARY 90,726$ 90,726$ 100% 100% ASST LIBRARY DIRECTOR SALARY 64,023$ 63,731$ 100% LIBRARY STAFF SALARIES 249,142$ 249,570$ 100% BLDG REPAIRS & MTC -$ -$ SEWERAGE DISPOSAL 1,268$ 1,585$ 125% ELECTRICITY CHARGES 19,342$ 19,132$ 99% HEATING CHARGES/NATURAL GAS 15,026$ 13,059$ 87% WATER CHARGES 1,200$ 1,200$ 100% NETWORK MAINTENANCE 500$ 499$ 100% BOOK SERVICE 4,500$ 4,500$ 100% PROGRAMS 15,000$ 15,000$ 100% CONTRACTED SERVICES 2,500$ 2,455$ 98% CWMARS NETWORK 22,630$ 22,630$ 100% POSTAGE 523$ 523$ 100% OFFICE SUPPLIES 7,000$ 4,805$ 69% CUSTODIAL SUPPLIES 306$ 306$ 100% LIBRARY MATERIAL 94,000$ 92,806$ 99% MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT 4,000$ 3,999$ 100% TOTALS 591,686$ 586,526$ 99% FY26 Budget Budget Expended % Expended Calendar Completion LIBRARY DIRECTOR SALARY 97,076$ 13,365$ 14% 21% ASST LIBRARY DIRECTOR SALARY 69,627$ 11,553$ 17% LIBRARY STAFF SALARIES 269,513$ 46,310$ 17% BLDG REPAIRS & MTC SEWERAGE DISPOSAL 1,300$ 0% ELECTRICITY CHARGES 22,500$ 3,733$ 17% HEATING CHARGES/NATURAL GAS 18,500$ 70$ 0% WATER CHARGES 1,150$ 0% NETWORK MAINTENANCE 500$ 20$ 4% BOOK SERVICE 4,500$ 4,476$ 99% PROGRAMS 16,000$ 2,296$ 14% CONTRACTED SERVICES 2,500$ 0% CWMARS NETWORK 20,571$ 20,571$ 100% POSTAGE -$ OFFICE SUPPLIES 8,000$ 171$ 2% CUSTODIAL SUPPLIES 300$ 233$ 78% LIBRARY MATERIAL 96,000$ 5,563$ 6% MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT 4,000$ 0% TOTALS 632,037$ 108,362$ 17% ===PAGE 6=== LUNENBURG PUBLIC LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT Staff Update We are coming off the best statistical Summer ever for the library! Our SRP was a wild success, with more than 400 participants. Starting registrations at the beginning of June also supported the readers who were interested in starting as soon as possible. The majority of registrants signed up during the month of June. We also served more than 1600 lunches during SRP, thanks to Main Street Bank and the Friends! The summer was very busy and staff have been putting in the extra effort to make it a spectacular experience for all who visit the library! FY25 concluded with very positive statistics on the whole. Submitting ARIS in August, we counted 68,459 visitors between July 1 and June 30. 77,543 physical items circulated (for a value of $1.148M), with another 34,363 digital circulations. These are all increases, with the digital circulations jumping almost 30% over FY24. The next two months promise to be quite busy for our staff. Debbie Lafond’s retirement will be in early October. The day for the public to visit her and express their appreciation will be October 6 between 10 and 5. Our celebrations of the 20th Anniversary of opening this facility take place during October. We are engaged in two job searches, Children’s Librarian and a Library Page. We are about to hire for the Library Page position, and we will begin to invite applicants to interview for the Children’s Librarian position late this week or early next week. The Town Manager organized a town employee wide event in August, which continued to support a friendly, collaborative atmosphere for town employees. The Library’s own Marabeth Balboni won recognition for her excellence. I presented to the Tri-Board (Selectboard, School Board, Finance Committee) meeting about Library budget anticipated needs for FY27 and beyond on August 26. The presentation was much more detailed than my usual presentations and much earlier in the year. I also participated in the Massachusetts Library Aid Association scholarship selection process, although I was not able to attend in person this year. We are supporting significant effort to engage in professional development for both Joslyn and Kaitee. They have signed up for a number of courses and workshops over the summer and into the fall. Joslyn has worked really hard to develop a story-time calendar for September-December and will be delivering those story-times. This endeavor will be a hand-on learning experience to help her develop her Children’s Librarian muscles and to help the organization bridge a transition to a new Children’s Librarian. Kaitee is focusing on customer service and reader’s advisory skills. We are also attempting to rebuild our 5th grade visit program, and establish a partnership with the school librarian at the Middle-High School. So far, after school crowds are even bigger than last year! I will be targeting two grants this fall. One will be from Emerson Hospital and the other will be a Community Foundation grant. We will also be introducing at-home delivery for Meals on Wheels participants. If those home-bound individuals would like personally selected library materials, they can join our program and the books will be delivered and returned by the Meals on Wheels drivers. Programs ===PAGE 7=== LUNENBURG PUBLIC LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT FY25 library programs brought in nearly 7,000 attendees at 410 programs. We hope that this upward trend will continue as we focus this year on balancing staff time with engagement at events. Especially with the Children’s Room transition and other anticipated commitments for our wonderful staff, we will have fewer resources to direct toward programming, so this balance is very important. After a brief lull in activity during August, the school year has really blasted off to a quick start. Book groups have grown (11 for both Bookworms and In-Betweeners groups), and our first story time had solid turn out (30) for a musical theme. We are endeavoring to plan and schedule programs a bit further out to help with our workflow and conscientiously selecting events to offer. Our first Paint Night was a booming success: with only 20 available spots, more than 30 people were wait listed. In our Teen Room, we are also offering an activity (less structured and more “come and go” atmosphere than a “program”) three days each week. We are also offering approximately one teen program per week with an immediate goal of increasing program attendance. Our focus here is to develop an expectation around activity and engagement being regularly available for teens, an expectation that has been missing for a few years. Coming up: Around the World Storytime (9/17), Teen Coding Club (starts 9/16), LBA Lunch and Learn with Jay’s Cryptic Creatures (snakes, 9/20), a rebranded “After Hours” video game night (9/26), Monthly Music Series: History and Legends through Song with Sultana (9/24), “Stamped” Discussion and Author Q&A (9/25), Flu Clinic (9/20), and Weight Strengthening with Niki (returns 9/30). Anniversary Celebrations will be an Opening Ceremony on 10/3 and Closing Event with concert on 10/24. Scavenger Hunts for three different age groups will be offered as well. Outreach Outreach has been moderately successful over the summer. Having the Friends participate makes a lot of sense. Moving into the Fall, we are targeting events like LBA’s Trunk or Treat and visits to Arrive and Tri-Town. These are data gathering engagements for us, and could be very useful as a chance to advertise Friends benefits. Smokestack Coffee Roasters is our next target for partnership. We will also be starting at-home delivery partnering with LAAC’s Meals on Wheels as mentioned earlier in the report. ▪ Building & Maintenance Electricity costs are significantly higher this summer than in past years, perhaps a result of a fully functioning HVAC system. DPW patched our parking lot, and I have discussed with Facilities our future capital needs, including repairing sidewalks. Two Friends funded projects are in the works for the bidding process: Sail shade for patio and motorized shades in the Main Hall. Order submitted to Blockhouse for café furniture. Our projector shade motor was repaired early in the summer, and our projector cart is currently receiving some maintenance on its caster wheels. I tightened the wobbly tabletops in the Community Room and all seem to be functioning appropriately at the moment. ===PAGE 8=== LUNENBURG PUBLIC LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT The sculpture for the Robert Conroy Memorial Garden has been delivered. It is even more inspiring and heart-warming than expected. A fantastic result from Kevin Boussom, the artist. The rainwater garden design is complete. The DPW and its contractor should be installing