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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Alameda Library Board Meeting - January 14, 2026

City Council — Monday, September 21, 2026

BodyAlameda, California

SessionCity Council

DateMonday, September 21, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:05:38

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:11

If you make notes that everyone's gonna see what you write, just so you know.

0:15

Right.

0:17

But I'm sure she won't read it out aloud.

0:20

Somebody we know.

0:22

Okay.

0:22

Somehow we send you an opinion to say that.

0:30

What are we doing?

0:30

Do you want to caption?

0:32

There we go.

0:33

Okay.

0:34

All right.

0:37

We're good to go.

0:38

Yep.

0:38

All right.

0:39

Uh we will adjourn call to order this meeting of the library board for the January 14th of 2026.

0:48

And we'll start with the roll call.

0:50

Okay.

0:50

President Amara Suri Wardena.

0:52

Present.

0:52

Vice President Gibbons present.

0:54

Board member Battle.

0:55

Present.

0:56

Board Member Kanji and Board Member Strinkers absent for present.

1:01

Great.

1:03

Next up is non-agenda public comment.

1:06

Anyone may speak for three minutes regarding any matter not on the agenda.

1:09

Comments are limited to in-person only, and there is no one in the room.

1:13

Remote public on is not available for this section.

1:17

So we will move on to the consent calendar.

1:21

There's the board minutes, the financial reports, and the bills for ratification check register.

1:29

Does anyone want to make a motion to approve that?

1:33

I make a motion that we exclude the minutes and the expenses and check registry.

1:43

All in favor.

1:45

Aye.

1:45

Aye.

1:48

It's passed.

1:49

We will now move on to regular agenda items number four, and we'll start with our report from the library director.

1:56

Yes, uh, good evening, everybody.

1:57

Um happy to see all of you.

1:59

Happy new year.

2:01

The uh yesterday I'll just do some brief highlights um from the report, and then we'll talk about some statistics.

2:07

Um, yesterday we had our um our quarterly all staff meeting was yesterday, and we had uh de-escalation training um with Rick Jenkins, who's the head of security at Seattle Public Library.

2:19

Um it was a really great training for all of us.

2:22

We had I think we had 44 people there, which is our total at our total employee count is around 50, 52.

2:30

We had uh our security guards attended, the our case managers from HHS attended, and our the clinical social worker Maria also attended.

2:41

Um so it was really great training, uh, it was really beneficial, and we're happy to bring um Rick to the library so that we could talk about this important topic.

2:50

And I think one of the some of the feedback I received from folks was that they were very appreciative of that his examples were library examples.

3:00

Like we all immediately knew what he was talking about.

3:04

And you know, a lot of times when we bring folks in, the training is helpful, but their examples aren't quite, it's not a one-for-one match.

3:12

And these were just we all have it, oh yeah, I we've had that experience.

3:16

We know what that's that was valuable in addition to everything else that he he shared with us.

3:22

I think that there are some things that we can learn from what he presented to us, um, including having when we're in a difficult situation, making sure that we have some clear signal uh to our colleague who's our backup that we need to tap out of the engagement and have somebody else um step in, whether that's just because we're not the we're not making the connection we need to make, or we have reached our limit, and and we just need to have some own have some preservation of our own um ourselves, and so that we need to kind of take a break from the situation.

3:59

So I think that's probably one of the things, one of the key things we'll be working on is how do we formalize that process so that everybody knows when someone gives the signal that that means that they they need some help, and that help is that they need to kind of separate themselves from the situation.

4:16

And sorry, go ahead.

4:21

Yeah, I think you know, I think both could work.

4:23

Where I used to work, um we would say to someone uh our code is is Sally working today, and um, and they would say no, but I can help.

4:33

And then that was like when you hear that is Sally working today, then you're thinking, oh, is they need help and they need to get themselves out of this situation.

4:42

Um the trainer recommended a um uh Q, which is like just one if you're okay and a two if you're not.

4:50

Um so we'll see which one we end up with.

4:53

Because you have to be looking or paying attention.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Libraries█████████████████████████████████████████████66%

Procedural████████12%

Technology and Innovation███████11%

Personnel Matters███5%

Social Services█2%

Budget█2%

Accessibility█1%

Outreach Programs█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Alameda Library Board Meeting - January 14, 2026

The Alameda Library Board convened on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 7:09 p.m. The meeting included a report from the Library Director, a presentation on the draft strategic plan update, and discussion of library operations and statistics. Key topics included the new social work partnership, circulating statistics, and the proposal to approve a summary version of the strategic plan update.

