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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/13/2025 - Minutes e Ti and Public Librar Member of g y Washington County Serving the public since 1963 Cooperative Library Services Tigard Public Library Board Minutes—August 13, 2025 1. BOARD MEETING A. At 6:30 p.m. Vice-Chair Stoffel called the Tigard Public Library Board Meeting to order. B. Vice-Chair Stoffel called the roll. Present Absent Helen Allen ✓(virtual) Mary Bogert V Candice Coleman ✓(excused) Lili Diaz ✓(virtual) Pam Michael ✓ Kate Ristau (Chair) V(virtual) Jenny Stoffel (Vice-Chair) ✓ Jessica Lin (Alternate) ✓ Abe Manion (Alternate) ✓ C. Call to Board and Staff for Non-Agenda Items— None. 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. APPROVE MINUTES A. Board Member Michael moved to approve the Library Board minutes for the July 09, 2025 meeting. The motion was seconded by Board Member Bogert, and the motion passed unanimously. 4. ICEBREAKER Library Director Bernard asked everyone in attendance the icebreaker question: If you could be a social media influencer, what would your channel be about? 5. MEET THE TEAM TIGARD PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES —Wednesday, August 13, 2025— Page 1 of 5 13500 SW Hall Boulevard, Tigard, Oregon 97223 • 503.684.6537•TPLcommentsntigard-or.gov•www.tigard-or.gov/Ilbrary Our "Meet the Team" guest was Ann-Marie Anderson, Adult Services Librarian, Readers Services division. Ann-Marie shared that she has been with the Tigard Public Library for 21 years and collects fiction here. What she enjoys most about working here is connecting patrons with library resources. She especially enjoys readers advisory, which is a complex skill devoted to connecting patrons with books and audio books that match their needs and interests. Recently she connected a patron who has a reading disability with the Oregon Talking Book & Braille Library. Library Director Bernard mentioned that Ann-Marie receives a lot of positive feedback from patrons for her expertise in providing readers advisory services. Ann-Marie told the Board about a recent project she initiated and has been working on to improve accessibility for the community to public technology at the library. With leadership support, she conducted research and attended professional development courses that helped her apply for and acquire a Library Services and Technology Act grant to fund the project. The project is dubbed Improving Technology Accessibility for Disabled Patrons. Part of what she discovered is that 11.5% of the Tigard community (more than 1 in 10) has a disability. Ann- Marie provided the Board with several specific examples of how grant funded practical solutions to improve accessibility are now being applied at the library with Universal Design principles in mind. One example is that a chair has now been placed at the lower level of the adult services reference desk. This allows for anyone who needs to sit for various reasons better access to reference services. Board Member Lin asked if the accessibility software [Fusion] is being installed on the public computers now. Ann-Marie answered that it will be installed once the IT department updates the computers. In the meantime, Ann-Marie is helping to write user documentation for staff and patrons. Staff will practice with it before rolling it out to the public. Board Member Lin followed up with a question about tutorials being provided. Ann-Marie said that the grant allows the library to provide 1:1 tutorials to patrons. Board Chair Ristau added that she liked how the research guided the very practical changes. Library Director Bernard responded that when we pay attention to improving spaces/resources for patrons with disabilities, it improves spaces/resources for everyone. She also added that thinking about ways many different patrons are using the library is fundamental to the library's strategic plan by making library spaces and resources accessible to more members of our community. 6. POLICY REVIEW A. ALA POLICY: Freedom to View Statement (Last Reviewed: August 10, 2022) I. Director Bernard reminded the Board that we can't modify an ALA policy and that we are working to standardize the header and footer of all our policies. The only change to this policy is the change from "Tigard Library Board" to "Tigard Public TIGARD PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES —Wednesday, August 13, 2025— Page 2 of 5 13500 SW Hall Boulevard, Tigard, Oregon 97223 • 503.684.6537•TPLcommentsatigard-or.gov•www.tigard-or.gov/library Library Board". She explained that the Freedom to View Statement is a companion to the ALA Freedom to Read policy and that it supports patron access and confidentiality in watching what they choose, protected by the First Amendment. II. Board Member Bogert moved to endorse and reaffirm the policy. Board Member Michael seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 7. DIRECTOR'S REPORT • Public Works' roofing replacement and HVAC upgrade projects continue to move forward. The roofing replacement contract proposal will go before City Council for approval on August 12, after which we expect to receive more detailed project information, if all goes well. Similarly, we hope to see more detailed information about the HVAC project in the last week of August. We anticipate significant service disruptions in the building and on library grounds due to these projects and will update everyone with information as it is available. Actions you can expect to see next: o The drive-up book drop was relocated Monday, August 2. o A graveled staging area for contractors will be prepared in the book drop loop, and fencing will be erected around the area in mid-August. • Redesigning Library Spaces: Adult Services subcommittees began meeting to create recommendations on various aspects of the second-floor revamp project including accessibility, public technology, zones, and collection space needs. In August, the Adult Services Team and a few volunteers will be getting input from the community on what they think would make the second floor a great place for adults to spend time. • Jessica Beavers, Senior Library Assistant, and Hilary Robbeloth, Acquisitions Supervisor, joined our Technical Services team in July. • The City recently approved a budget request to reallocate 0.4 FTE (16 hours) from the vacant Aide position to the Assistant