the design this Fall. This project will add a significant new demo space to the property and support education around dealing with storm water runoff for homeowners and for businesses. ▪ Technology As part of our preparation for the Tri-Board presentation, I met with IT department (Casey, Mason, Kara) to discuss our future replacement schedules and needs. Our Technology plan and replacement schedule should be a part of that department’s presentations moving forward. It does seem that our ongoing hard drive issues in our public access computers are a result of improper selection of hardware. Deep Freeze is likely frying the hard drives, and we may need to upgrade to Enterprise quality SSDs to avoid the issue. We upgraded to cloud-based management of Deep Freeze to save significant time for Melanie. ===PAGE 9=== SEPTEMBER 2025 Youth Services Area Trustee Report JUNE/JULY/AUGUST STATS: ACTIVITY NUMBER / PARTICIPANTS SRP Kick-Off Event with Davis Bates 1 22 Make-It-Monday Crafts for Kids 6 142 Lego Bucket Challenge 6 120 Whimsical Wednesdays- Storytime with Lunch 6 109 Water Day 1 52 Pirate Party with Ed the Wizard 1 53 Ice Cream Social 1 118 Oceans of Reptiles- 2 sessions 2 44 Whale Mobile- 4 sessions 4 91 Meet the Bruins Mascot-Blades 1 68 Alpaca Storytime 1 50 Meet and Greet with Dr. Fortuna 1 35 Touch a Truck Event 1 100+ Summer Lunch Program sponsored by Main Street Bank 34 1600 ===PAGE 10=== SRP 2025 STATS FOR CHILDREN’S AREA: Beanstack: 97 readers 1258 hrs. /75,468 mins In-Person: 235 3043 hrs. / 182,580 mins TOTAL: 332 readers 4,301 hrs. / 258,048 mins SRP 2024 STATS FOR CHILDREN’S AREA: Beanstack: 63 readers 1,280 hours/76,828 minutes In-Person: 229 readers 2,420 hours/145,172 minutes Total: 292 readers 222,000 minutes/3,700 hours HIGHLIGHTS FOR JUNE, JULY & AUGUST: • Our Summer Reading Program this year was a great success! As seen above, we increased our numbers in all areas of registration and program attendance. We had 17 reader reward prizes- 90% of the items culled from donations! It's so rewarding to have kids and families embrace and engage in the many activities that we have worked hard to put together! • Starting summer reading registration on June 1st proved to be a good decision. We were able to capture and inform more young families during a time when it was not as busy here in the library. • Joslyn did an excellent job planning and executing the weekly craft sessions for the kids. There was lots of enthusiastic participation in these events! • Weekly lunch and story time started off slowly but definitely gained momentum as we went along. Offering a storytime event in the summer was a request that we have had many times, and it felt appropriate to offer this service. Sitting in the air-conditioned Story Craft Room, eating your delicious, free lunch while listening to a story or two definitely worked for many families. • Our Ice Cream Social was a big hit! We provided the ice cream and invited families to bring their favorite toppings. We had a well-organized set-up and lots of volunteer help which certainly contributed to the success of this event- and who doesn’t love a bowl of yummy ice cream shared with friends on a steamy, hot day! • We hosted a return favorite event this summer- Water Day. Using a couple of hoses, some buckets and sponges, a jar of marbles, and, of course, our lovely water feature- the kids were able to play with water in so many fun ways! This fun event cost $0, required lots of sweat equity and help from an army of volunteers! Kids and water- we couldn’t miss! • A visit with the Whale Mobile was also a star event of the summer. Sitting inside a 40’ whale while someone educates and entertains you about these amazing creatures is an experience that the kids will remember for a long time! ===PAGE 11=== • Another big hit of the summer was an alpaca story time with Kristi Mahoney. Ms Mahoney shared her book Alpacas Make Terrible Librarians (it was agreed that they do) and then we all got to visit with and learn about Jackie Chabot’s alpacas! • Kids and families got to meet Dr Fortuna, our new superintendent, here at the library. Dr. Fortuna hosted a lively story time where she shared a couple of books about starting school and answered questions from the kids and families. She was wonderful- calm, relaxed and friendly! • On a warm, sunny Friday afternoon, kids and families gathered at the DPW building to “touch a truck” So many participants for this great event! We were a presence at this and shared, along with information about our fall activities at the library, temporary truck tattoos, lollipops and lots of goodwill. We are hoping this becomes an annual event! • And, lastly, a huge thank you to Main Street Bank for providing the opportunity to serve free lunches every Monday-Thursday. Many families came by every day to take advantage of this, and we know that for many of these it was fulfilling a need. It felt great to be able to do this for our patrons. UPCOMING EVENTS FOR SEPTEMBER: Fall story times and events return this month- • September 8-29th: Sounds and Music Storytime for 0-3's • September 10-24th- Around the World Storytime for 3’s,4’s 5’s • September 2nd - Kids Comic Club Book Kits available • September 4th-The Bookworms Book Club for ages 8-11 • September 6th- Sensory Story Time with Miss Pam • September 8th- Beginners Book Club for ages 6-8 • September 8th- Homeschoolers Family Meet-Up • September 15th- Homeschoolers Craft Corner Respectfully submitted: Debbie Laffond, Children’s Services Librarian Joslyn Davis, Library Assistant, Children’s Area ===PAGE 12=== Trustee Report Adult Services Department September 2025 Summary of Last Month ➢ This year we had a very busy summer reading program for adults! o The summer reading program ran from June 1st - August 2nd o There were 74 readers who logged 164,016 minutes on Beanstack o We held 7 adult events during the program with a total of 159 attendees ➢ After the summer reading program ended, there were still some successful events in the month of August. o Our puzzle events went well with 14 people at our summer puzzle race, and 56 people stopping by for the summer puzzle swap. o Our music program for the month was a performance by Didgeridoo Down Under, who did a fantastic job educating our audience about Australian ecology, animals, culture and folklore during a very impressive show. The timing was not ideal, but there were still 16 people in attendance who really enjoyed the concert. Recurring Program Updates ➢ Book club attendance dipped a bit with inconsistent summer schedules, but we anticipate getting back to full participation for fall and winter meetings. o 100 Books Bucket List is discussing The Power Broker by Robert Caro at the next meeting on Tuesday October 7th o Between the Bookends is discussing Blowing the Bloody Doors Off by Michael Caine at the next meeting on Wednesday October 8th ➢ Stitchcraft knitting and crochet group also continues growing! We see a minimum of 6 people every Tuesday for the sewing group with a few new faces every so often. ➢ Drop-in tech help with Melanie sees intermittent participation, as expected, but many who stop by find it helpful to have a set time for their technology questions. This is an easy program to continue, and we hope to see patron engagement grow with time. Right now, this program runs bi-weekly on Saturday mornings when Melanie is scheduled to be in the library. ===PAGE 13=== September Programs ➢ Monthly Music Series: Music of McCartney on September 4th at 6:00 pm ➢ Grief & Healing Support Group with Nashoba Associated Boards of Health on September 8th at 4:00 pm ➢ Paint Night: Sunflower Gnome with local artist Christina Senecal on September 12th at 6:00 pm ➢ Great Reads Book Discussion presented as part of a grant awarded by the Massachusetts Center on the Book with free copies of Stamped from the Beginning graphic adaptation given to participants on September 15th at 6:30 pm ➢ VIRTUAL: Democracy Talks: Your Brain on ChatGPT hosted by the Watertown Free Public Library on September 17th at 7:00 pm on Zoom ➢ Jay's Cryptic Creatures: Snake Education “lunch & learn” workshop co-sponsored by the Lunenburg Business Association on September 20th at 11:00 am ➢ History and Legends through Song with Sultana, funded with a local cultural council grant, on September 24th at 6:30 pm ➢ "Stamped from the Beginning": Discussion and Virtual Q&A with Joel Christian Gill, another program presented as part of the MCOTB grant to be offered in conjunction with the earlier book discussion, on September 25th at 6:00 pm ➢ Weight Strengthening Series with Niki Holtzman starts on September 30th at 10:15 am and runs for five weeks ➢ Flu Clinic: Nashoba Associated Boards of Health is open to all on September 30th at 3:00 pm, with appointments recommended through the link on the calendar listing. Programming Financial Report ADULT PROGRAMS AS OF 9/1/2025 BUDGET LINE TOTAL % SPENT % ENCUMBERED % REMAINING TOWN $4,500 17% 32% 51% FRIENDS - PROGRAM $3,000 8% 31% 61% FRIENDS - SUPPLIES $500 10% 0% 90% MUSIC SERIES $6,600 15% 39% 46% GRAND TOTAL $14,600 13% 25% 62% Respectfully submitted, Lydia Paolilli, Assistant Library Director ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2025-10-16-agenda-7451.txt BOARD : library-board-of-trustees DATE : 2025-10-16 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/library-board-of-trustees/2025-10-16-agenda-7451.