Consent Calendar

The board approved the consent calendar, which included the board minutes, financial reports, and the bills for ratification check register.

Public Comments & Testimony

No members of the public were present for non-agenda public comment; the section was limited to in-person comments only.

Discussion Items

Library Director's Report: The Director reported on a new social work partnership, noting that the social worker, who has prior experience in a library setting, has begun building relationships with library patrons in need of services or simply someone to talk to. The social worker makes rounds throughout the day and knows the names of regular patrons. The Director also mentioned a training recommendation to formalize a backup signal system for staff, using a simple “Q” code (1 if okay, 2 if not). The library plans to have four programs (two at the main library, one at each branch). Additionally, the Director reported that the Bay Farm branch had circulated more than 4,000 items in a month for the first time in recent memory, and said she believed updated hours are fitting community needs better. She added that staffing is in a good spot.
Strategic Plan Update Presentation: A consultant presented a draft strategic plan update, which the board was asked to approve in its summary form. The plan includes goals such as reducing processing time for new materials, maintaining a 3-to-1 digital title ratio, and creating a tool lending library funded by a $10,000 gift from the Carnegie Foundation. The plan includes year one, year two, and year three-plus implementation timelines. Board members discussed reporting cadence; the Director said yearly is too late to be actionable and agreed to provide updates every six months. Board members also asked for clarification on the status of the new check-in system (the Director said it is moving slower than expected), and they discussed the ability to use existing data, and potential for collaboration around centralized information. The consultant noted that the current plan does not include reporting automation, but the next plan may.
Staff and Board Communications: A board member praised a recent kids’ program, noting the children were super engaged, and highlighted a new partnership with ARPD. The meeting also noted the departing consultant lives in Alameda, which provides an ongoing local connection to the work.

Key Outcomes

The board approved the consent calendar.
The board voted to approve the summary version of the strategic plan update.
The Library Director agreed to adopt a six-month reporting cadence for the strategic plan rather than quarterly or yearly; quarterly would create a reporting burden, while yearly is not actionable enough.
The next step discussed was to schedule a presentation to the City Council so they are aware of the strategic plan direction (no date was set).

Meeting Transcript

If you make notes that everyone's gonna see what you write, just so you know. Right. But I'm sure she won't read it out aloud. Somebody we know. Okay. Somehow we send you an opinion to say that. What are we doing? Do you want to caption? There we go. Okay. All right. We're good to go. Yep. All right. Uh we will adjourn call to order this meeting of the library board for the January 14th of 2026. And we'll start with the roll call. Okay. President Amara Suri Wardena. Present. Vice President Gibbons present. Board member Battle. Present. Board Member Kanji and Board Member Strinkers absent for present. Great. Next up is non-agenda public comment. Anyone may speak for three minutes regarding any matter not on the agenda. Comments are limited to in-person only, and there is no one in the room. Remote public on is not available for this section. So we will move on to the consent calendar. There's the board minutes, the financial reports, and the bills for ratification check register. Does anyone want to make a motion to approve that? I make a motion that we exclude the minutes and the expenses and check registry. All in favor. Aye. Aye. It's passed. We will now move on to regular agenda items number four, and we'll start with our report from the library director. Yes, uh, good evening, everybody. Um happy to see all of you. Happy new year. The uh yesterday I'll just do some brief highlights um from the report, and then we'll talk about some statistics. Um, yesterday we had our um our quarterly all staff meeting was yesterday, and we had uh de-escalation training um with Rick Jenkins, who's the head of security at Seattle Public Library. Um it was a really great training for all of us. We had I think we had 44 people there, which is our total at our total employee count is around 50, 52. We had uh our security guards attended, the our case managers from HHS attended, and our the clinical social worker Maria also attended. Um so it was really great training, uh, it was really beneficial, and we're happy to bring um Rick to the library so that we could talk about this important topic. And I think one of the some of the feedback I received from folks was that they were very appreciative of that his examples were library examples. Like we all immediately knew what he was talking about. And you know, a lot of times when we bring folks in, the training is helpful, but their examples aren't quite, it's not a one-for-one match. And these were just we all have it, oh yeah, I we've had that experience.

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