classification. As a result, Piper and Sol's hours were increased. • Rhonda Hudson (Library Assistant in Circulation) will be moving out of the area to be closer to family. Her last day will be August 19. • Phone interviews for the Library Assistant position will be held mid-September. • The 2025 Summer Teen Program launched with nine participants ages 12-17. • We onboarded 42 new volunteers this April through July. Our total volunteer hours for July 2025 was 570! • Many library teammates met with or attended info. sessions with McGrath and HR to prepare for the classification and compensation study. • The Disability Pride Month display was a huge success, we passed out over 300 buttons and almost 300 coloring and info sheets. Many caregivers were overheard explaining TIGARD PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES —Wednesday, August 13, 2025— Page 3 of 5 13500 SW Hall Boulevard, Tigard, Oregon 97223 • 503.684.6537•TPLcommentsatigard-or.gov•www.tigard-or.gov/library disability pride to their children, including invisible disabilities using family members as examples. • Total Circulations (77,291) and AMH check-ins (61,649) are the highest number of circs and check-ins since August of 2024. The total number of visitors for the month of July (22,788) was our second highest number of visitors since before the pandemic. • 120 people of all ages enjoyed traditional songs, dances, and costumes of Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Tahiti, Hawaii, and Aotearoa thanks to the Paradise of Samoa Dance Troupe. • Jack held a second Sound Bath Meditation program. 28 patrons attended and gave strong positive feedback requesting more of this program. • Ryn had 104 support and referral interactions. This is the most interactions they've had to date. Ryn &AS desk staff provided more than 155 items from the Basic Needs Bookshelf. • The Youth Services and Technical Services teams collaborated to roll out our new all-in- one print + audio juvenile kits for beginning readers! • The library was a popular place for teens this month, with several teen programs reaching the registration limit! 81 young adults in total enjoyed various library adventures, including an escape room, a trivia tournament and an outdoor movie night. Kids and their families watched Detective Pikachu and pursued Pokemon on a scavenger hunt in the children's area (42); got creative with LEGOs (37); and re-purposed discarded game pieces to create their own original board games during Creativity Cart (44). • Cally did outreach at the Free Food Market and saw 165 folks in July! Bryce from WCCLS helped them distribute free books to children and their families and caregivers. • We connected with community members at several events outside the library in July, including Just Compassion; Family Promise; the DHS Free Food Market; the Community Preparedness Fair; and two Pop Ups in the Park with Parks & Rec. • The Summer Reading Program continues strong with 3,339 signups—well over our community goal of 3,000 participants! Kids and families have shared heartwarming stories about their summer reading experience as they return to pick up milestone and finisher prizes. • City Manager Brent Stockwell visited us to get a library card and signed up for summer reading too! • Training for levy communication is on the way. Washington County Communications and WCCLS will provide us with a prerecorded training session focused on how to appropriately share information about the upcoming levy, which will be on the ballot in November. Questions from the Board: Board Member Bogert asked if Director Bernard knows the timeline for the upcoming library building construction projects. Director Bernard responded that for the roof replacement process, the library will likely not be closed for more than a day. For the HVAC project, we don't know exactly yet, but likely 6-8 weeks. TIGARD PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES —Wednesday, August 13, 2025— Page 4 of 5 13500 SW Hall Boulevard, Tigard, Oregon 97223 • 503.684.6537•TPLcommentsatigard-or.gov•www.tigard-or.gov/library Board Member Manion asked if there is a communications plan in place to set expectations for the community about the library closure due to the upcoming construction projects. Director Bernard responded that Jeanne Peloquin, our Communications and Outreach Coordinator, is ready with a communications plan, including regular updates in Books & Bits and social media. Board Member Manion asked where the old AMH system will go. Director Bernard said that the company we've contracted with is responsible for decommissioning the AMH system, and we don't have further details on that. Board Member Michael asked what patron Ethan's age is. Director Bernard said that she did not know. Board Member Lin asked about our Library Social Services Coordinator, Ryn Starr, and their workload, because the number of patron interactions increases every month. She also wanted to know if there is a limit to the number of patrons Ryn can assist and if they have to turn people away. Director Bernard explained that we developed this limited-duration position to address a growing need in our community, and Ryn does their best to meet this need. Ryn refers patrons to other community resources and partners who provide direct assistance. Whether Ryn's position will become permanent will be a decision the City of Tigard makes based on strategic direction, budgetary factors, and community need as the demand for resources increases. Board Member Manion asked if Ryn has support from DHS. Director Bernard said that while the Library team partners with DHS, the Library Social Services Coordinator position is funded by the City of Tigard. Board Member Manion offered that he works for DHS and plans to see what he can do to provide additional support to Ryn. 8. NON-AGENDA ITEMS Board Chair Ristau added that she attended the United for Libraries virtual conference. She attended workshops and webinars and said that it was a fun event and really nice to meet other board members from across the US. 9. ADJOURNMENT At 7:28 p.m. Vice-Chair Stoffel adjourned the meeting. Prepared by: Ledja Johansson Approved on: September 10, 2025 TIGARD PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES —Wednesday, August 13, 2025— Page 5 of 5 13500 SW Hall Boulevard, Tigard, Oregon 97223 • 503.684.6537•TPLcommentsatigard-or.gov•www.tigard-or.gov/library