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10162025-7451 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Public Library 1023 Massachusetts Avenue • Lunenburg, MA 01462 • (978) 582-4140 Agenda Lunenburg Public Library Board of October 16, 2025 AGENDA Lunenburg Public Library Board of Trustees Thursday, October 16, 2025 6:45 p.m. Lunenburg Public Library • Public Comments • Agenda Items · Welcome new Children’s Librarian · Approval of Minutes of September 18, 2025 · Acceptance of Memorial Bench gift · Director’s Report • FY 2025 Budget Update • FY 2026 Budget Update • Staff Update • Programs Update • Outreach Update • Technology Update • Building & Maintenance Update · Master Plan Steering Committee Feedback to Draft Recommendations for 2025 · Trustee Handbook Discussion · Conroy Memorial Garden Update · Policy Discussions – Room Use, Collection Development, Gift, Investment · Brooks House Update / Discussion · Friends Update · Request for Reconsideration of book I am Jazz · Open Meeting Law Discussion (as it applies to Director’s review) • Board Comments • Other • Adjourn ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2025-10-16-minutes-7451.txt BOARD : library-board-of-trustees DATE : 2025-10-16 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/library-board-of-trustees/2025-10-16-minutes-7451.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_10162025-7451 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Public Library Trustees of Lunenburg Public Library, Meeting Minutes October 16, 2025 Attending: Harry Kubetz, Maia Wentrup, Laura Boussom, Robin Venezia, Jana Balish, David Niose, Stephanie Trudel, Muir Haman, Glenn McLeod (Select Board Representative) The LPLBT meeting was called to order at 6:59 p.m. by Chair Harry Kubetz. Public Comment ● None Agenda Items ● Welcome new Children’s Librarian ○ Joslyn Davis, who has been a Library Assistant in the Children’s Room for the past three years, has been promoted to Librarian of Children’s Services. ● Approval of Minutes of September 18, 2025 ○ Robin made a motion to accept the minutes of September 18, 2025, as amended, seconded by Maia. The motion passed with five votes, with David and Jana abstaining. ● Acceptance Memorial Bench gift ○ Laura DeGroot came before the board to present a proposal for the donation of a granite bench in memory of Regina McGee, who passed away in June 2021. Laura and the friends and family of Regina would like the bench to be located on the hillside area of the courtyard of the library. ○ All costs will be covered by the family and friends of Regina McGee. ○ Since the area in which the bench is proposed to be installed is part of the Proctor Memorial Garden, Muir will check with the Proctors to confirm they have no concerns about this proposal. ○ Jana made a motion to accept the proposal as presented, pending an approval from the Proctors, seconded by Stephanie. The motion passed unanimously. ● Director’s Report ○ FY2025 Budget Update There is still one outstanding invoice for 2025 for $1,300 from Baker & Taylor, a book supplier. Baker & Taylor has filed bankruptcy and is in the process of closing. Muir does not know when they will invoice us. ○ FY2026 Budget Update The calendar year is 29% completed and the budget is 29% expended. Electricity is high at 37% expended. Muir has discussed this with Chris Ruth, Facilities Director. The high usage is not due to a meter replacement. Heat was turned on this week. ○ Staff Update Muir began the search to fill a Library Assistant position, which is vacant due to the promotion of Joslyn Davis to Librarian of Children’s Services. Muir and Lydia are working on a Policy and Procedure Handbook for staff to assist them in their interactions with patrons. This will give them guidance to ensure they handle encounters with consistency, whether it is a normal daily interaction or a less-frequent challenging situation. Muir and Lydia are making preparations for covering expected staffing shortages due to three parental leaves expected late 2025 and early 2026. Parental leave can be up to twelve weeks. Muir will be discussing these plans with Jennifer Warren, the Town Manager, in the next few days. Muir is working with Pauline Roy and Deb Goodsell from the Lunenburg Adult Activity Center to submit an application for the Emerson Community Grant. If awarded, this will be used for 10 memory kits which will be listed in our card catalog, but will be kept and circulated by the LAAC. 1 ===PAGE 2=== Muir is also submitting an application for the Bemis Community Fund Grant. If awarded, this will be used for a series of music and storytime programs. ○ Programs Update Joslyn’s Around the World storytimes have been super popular. There were 124 attendees with four sessions held so far. Book Clubs have had steady attendance, as has the Tween D&D program. The last few monthly concerts have been popular. There will be fewer programs offered during the three upcoming parental leaves. The 20th Anniversary Closing Ceremony and Concert will take place on October 24. The Friends’ Book and Bake Sale is November 7 & 8. ○ Outreach Update Upcoming outreach is planned for Shrieks and Krieks at The Club, Literacy Night at the Primary School, Lunenburg Business Association’s Trunk or Treat, and at Baker Brook Apartments. Carla Squier and Michael Smith, Principal and Vice-Principal at the Lunenburg Primary School, would like to partner with the library. The library held a “petting zoo” of the Library of Things at Smokestack Roasters. It did not attract many people. ○ Technology Update The staff’s color printer is being replaced with a surplus printer from the IT Department. Town-wide, the number of standalone printers is being reduced to streamline costs. The library currently has five printers in addition to the copy machine. ○ Building & Maintenance Update The HVAC system was readied for the heating season. The rainwater garden has been planted. Curb cuts will be made after the native grasses are better-established so they don’t wash away. The DPW and the Storm Water Task Force have installed this garden to serve as an educational resource for homeowners who would like to have similar gardens on their properties. In the spring, we will be removing the juniper ground cover in front of the Community Wing to make way for more native plantings. ● Master Plan Steering Committee Feedback to Draft Recommendations for 2025 ○ David is the library’s representative to the MPSC. He said the committee would like our feedback on what we would like to see done with Brook’s House. ○ The superintendent has no interest in the Brook’s House. ○ Muir said he had heard from Anthony Sculimbrene, Chair of the Architectural Preservation District Committee, that turning the Brook’s House into a maker space run by the library would be a great addition to town. We could collaborate with a tech school on renovating the building. ○ We all agreed this would be a great addition to town, however it would be unlikely the voters would approve the costs. The cost of renovation would be around $1 million. There would also be the expense of hiring staff to run the space and maintaining another