Benicia Board of Library Trustees Meeting - April 6, 2026

The Benicia Board of Library Trustees met on April 6, 2026, at Benicia City Hall, Council Chambers, starting at approximately 6:01 p.m. and adjourning at 6:40 p.m. The board received reports on library circulation, collections, finances, staffing, literacy services, and liaison activities; adopted the agenda and approved the March 2, 2026 meeting minutes unanimously; and heard no public comments. The next regular meeting is scheduled for May 4, 2026, at 6:00 p.m.

Consent Calendar

• The board adopted the agenda by unanimous vote.
• The board unanimously approved the minutes from the March 2, 2026 meeting on a motion, second, and unanimous aye vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No online public comments were offered, and no written public comments were reported.

Information and Presentations

• Amber Kelly presented the Circulation and Collection Development report. In the Library of Things, the most popular items are the fruit picker, mobile hotspots, and Switch consoles; the library currently circulates three fruit pickers and maintains a large hold list for them. Hotspots are circulated to Solano County users, and staff are exploring alternative providers after learning about other vendors at the Public Library Association conference. Some items, including tents, carpet cleaners, and telescopes, are no longer circulated because they returned dirty or required excessive staff time to count pieces; telescopes will be used internally for programs. Tools require an annual waiver and users must be 18; the library does not provide chainsaws because of city attorney concerns. Non-English materials include Spanish, Farsi, and French for adults, plus Chinese, Thai, Mandarin, and Spanish in the children's world language collection; additional non-English electronic materials are available through the Palace Project.
• President Hickey reported that he attended the first meeting of the Solano County Library Oversight Advisory Committee, the successor to the Measure L committee, and described it as informative and positive.
• The City Librarian reported that the February financial report includes March payroll because payroll was processed early, making salary totals appear high; salaries are actually near the expected 75 percent level for the end of the third quarter. The part-time payroll figure is high, and the finance department is aware of what is driving it. The library has a large furnishings and fixtures allocation that has not been spent while awaiting grant news for privacy pods. The library was funded for a book bike, which has been ordered and could arrive by the July 3 parade. The library applied for two privacy pods but was waitlisted for one pod through the Southern California Library Cooperative; additional state funding may allow a single pod, with the library able to match it. Pods are ADA compliant and large enough that two will fit in the Edna Klein space; the planned location is near the second bank of public computers, and the library will reduce public computers to five when a user fee expires at the end of the calendar year, possibly following Napa's model with affixed laptops.
• The City Librarian announced that the full-time children's librarian position was approved by the city manager. The position opened to internal candidates and closes the following Friday; the library hopes a part-time librarian will apply.
• For literacy services, the library has an agreement for Paula to work 20 hours per week, with potential additional hours made possible by leftover state grant funds after a departure. The grant is extended through August 31, 2026. The library also has a handshake agreement with Solano County Library to train and match new tutors, an element needed for the adult literacy grant; $5,000 for this role will be folded into the existing SPLASH contract. The ESL program's five-year state grant expires at the end of the fiscal year, and no funding is currently in the proposed budget; the library is awaiting the governor's May revise and encouraging letters to the appropriations committee and governor.
• The City Librarian asked for support for restoring California Library Services Act funding, which supports physical delivery, Link Plus/interlibrary loan, the Libby platform, and the NorthNet shared collection. CLSA funding was cut to 50 percent of its level two years ago and is about 20 percent of what it was years ago; the library is requesting restoration plus a small inflationary increase.
• The City Librarian described a Dolly Parton Imagination Library funding controversy in California: $68 million was appropriated several years ago and given to the state library, none reached public libraries; $5 million was clawed back last year, and a nonprofit retained $1.5 million, of which $700,000 lacked receipts. The state librarian was questioned by the appropriations committee, and the episode may harm library funding prospects, although the program itself continues to put books into children's hands.
• The City Librarian said she will go to the city council on April 21 to request a small budget amendment allocating art gallery funds, generated by artist application fees and sales percentages, for art gallery expenses in the current and next fiscal years.
• Art Gallery Advisory Committee liaison reported a successful reception for invitational artist Linda Fleming and announced that the 2027 call for artists will be prepared, likely issuing in May or June with a September 1 deadline.
• Library Foundation liaison reported that the foundation is sponsoring a planned giving workshop with Carquinas Village on April 22 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. in the Donia Benicia Room at the library. The foundation has hired a grant writer and is discussing a grant with the Friends group to fund development of the library basement. The foundation wants the city to be a co-applicant because the money would benefit and be controlled by the city; the city manager is hesitant, and the foundation plans to make its case soon. The grant deadline is May 29, and the requested amount is substantial, around a couple million dollars.
• Poet Laureate Committee liaison reported that the application period closed March 31, with five applications received. The committee has met twice and is planning interviews around the second week of May, with a recommendation expected at the June board meeting.
• Historical Museum/Historical Society liaison reported that the Museum of History Benicia held a successful wedding spectacular, will hold a sculpt and sip event on April 10, and will hold a children's story time and activity on April 17 from 2 to 3 p.m.; tickets for the sculpt and sip are $30 for one person and $50 for two. The museum completed its final installation of the Jewel of the West exhibit, which highlights Benicia's history and the world-famous Schoenstein organ company. On April 19 from 2 to 4 p.m., the Historical Society and library will host authors Rose Bebe and Robert Sinkewitz in the Donia Benicia Room for their book about the Bileo family letters from 1846 to 1888. A June 12 old-timers stories event has been postponed until the fall.

Key Outcomes

• The board unanimously adopted the agenda and approved the March 2, 2026 minutes.
• No action items were listed under Action and Discussion, and the board took no substantive votes beyond these approvals.
• The next meeting is scheduled for May 4, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. The board also noted a possible library participation in the July 3 parade.