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02/14/2024 - MinutesTigard Public Library Board Minutes – February 14, 2024 TIGARD PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES – Wednesday, February 14, 2024 – Page 1 of 5 1. BOARD MEETING A. At 6:30 p.m. Board Chair Ristau called the Tigard Public Library Board Meeting to order. B. Chair Ristau called the roll. C. Call to Board and Staff for Non-Agenda Items – Board Member Stoffel asked to add the topic of the environment to the agenda. Chair Ristau confirmed we would add this under Non-Agenda Items. 2. PUBLIC COMMENT A. Follow-up to Previous Public Comment: None B. Public Comment – Written: None C. Public Comment – In Person: None D. Public Comment – Phone-in or Video: None 3. ICEBREAKER Library Director Bernard asked everyone in attendance to share something they’re grateful for. 4. APPROVE MINUTES A. Board Member Bogert moved to approve the Library Board minutes for the January 10, 2024 meeting and Board Member Coleman seconded the motion. Board Chair Ristau conducted a vote and the motion passed unanimously. Present Absent Helen Allen  Mary Bogert  Candice Coleman  Lili Diaz (Alternate)  Bart Hawkins  Rose Hulett (Vice-Chair)  Pam Michael (Alternate)  Kate Ristau (Chair)  Jenny Stoffel  TIGARD PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES – Wednesday, February 14, 2024 – Page 2 of 5 5. MEET THE TEAM Our “Meet the Team” guest was Amber Bell (she/her or they/them), Readers Services Manager. Manager Bell joined our team as an intern in 2011, then worked in Youth Services, and was the Youth Services Supervisor for several years. In 2019, Manager Bell was promoted to Readers Services Manager. Manager Bell shared that she loves everything about her job, and especially loves working with families. One of her favorite sounds is hearing babies babble as they learn language! In her current role, Manager Bell does a lot of project management and loves to look at the big picture. One of her more visible recent projects was our current strategic plan. Manager Bell also leads our Innovation Team, which is designed to bring together groups of people from different divisions in the library where we can tackle projects that impact more than one group. With the Innovation Team, Manager Bell is helping to refresh the outdated Technology Room on the second floor. This project meets two specific aspects of the strategic plan: an updated space will help to bridge the gap to technology access; and it will make the library and grounds more accessible, specifically expanding access to meeting spaces. Manager Bell shared what our current patron needs are for reservable meeting space, creative tools, and being able to explore different types of technology. We’ve selected new furniture, painted the walls, and added acoustic panels. We’ll add small equipment like a Cricut first, and then consider carefully what to add next and when. Board Member Bogert asked about what a Cricut machine is; it is a computer-controlled cutting machine. Councilor Singh asked about how much community demand there would be for the space because he has heard from community members about the need for spaces like this one, and Manager Bell confirmed that for many years, we’ve fielded calls from patrons who want a reservable small to mid-sized space. Board Member Diaz asked about the flexible furniture, and Manager Bell described the four 6’ tables with locking wheels that fold up and nest together to make room for other uses of the space. The chairs also nest and are on wheels; to support different body sizes, some have armrests, and some don’t. We also have counters that are locking cabinets for creative lab-type uses with secure storage. 6. POLICY REVIEW A. LIBRARY POLICY: Meeting Room Policy (New Policy) Director Bernard opened the topic of discussion with a brief overview of how library policies support access to services and spaces for all community members. She referred to last month’s TIGARD PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES – Wednesday, February 14, 2024 – Page 3 of 5 discussion of the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights and spoke about the public library’s role as a limited public forum. Manager Bell explained that we currently have a study room policy, but because we’re getting ready to open up a whole new space that’s a meeting room and not just a study room, we needed to expand that policy for what we can and can’t do, and what the appropriate uses of the space are. When we consider writing a new policy or updating our policy, we look at our policies, and other libraries’ policies, especially those of