building. ○ The Trustees do not want to see a private party owning the property. If this happened we would have to give up parking spaces the library currently uses. If a business bought the property, there would be an increase in traffic through our parking lot. This would cause a safety issue, especially in the after-school hours when there are a lot of students walking through the library parking lot. ○ Glenn said that due to the location of the property and the fact that it is surrounded by town property, it was not a good idea for the town to sell it to a private party. ○ Stephanie suggested we should ask big, even if it is not likely we will get what we ask for. We all agreed a maker space would be a wonderful addition to the town. ○ The Trustees instructed David to report to the Master Plan Steering Committee that the Trustees' first preference would be to have the Brook's House demolished, creating open space that would be beneficial to 2 ===PAGE 3=== the community. If the building is not demolished, the Trustees prefer that ownership and control of the structure remain under public authority that recognizes the importance of its use being consistent with the activities of the Library. ● Trustee Handbook Discussion ○ Did not discuss. Will put it on next month’s agenda. ● Conroy Memorial Garden discussion ○ Muir spoke to Bob’s family and asked if they would like a plaque and/or a ceremony dedicating the garden. The family is discussing this and will get back to Muir. ● Policy Discussions - Room Use, Collection Development, Gift, Investment ○ Robin attended a virtual seminar presented by United for Libraries, a division of the American Library Association. The seminar focused on intellectual freedom and related library policies. In the seminar, lawyers discussed that a lack of clear guidelines or phrases such as “at the discretion of” in regards to intellectual freedom opens the library up to accusations of bias. Policies should contain clear guidelines that are consistently applied to all patrons within the library’s defined community. The lawyers also clarified that if an affiliated organization, such as the Friends of Lunenburg Public Library, receives preferential treatment, such as under the Room Use Policy, that exception should be clearly stated in the policy. ○ Room Use Policy - David will review the indemnity section for next month. ○ Collection Development Policy - The policy has been updated to include databases, programs, and displays as library materials. The term “service area” has been changed to “Town of Lunenburg”. David asked if it was legal to limit requests for reconsiderations to three per year per resident. Robin said it was recommended in the seminar to put a limit in your policy. This was to provide a balance between a patron’s right to question specific materials and to ensure that the number of requests for reconsideration submitted do not impede the library’s ability to continue offering its services to the community. Muir will check on this limit with Town Counsel. Harry made a motion to accept the Collection Development Policy as amended, pending approval by Town Counsel, with a second by Maia. The vote was unanimous in favor. ○ Gift Policy will be reviewed at a future meeting. ○ Investment Policy will be reviewed at a future meeting. ● Brooks House Update ○ See Master Planning Steering Committee Feedback. ● Friends Update ○ Nicole Groskreutz from Edward Jones attended the meeting to review the Friends’ investments. ○ The Book & Bake Sale will be November 7 & 8. ○ The Artisan Market will be at the library for the 2nd annual Holiday Fair. The Friends discussed how they could participate. ● Request for Reconsideration of book I Am Jazz ○ A Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials was submitted on 9/26/25. It was for I Am Jazz , a children’s picture book by Jessica Herthel, which tells the true story of a young transgender child. This book is shelved in the Children’s Room in the parenting section. The requester would like the book to be labeled for content, to be shelved where young children can not reach it, and/or shelved in a trans-specific section. ○ The requester did not attend this meeting. ○ The book was made available for the Trustees to read. ○ Muir gathered professional reviews of the book for the Trustees to read. ○ Harry read us the emails that he and Muir received from the requester about this matter. ○ Muir said this book is in more than half of CWMARS libraries and most shelve it in their picture book sections. ○ David said that shelving it in the parenting section can seem to imply that the subject matter is not for children and that it may be more appropriate to shelve it in the picture book section. ○ Muir showed us where the parenting section is and the types of books found there, including books on grief, death, and divorce. 3 ===PAGE 4=== ○ We reviewed library policies relating to this matter. Our Child Safety Policy states that, “Children under the age of twelve (12) must be attended by a caregiver, within sight and attentive to the child.” Our Collection Development Policy states that, “Recognizing that any community contains people with different backgrounds, sensibilities, personalities and interest, the library must strive to provide materials that mirror all elements. No conscious effort will be made to impose one set of religious, political, or moral values in the selection process, thereby avoiding a biased collection.” ○ Based on our discussion of the book, book reviews, library policies, and the diversity of our patrons, the Trustees decided to keep the book I Am Jazz where it is currently shelved. ○ Harry will send an email to the requester letting them know our decision. ● Open Meeting Law Discussion (as it applies to reviews) ○ Harry spoke with Jennifer Warren, Town Manager, to discuss the article, SJC Decision Guides Open Meeting Law Compliance, that Glen gave us in June. This article gave guidelines on how we could complete Muir’s review without breaking the open meeting law. Going forward, Harry will collect our reviews and compile them by himself into a consolidated review. We will then review it at our next regularly scheduled meeting to edit and finalize it. ● Board Comments ○ Robin told us that there were two positive public comments about the library at the Select Board meeting on October 14th. Jack Rabbit complimented the library and the Adult Activity Center on their collaborating on having Meals on Wheels drivers deliver library books to their clients. Tom Alonzo thanked the library, the Trustees, and the Friends for the 20th Anniversary opening ceremony and encouraged people to attend this month’s related activities. ● Other ○ Glenn McLeod commented on the Request for Reconsideration of I Am Jazz . He gave credit to the requester for dealing with the library staff directly about their concerns, rather than posting their concerns on Facebook. He also felt their concern about the location of the book was valid, and their request to have the book labeled for content or shelved on a higher shelf where a child could not reach it was a good solution. ● Adjourn ○ A motion to adjourn was made by Robin, seconded by Jana. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 10:42 p.m. ● Attached Documents ○ October 2025 Director’s Report ○ October 2025 Children’s Services Trustee Report ○ October 2025 Teen Services Report ○ October 2025 Adult Services Department Report 4 ===PAGE 5=== LUNENBURG PUBLIC LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT FY25 Budget Update Payment for computer hardware submitted, but not on the books yet. FY26 Budget Update Staff Update We have hired a new Children’s Librarian. Joslyn Davis has been our Library Assistant in the Children’s Room for the last 3 years almost, and has had the opportunity to learn and experience many tasks under Debbie’s guidance. She has shown remarkable growth during her time thus far, and I expect that she will continue to grow. Her passion and dedication to excellence should help her achieve wondrous things for the library in support of our community. We have begun our search to fill the now vacant Library Assistant position. Lydia and I are working on a Policy and Procedure handbook for staff to assist them in their regular interactions. We have introduced a number of more stringent controls to help support staff during challenging situations, and this handbook will help ensure we approach situations with consistency. She and I are also in preparations for the parental leaves that are on the near horizon. I am hoping to meet with the Town Manager to further discuss these plans in the next few days. I am working with Pauline and Deb at LAAC to submit our Emerson community grant. We will also submit a Bemis Community Fund Grant application. Both are due November 7. FY26 Budget Budget Expended % Expended Calendar Completion LIBRARY DIRECTOR SALARY 97,076$ 27,524$ 28% 29% ASST LIBRARY DIRECTOR SALARY 69,627$ 19,421$ 28% LIBRARY STAFF SALARIES 269,513$ 81,536$ 30% BLDG REPAIRS & MTC SEWERAGE DISPOSAL 1,300$ 0% ELECTRICITY CHARGES 22,500$ 8,412$ 37% HEATING CHARGES/NATURAL GAS 18,500$ 159$ 1% WATER CHARGES 1,150$ 323$ 28% NETWORK MAINTENANCE 500$ 60$ 12% BOOK SERVICE 4,500$ 4,476$ 99% PROGRAMS 16,000$ 3,422$ 21% CONTRACTED SERVICES 2,500$ 0% CWMARS NETWORK 20,571$ 20,571$ 100% POSTAGE -$ OFFICE SUPPLIES 8,000$ 544$ 7% CUSTODIAL SUPPLIES 300$ 233$ 78% LIBRARY MATERIAL 96,000$ 15,050$ 16% MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT 4,000$ 228$ 6% TOTALS 632,037$ 181,958$ 29% ===PAGE 6=== LUNENBURG PUBLIC LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT The Town’s Financial Department has been decimated lately, two resignations and a retirement, so payments are a bit behind. The Town Manager has made every effort to smooth payroll, but she does anticipate a few hiccups while payroll is being processed by a consultant. Programs Joslyn’s Monday Around the World Storytimes have been SUPER popular, 4 session with 124 attendees so far! Books clubs continue to gather steady interest. Tween D&D has been steady, and the last few concerts in our Monthly Music Series have been fantastic in quality and high in attendance. We are entering a transitional period with fewer staff available temporarily and then three parental leaves. The frequency of programming will drop slightly, even though we are making arrangements to keep our momentum carrying forward. Coming up: DIY Halloween Masks for Tweens/Teens 10/16, Homeschool Craft Corner 10/20, Tween D&D 10/22, “Murder in Rockport” Book Talk with Authors 10/22, Anniversary Closing Ceremony and Concert 10/24, Tech Help Drop-In with Melanie 10/25, Storytime Costume Parade 10/27, Book Bedazzling for Adults 10/29, Wildcrafted Apothecary Workshop 11/1, Book Sale 11/7+8, Small Works Exhibit Opens 11/15 Outreach Upcoming outreach: Shrieks and Krieks with The Club 10/18 (3+ staff), Literacy Night at the Primary School 10/22 (2 staff), LBA’s Trunk or Treat 10/25 (2 staff), 10/28 Outreach to Baker Creek apartments. ▪ Building & Maintenance The building HVAC has been receiving attention as we prepare to transition to heating season. The rainwater garden has been planted, with one small snafu that has been remedied. Still waiting on the curb cuts, but native grasses are already germinating! We are making preparations for Spring to removed the juniper ground cover in front of the Community Wing to make way for more native plantings. ▪ Technology Our Staff Color printer will be getting replaced in the next few days. This device is one of the oldest pieces of hardware in the building and has served us well. The IT department had a barely used surplus printer that should work for us. Town-wide, we are reducing the number of standalone printers to streamline costs. The library currently has 5 printers in addition to the copy machine. ===PAGE 7=== OCTOBER 2025 Youth Services Area Trustee Report SEPTEMBER STATS: ACTIVITY NUMBER / PARTICIPANTS Sounds & Music Storytime Ages 0-3 4 124 Sensory Storytime with Pam Wockenfuss 1 9 Beginners Book Club 1 3 Homeschool Family Meet-Up 1 19 Around the World Storytime Ages 3+ 3 41 Homeschool Craft Corner 1 16 Kids Comic Club Kits 1 9 HIGHLIGHTS FOR SEPTEMBER: • Story times have resumed! We’re getting lots of enthusiastic participation and many new families. Joslyn has a well-developed curriculum planned for the two different age groups. For the littlest participants we have Sounds and Music Storytime: “As little ones start to become more aware of their surroundings, they are discovering so many different worlds of sounds. To help them along their noisy adventure, we’ll be examining a new sound theme every week. Depending on the week, there could be everything from interactive stories, silly sounds, instrument play, dancing, crafts and more!” For the older 3-5 group, the theme is Around the World Storytime: a whimsical journey across the globe as we explore vibrant cultures, places, and holidays from around the world. Each week, we’ll set our sights on a new exciting holiday or location - discovering captivating tales and festivities through stories, music, activities, and crafts! • We have 2 new book clubs this year. Joslyn has developed a year of book sharing, The Beginners Book Club, for kids ages 6-8 where they will have an opportunity to: chat about our latest book, share our favorite moments, discover new perspectives, eat some yummy treats/snacks, and do crafts/activities that bring our books to life! It’s a fantastic way for your 1st or 2nd grader to make new friends and discover a love of reading! ===PAGE 8=== The second book club, The Bookworms, is designed to engage kids ages 8-11 who are middle grade readers looking for a place to find new stories and talk about them! Many reading adventures ahead! UPCOMING EVENTS FOR OCTOBER: • October 6-27th: Sounds and Music Storytime for 0-3's • October 1-29th- Around the World Storytime for 3’s,4’s 5’s • October 1st - Kids Comic Club Book Kits available • October 2nd -The Bookworms Book Club for ages 8-11 • October 3rd- Taylor Swift Listening Party • October 4th - Creepy Crawlies with Joys of Nature- 2 sessions • October 6th - Beginners Book Club for ages 6-8 • October 6th - Homeschoolers Family Meet-Up • October 20th- Homeschoolers Craft Corner • October 22nd- Halloween Art Class with Miss Julie • October 27th- Halloween Parade Around Town • October 28th- Legos at the Library Respectfully submitted: Debbie Laffond, Children’s Services Librarian Joslyn Davis, Library Assistant, Children’s Area Dear Muir and Board of Trustees, Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to serve as the Children’s Librarian these past ten years. It has been such a joy to share stories, laughter, and learning with our community’s children. I’m truly grateful for your trust and support. I have always felt the respect and gratitude that you have extended to me as I went along this journey. Martha asked me what my goals were as the Children’s Librarian here at LPL. My number one objective was to help create an environment that made people want to, not just drive by and admire this beautiful building, but to pull into the parking lot and come on in. Mission accomplished, I'd say! Thanks for giving me my dream job and for “having my back” all these years! With appreciation, Miss Debbie ===PAGE 9=== Teen Services Trustee Report 10/16/2025 Past Programs • Sept. 19th - The Page Turners Book Club –2 participants • Sept. 20th - The Great Oreo Guess Off (TAB Event) - 26 participants, 3 TAB members • Sept. 24th - Tween Dungeons and Dragons – 5 participants • Sept. 25th - Virtual Cooking Class – 1 participants • Sept. 26th - After Hours Video Game Night –6 participants • Oct. 2nd - In-Betweeners Book Club – 8 participants • Oct. 3rd - Taylor Swift Listening Party – no participants • Oct. 8th - Tween DnD – 5 participants • Oct. 9th - Virtual Cooking Class – 3 participants • Oct. 14th - TAB Meeting – rescheduled for Oct 21st • Oct. 16th- DIY Halloween Masks – no participants Upcoming Programs • Oct. 17th – The Page Turners Book Club • Oct. 22nd – Tween Dungeons & Dragons • Oct. 23rd – Virtual Cooking Class • Oct. 28th – Coding Club • Nov. 4th – Fall Mosaics • Nov. 5th – Tween Dungeons & Dragons • Nov. 6th – In-Betweeners Book Club • Nov. 13th – Virtual Cooking Class • Nov. 14th – TAB Meeting • Nov. 18th – Needle Felted Art • Nov. 19th – Tween Dungeons & Dragons • Nov. 20th – Sewing for Teens ===PAGE 10=== - After-school activities have been going well with an average of 2 participants per day. There are now snacks