similar sizes and urban areas. We also look to the American Library Association (ALA), which has very clear guidance so far as meeting rooms go. We look at our existing policies and procedures as well as our strategic priorities as stated in our strategic plan. Meeting rooms are one of those spaces that are accessible to everyone who comes to use the library. Just like our collections, which have a broad range of viewpoints, we’re providing things for as many people as possible, while acknowledging that not everything is for everybody. In the process of developing a policy that makes sense for our library, we did a lot of research, collaborated with our city attorney, received and considered input from employees who work on the second-floor reference desk, and refined the final product as a library leadership team. Board Member Coleman thanked the Library team for developing this policy, as she personally has requested a larger reservable space innumerable times over the past ten years. What followed was a discussion of specific uses of the space based on the proposed new policy, including questions about whether the space could be reserved for private events, what would happen in case of disruptive behavior in the space, and what are appropriate ways to use the space. We discussed our Library Use Policy, which all visitors must follow, and Board Member Hawkins raised a question about what “courtesy and respect” means in our policy, because it looks different in different cultures. Director Bernard agreed that future updates to our Library Use Policy need to further define the behavior that we mean when we use this phrase. Board Member Coleman moved to adopt the new Meeting Room Policy as written and the motion was seconded by Board Member Stoffel. Chair Ristau conducted a vote and the motion passed unanimously. Yes No Mary Bogert  Candice Coleman  Bart Hawkins  Kate Ristau  Jenny Stoffel  TIGARD PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES – Wednesday, February 14, 2024 – Page 4 of 5 B. ALA POLICY: Public Library Trustee Ethics Official Statement (Last Reviewed: 1/11/2023) Director Bernard explained the purpose of the Public Library Trustee Ethics Official Statement, and asked if there were any questions. Board Member Hawkins moved to re-endorse and re-affirm the Public Library Trustee Ethics Official Statement and the motion was seconded by Board Member Bogert. Chair Ristau conducted a vote and the motion passed unanimously. 7. DISCUSSION AND PREPARATION FOR JOINT CITY COUNCIL/LIBRARY BOARD MEETING Board members discussed how they would prepare and present to City Council on April 9, 2024. They requested statistics from the Library team, which Director Bernard said she would provide. 8. DIRECTOR’S REPORT Director Bernard abbreviated her report due to the meeting running long. She shared how the Library team navigated the ice storms in January. The week-long building closure was the longest the building had been closed since earlier days of COVID. Our Circulation supervisors, lead workers, and manager, a/k/a Circ SLaM, were the City of Tigard’s Employees of the Month for February! Tara Morissette, Laurie Calvert, Stephen Hughes, Jaime Hutchison, and Cheryl Cyr received special accolades for their proactive problem-solving during the ice storms. Director Bernard also shared that despite the building closure, 270 patrons registered for new cards, making this the second-highest new card sign-up since September 2023, which is National Library Card Sign-Up Month. Board Member Michael asked how many currently registered cardholders live in Tigard. Director Bernard will bring that information to the March meeting. 9. NON-AGENDA ITEMS The Environment (Board Member Stoffel): Earlier this month, Climate Action Tigard met at the Library to give a presentation and share a report on carbon-neutral governmental buildings and Yes No Mary Bogert  Candice Coleman  Bart Hawkins  Kate Ristau  Jenny Stoffel  TIGARD PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES – Wednesday, February 14, 2024 – Page 5 of 5 other measures. Board Member Stoffel wanted to offer support to Director Bernard for the work being done by the Library team to address climate change. Board Member Stoffel wondered if it would be appropriate for the Board to issue a statement of support. Director Bernard suggested that the first step be for her to share more information with the Board about what the Library is doing to support the City of Tigard’s climate resiliency goal, and offered to add this to future director’s reports. Board Member Stoffel agreed. 10. ADJOURNMENT At 7:50 p.m. Chair Ristau adjourned the meeting.