available for the participants so there has been a slight bump in participation thanks to that. These activities have also attracted older teens, from 10th to 11th grade, which is usually an age we don’t see participating in teen activities at the library much. - TAB events have slowed down for the fall. Most of the TAB members are usually engaged in sports during this time of year and don’t have time for much else. I believe that TAB activity will pick back next month when most of the sports they play end. - Program participation has averaged at 5 participants per program for the past two months. Video game night and tween dungeons & dragons have so far had the most engagement. The tweens at dungeons & dragons are very excited to have a game to play and several of the parents have told me that they are grateful that Lunenburg is holding such an event regularly. ===PAGE 11=== Trustee Report Adult Services Department October 2025 Summary of Last Month ➢ To start the fall season, we had a return to normal levels of programming, with some great successes marking the month of September. o Our monthly music concert was on September 4th by a regular performer, Dan Kirouac, who has been here a few times with his band Creeque Alley. This concert featured the music of Paul McCartney and was one of our best attended performances this year with 70 people in the audience. o Another success was a Friday Night Paint Night with local artist Tina Senecal on September 12th. We had 22 painters attend and a waitlist that could have filled another class; a big hit for us! o We also participated in the Mass Center for the Book’s statewide read of the graphic adaptation of Stamped from the Beginning: A History of Racist Ideas in America this month, with a book discussion on September 15th attended by 7 people, followed by a virtual interview with the illustrator on September 25th that drew 5 more people. It was a very engaged group with an excellent civil discussion at both events. o At the end of the month, we started our annual fall Weight Strengthening series with Niki Holtzman on September 30th. This 5-week series has 16 registrants with many new faces in attendance. Recurring Program Updates ➢ Each book club had 6 participants in September, but we anticipate more in the fall. o 100 Books Bucket List is discussing The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger at the next meeting on Tuesday November 4th o Between the Bookends is discussing Still Alice by Lisa Genova at the next meeting on Wednesday November 12th ➢ The Stitchcraft knitting and crochet group also continues to grow! We saw 8 people every Tuesday for the sewing group with a few new faces every so often. ➢ Drop-in tech help with Melanie sees intermittent participation, as expected, but many find it helpful to have a set time for their technology questions. This is an easy program to continue, and we hope to see patron engagement grow with time. Right ===PAGE 12=== now, this program runs bi-weekly on Saturday mornings when Melanie is scheduled to be in the library. ===PAGE 13=== October Programs ➢ 20th Anniversary of the Building: Welcome Remarks & LHS Presentation on Friday, October 3rd at 6:00 pm. ➢ Monthly Music Series: Bluegrass Duo: Flynn Cohen & Laura Orshaw on Thursday, October 9th at 6:30 pm. ➢ “HELLO!” — A Student Self-Portrait Exhibition by LMHS Art Department is going up on Friday, October 10th and will run until November 9th. ➢ "Murder in Rockport, Massachusetts" Book Talk with the Authors on Wednesday, October 22nd at 7:00 pm ➢ 20th Anniversary of the Building: Closing Birthday Party on Friday, October 24th at 5:00 pm, with a Jazzukulele Concert that evening at 6:00 pm. ➢ Adult Craft Night: Book Bedazzling on Wednesday, October 29th at 5:30 pm. Programming Financial Report ADULT PROGRAMS AS OF 10/1/2025 BUDGET LINE TOTAL % SPENT % ENCUMBERED % REMAINING TOWN $4,500 24% 40% 36% FRIENDS - PROGRAM $3,000 24% 29% 47% FRIENDS - SUPPLIES $500 10% 0% 90% MUSIC SERIES $6,600 20% 59% 21% GRAND TOTAL $14,600 20% 32% 48% Admin Report Due to my upcoming parental leave in the spring, Muir and I have been working on additional admin/planning projects to assist the library in my temporary absence. Among these projects include a best practice procedural manual for uncommon situations that may arise in the library, updated documentation around tasks like scheduling, payroll, and financial processing, and sketching out potential delegation of responsibilities on staff. These are ongoing projects between myself and the Director to ensure there is adequate planning and coverage before I am unavailable in April. Respectfully submitted, ===PAGE 14=== Lydia Paolilli, Assistant Library Director ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2025-11-20-agenda-7518.txt BOARD : library-board-of-trustees DATE : 2025-11-20 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/library-board-of-trustees/2025-11-20-agenda-7518.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11202025-7518 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Public Library 1023 Massachusetts Avenue • Lunenburg, MA 01462 • (978) 582-4140 Agenda Lunenburg Public Library Board of November 20, 2025 AGENDA Lunenburg Public Library Board of Trustees Thursday, November 20, 2025 6:45 p.m. Lunenburg Public Library • Public Comments • Agenda Items · Approval of Minutes of October 16, 2025 · Director’s Report • FY 2025 Budget Update • FY 2026 Budget Update • Staff Update • Programs Update • Technology Update • Building & Maintenance Update · Trustee Handbook Discussion · Conroy Memorial Garden Update · Policy Discussion(s) – Room Use, Gift, Investment (most likely not all) · Brooks House Update / Discussion · Friends Update · Discussion about Director’s review • Board Comments • Other • Adjourn ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2025-11-20-minutes-7518.txt BOARD : library-board-of-trustees DATE : 2025-11-20 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/library-board-of-trustees/2025-11-20-minutes-7518.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_11202025-7518 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Public Library Trustees of Lunenburg Public Library, Meeting Minutes November 20, 2025 Attending: Harry Kubetz, Maia Wentrup, Laura Boussom, Jana Balish, David Niose, Stephanie Trudel, Muir Haman The LPLBT meeting was called to order at 6:50 p.m. by Chair Harry Kubetz. Public Comment ● None Agenda Items ● Approval of Minutes of October 16, 2025 ○ Maia made a motion to accept the minutes of October 16, 2025, as amended, seconded by Jana. The motion passed unanimously. ● Director’s Report ○ FY2025 Budget Update Muir placed an order for $1,300 in FY25 with Baker & Taylor, a library materials supplier who has since gone out of business. The order did not ship. Muir will need to reorder these materials from another vendor and this expense will now come out of the FY2026 budget. When he spoke to Jennifer Warren, Town Manager, about this, he was told that going forward he can no longer encumber items ordered, but not received before the end of the fiscal year. He said he will need to change how he spends down accounts at the end of the year to make sure he does not lose any funds going forward. ○ FY2026 Budget Update The fiscal year calendar is 39% complete and library funds are 34% expended. ○ Staff Update Muir is interviewing for the open Children’s Room Library Assistant position. There is one interview this week, and potentially three next week. The Teen Librarian resigned and that position is now open. We already have applicants for that position. Staffing is at a critically low level, with two open positions and two upcoming parental leaves. For safety reasons the library needs three staff members on duty for the building to be open fully. We can also function with two staff if we close a section of the library. Muir and Harry discussed a plan with Jennifer Warren that would allow a Trustee or a Friend of the Library to volunteer to fill in when we are short-staffed. She approved of that plan. David asked if volunteers would need a CORI check. Muir will consider that. Muir is also considering temps and a recently retired employee to fill in as needed. During Muir’s parental leave, Julie Belliveau, Assistant Town Manager, will handle any firing, hiring or discipline duties for him. Lydia Paolilli, Assistant Library Director, will cover the rest of Muir’s duties. Muir submitted two grant applications in November. One is for $1,000 from the Bemis Community Fund for five monthly sessions of music and movement storytime with Monument Square Community Music School. The other is for $1,700 from the Emerson Hospital Catherine Gallery Community Grant for memory kits to support the Lunenburg Adult Activity Center’s Memory Cafe program. These kits will be housed at the LAAC and catalogued by the library. ○ Programs Update Due to currently not having a Teen Librarian, we have had to cancel a number of teen programs. Joslyn will fill in to continue one of the teen book clubs. We also have a para-professional from the high school who has volunteered to get a board game club started and is also interested in running a Dungeons & Dragons program. The second annual Winter Artisan Showcase will be held on December 7, with 40 vendors participating. 1 ===PAGE 2=== ○ Outreach Update Melanie held an outreach session at Baker Brook Apartments with 17 residents in attendance. The LBA’s Trunk or Treat event was very well attended, and will be a good event for us to attend in coming years. ○ Technology Update The staff color printer was replaced. The old printer is now in the Children’s Room office to make labels for cataloging. CWMARS has suggested that all libraries with a fiber line work towards CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act) compliance. Discounts will be available for libraries that comply. Complying will require the use of filtering software. The Trustees had questions about what would be blocked, how this will affect access to information, and how much of a discount we would get. Muir will be gathering more information. ○ Building & Maintenance Update The furniture purchased by the Friends is now in our cafe. The old furniture is being offered to other town departments. HVAC settings are still being adjusted to get the temperature in a comfortable range. ● Trustee Handbook Discussion ○ Defer to next meeting. ● Conroy Memorial Garden discussion ○ Susan Conroy has a quote she would like included in the garden. Muir is checking on pricing for engraving the quote in brass, bronze or stone. ● Policy Discussions - Room Use, Gift, Investment (most likely not all) ○ Town Counsel is reviewing the Room Use Policy. ○ The Gift Policy will be reviewed at a future meeting. ○ We will wait for Robin to be in attendance before reviewing the Investment Policy. ● Brooks House Update ○ No update. ● Friends Update ○ The fall book sale brought in $2,340, and the bake sale brought in $1,119 for a total of $3,459. ○ Kate Ravelette, from the Lunenburg Artisan Market, attended the meeting to talk about the 2nd Annual Winter Artisan Showcase. She will be supplying baked goods for the Friends to sell, with all proceeds going to the Friends. She guaranteed a donation of 1K, regardless of how much is earned from the bake sale. ○ The Friends have seen an increase in active members participating and coming to the meetings. ● Discussion about Director’s review ○ The Trustees emailed their individual reviews to Harry. He will make a consolidated review for us to discuss and amend as needed at our December meeting. ● Board Comments ○ None ● Other ○ None ● Adjourn ○ A motion to adjourn was made by Stephanie, seconded by David. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 8:48 p.m. 2 ===PAGE 3=== ● Attached Documents ○ November 2025 Director’s Report ○ November 2025 Children’s Services Trustee Report ○ November 2025 Adult Services Department Report 3 ===PAGE 4=== LUNENBURG PUBLIC LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT Staff Update We are currently interviewing candidates for our open Library Assistant position in the Children’s Room. Our Teen Librarian Kaitee has resigned, and the job has been posted last Thursday. Although we are now at a critically low staffing level, with two parental leaves coming up, we can move to fill our open positions. Lydia and I have met and discussed with the Town Manager and the Assistant Town Manager/HR Director the duties Lydia will perform while I am on leave. They are in negotiations with the Union about a stipend to compensate Lydia for this additional responsibility. I submitted two grant applications in early November. One for $1000 from the Bemis Community Fund for five monthly sessions of music and movement storytime with Monument Square Community Music School. The other grant was from the Emerson Hospital Catherine Gallery Community Grant for materials to support the LAAC’s Memory Café program. There will be 10 memory kits that can circulated to Alzheimer sufferers and their caregivers. These will be housed at the LAAC and catalogued by the library. The Town’s Financial Department continues its transition. The Finance Director who was hired has decided not to stay, and payments will continue to be slow. Two consultants have been tasked to help, one with payroll and one with Accounts Payable. An Assistant Accountant has been hired. STM has a significant update to the SAP. Programs The biggest update in Programming is our Teen calendar. We have had to cancel a number of programs, though we are continuing what we can. One of the two book clubs will likely not continue, but we have serendipitously had a volunteer paraprofessional from the High School who will try to get a board game club off the ground on Thursday afternoons! She is learning about DM’img D&D campaigns and may be able to take over leading that series. Our Teen CPR program has a number of registrations despite being scheduled the weekend after Thanksgiving. Our Anniversary celebration was a big success and the Friends seemed very happy with the result. We have continued to offer the Library of Services fundraiser. Our Small Works 2025 exhibit in hanging and we had almost 30 attendees at the opening. The Wildcrafted Apothecary Event was also remarkably successful with 25 attendees. This year’s Fall Puzzle Swap had 56 attendees, but more than 760 puzzles were dropped off (a record high). Our bluegrass duo drew 51 attendees, and our weekly Stitchcraft group has create more than 50 hats to donate to the local Meaghan’s Hats charity! Holiday programs are about to hit. The Winter Artisan showcase will be December 7th. 40 vendors signed up within minutes of the registration being opened. 10 vendors will provide an indoor “Farmer’s Market” in the Teen Room during the event. “The Dirty Martinis” will perform afterward. They have inquired about continuing a regular market during the winter season, too. The First Thursday of December will be our annual craft to follow the tree lighting in the Town center. And December 13th will be the family gingerbread house event that has been popular the last few years. ===PAGE 5=== LUNENBURG PUBLIC LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT Coming up: 11/20 Board Game Club, 11/29 CPR for Teens, 11/22 The Dangerous Art of Chainsaw Sculpture, 12/4 DIY Ugly Sweaters, 12/7 Winter Showcase, 12/13 Gingerbread Houses. Outreach Our presentation at Baker Creek received very positive review and Melanie was invited back to talk to them again. She had 17 interested and curious residents in attendance on 10/28. Trunk or Treat was AMAZING. We saw several hundred children and families, and this event with the LBA is definitely something we should do every year. Similarly, Literacy Night was a great event to be a part of with about 50 interactions. Most were library users we know very well, we did sign up 8 people for library cards. ▪ Building & Maintenance The furniture purchased by the Friends for our Café has arrived and looks fantastic. On the whole, it brightens and opens up our café area. We are still tuning in the HVAC settings to get the temps in the range we want. ▪ Technology Our Staff Color printer was replaced and now resides in the Children’s Room Office to make labels for cataloging. The new printer is fantastic, so far. CWMARS has suggested that all libraries with a fiber line work towards CIPA compliance. With the developments over the years with filtering software, this seems like a reasonable course to enable some significant discounts. ===PAGE 6=== November 2025 Children's Services Trustee Report Stats (Oct 1- November 18th) Activity Participants Kids Comic Club Kits 10 Around the World Story Time (7 meetings) 103 Bookworms Book Club (2 meetings) 10 Creepy Crawlies w/ The Joys of Nature 28 Sounds and Music Story Time (5 meetings) 162 Beginners Book Club (2 meetings) 6 Halloween Painting w/ Julie 18 Halloween Costume Parade 60 LEGO Club 3 Wampanoag Pottery w/ Plimoth Patuxet Museums 33 Patron Quote: “I’ve brought my kids to many libraries, but this is the library that gave them a love of reading! They never used to read! And whenever we try to go to a new library they always ask to come back here instead.” Budget Stats: ===PAGE 7=== Highlights: LBA TRUNK OR TREAT: Muir and I (with the help of Sienne, Wren, Torben, and Maisie) were able to interact with hundreds of Lunenburg folks. While there were a lot of familiar faces, we also had plenty of new interests among families. PRESCHOOL STORYTIME: Despite losing the early learning center kids due to their relocation, there’s been a steady growth of attendees in our Around the World Preschool storytime. We started at 10 and are now getting around 22 each time! CREEPY CRAWLIES: The Joys of Nature returned for a spooky live animal program and brought some extra scary snakes (at least to me) and an adorable tarantula – much to the delight of the kids. BOOKWORMS BOOK CLUB: Five kids might not seem like a lot, but to have a steady kid’s book club of enthusiastic and friendly voices is truly a monthly delight. HALLOWEEN COSTUME PARADE: Our annual tradition was yet again a big hit! We had perfect weather, a generous police escort for safety, tons of cute costumes (from the kids and town helpers alike), and (of course) a LOT of candy. ===PAGE 8=== WAMPANOAG POTTERY: Well-attended, informative, and hands-on! Tim from Plimoth Patuxet Museums was great with the kids and made sure they would all go home with something they were proud of! We received many comments from parents praising the program – both for its execution and its uniqueness. Upcoming Events: • Nov 1 - 29: Kids Comic Club Kits Pickup • Nov 19: Around the World Storytime • Nov 24: Sounds and Music Storytime • Nov 25: LEGO Club • Dec 1: Sounds and Music Storytime • Dec 1-30: Kids Comic Club Kits Pickup • Dec 3: Around the World Storytime • Dec 4: Bookworms Book Club • Dec 4: Annual Ornament Night • Dec 8: Sounds and Music Storytime • Dec 8: Beginners Book Club • Dec 10: Around the World Storytime • Dec 13: Family Gingerbread Houses • Dec 15: Sounds and Music Storytime • Dec 15: Homeschool Family Craft • Dec 16: Drop-In Craft: Paper Roll Elves Joslyn Davis, Children’s Services Librarian ===PAGE 9=== Trustee Report Adult Services Department November 2025 Summary of Last Month ➢ The main highlight of October was a fantastic showing of support and engagement for our Library Building’s 20th Anniversary celebrations. Additionally, we had some great single programs to round out a successful month of events at the library! o On October 3rd we had a welcoming event for the month-long celebration of the library building being 20 years old. This event included remarks from committee members, Friends, and the Director, as well as a presentation by Bill Tyler of the historical society on the history of libraries in town. Donuts was donated by Hollis Hills Farm and cider was donated by Lanni Orchards. There were an estimated 50 people at this opening event. o Our monthly music concert was on October 9th by bluegrass duo Flynn Cohen and Laura Orshaw. This stop was part of their local tour for bluegrass concerts, and we drew an impressive 51 people for their show here. o Two authors of a true crime book based in Rockport came on October 22nd to discuss their book and sell copies. We had 8 very engaged attendees come for a cozy book talk that evening. o At the end of the month, we closed the anniversary celebrations with two events: a family-oriented “birthday party” for the library with a balloon twister, face painting and temporary tattoos; and a jazzukulele performance sponsored by the local community council. Both were major successes with a combined estimated 75 people at the library for the evening. Recurring Program Updates ➢ Each book club had 8 participants in October. o 100 Books Bucket List is discussing The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen at the next meeting on Tuesday December 2nd o Between the Bookends is discussing The Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher at the next meeting on Wednesday December 10th ➢ The Stitchcraft knitting and crochet group also remains steady. The group worked on making hats and winterwear for a charity group called Meaghan’s Hats that donates materials to schools, shelters and unhoused individuals in Central ===PAGE 10=== Massachusetts. ➢ Drop-in tech help with Melanie sees intermittent participation, as we expected, but many find it helpful to have a set time for their technology questions. This is an easy program to continue, and we hope to see patron engagement grow with time. Right now, this program runs bi-weekly on Saturday mornings when Melanie is scheduled to be in the library. ===PAGE 11=== November Programs ➢ The wildcrafted apothecary workshop with Grace Krupkowski was held on Saturday, November 1st. ➢ On Wednesday, November 5th, we held a fall puzzle race. ➢ We partnered with the Association of Financial Planners for a talk ➢ The annual fall puzzle swap followed the puzzle race on Saturday, November 15th. ➢ Our monthly music series concert for November will be on Wednesday, November 19th when the Asphodel Pagan Choir performs. ➢ Wrapping up the month will be a talk with a chainsaw artist on Saturday, November 22nd where he will explain his journey in the field of chainsaw artistry. Programming Financial Report ADULT PROGRAMS AS OF 11/1/2025 BUDGET LINE TOTAL % SPENT % ENCUMBERED % REMAINING TOWN $4,500 27% 59% 14% FRIENDS - PROGRAM $3,000 36% 25% 39% FRIENDS - SUPPLIES $500 10% 0% 90% MUSIC SERIES $6,600 30% 48% 22% GRAND TOTAL $14,600 26% 33% 41% Respectfully submitted, Lydia Paolilli, Assistant Library Director ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2025-12-18-agenda-7563.txt BOARD : library-board-of-trustees DATE : 2025-12-18 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/library-board-of-trustees/2025-12-18-agenda-7563.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_12182025-7563 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Public Library 1023 Massachusetts Avenue • Lunenburg, MA 01462 • (978) 582-4140 Agenda Lunenburg Public Library Board of December 18, 2025 AGENDA Lunenburg Public Library Board of Trustees Thursday, December 18, 2025 6:45 p.m. Lunenburg Public Library • Public Comments • Agenda Items · Approval of Minutes of November 20, 2025 · Director’s Report • FY 2025 Budget Update • FY 2026 Budget Update • Staff Update • Programs Update • Technology Update • Building & Maintenance Update · Trustee Handbook Discussion · Conroy Memorial Garden Update · Policy Discussion(s) – Room Use, Gift, Investment · Brooks House Update / Discussion · Friends Update · Discussion and Finalization of Director’s Review • Board Comments • Other • Adjourn ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2025-12-22-agenda-7566.txt BOARD : library-board-of-trustees DATE : 2025-12-22 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/library-board-of-trustees/2025-12-22-agenda-7566.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_12222025-7566 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Public Library 1023 Massachusetts Avenue • Lunenburg, MA 01462 • (978) 582-4140 Agenda Lunenburg Public Library Board of December 22, 2025 AGENDA Lunenburg Public Library Board of Trustees Monday, December 22, 2025 6:45 p.m. Lunenburg Public Library • Public Comments • Agenda Items · Approval of Minutes of November 20, 2025 · Director’s Report • FY 2025 Budget Update • FY 2026 Budget Update • Staff Update • Programs Update • Technology Update • Building & Maintenance Update · Trustee Handbook Discussion · Conroy Memorial Garden Update · Policy Discussion(s) – Room Use, Gift, Investment · Brooks House Update / Discussion · Friends Update · Discussion and Finalization of Director’s Review • Board Comments • Other • Adjourn