Indianapolis Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting - October 27, 2026

The Board of Trustees of the Indianapolis Public Library met on October 27, 2026, at the Michigan Road Branch with a quorum present. President Ray Beterman chaired the meeting, thanked the City-County Council for its support of the library's 2027 budget proposal, and reaffirmed the board's commitment to stewardship of public resources. The board recognized a national accessibility award for the host branch, heard reports on branch operations, the Library of Things pilot, finances, facilities, foundation activity, CEO and third-quarter operational updates, approved multiple resolutions, and scheduled the next meeting.

Consent Calendar

• Approved the minutes of the regular meeting held September 28, 2026, by unanimous roll-call vote.
• Accepted the Treasurer's report for October 2026 for filing for audit, by unanimous roll-call vote.
• Approved Resolution 41-2026, covering routine financial, personnel, and travel actions occurring between board meetings, by unanimous roll-call vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Shannon Mon, a Teen Advisory Group (TAG) member, spoke in support of TAG and its role in the community. She described TAG as a library-affiliated group of teens who plan events for teens and younger children, including a nostalgia night and an egg hunt, and emphasized that teens' perspectives help make the library a more welcoming place. She answered trustee questions, noting TAG meets Mondays from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and that she joined after her older brother participated, in part to encourage library use among young people after COVID.

Discussion Items

Branch Report & National Accessibility Award

• President Beterman recognized the Michigan Road Branch as one of five organizations nationally to receive an accessibility award from Helen Keller Services on October 9, along with a citation from the New York State Assembly.
• Branch manager Bethany Allison reported that the branch serves a service area of about 40,000 people and has 4,874 active cardholders. She highlighted 121,000+ visitors in 2025, roughly 10 volunteers, weekly story times, monthly book discussions, chair yoga, computer help classes, study rooms and community meeting rooms, and teen-led programming.
• Allison described outreach to immigrant communities, including English-learning resources, Mango Language app promotion, English conversation circles, a more visible world-language collection, partnerships with Grassroot Projects and West Side Indy Indivisible Resistance Movement, and food drives supporting the Haitian community after the loss of temporary protected status.
• Library Card Days included a Blind Date with a Book display with more than 50 wrapped books.

Library of Things Pilot Report

• Felicia Tate, Library of Things Librarian, and Joe Troyer, Senior Manager of Technical Services, presented results from the pilot. Six branches volunteered to host the collection; it featured 11 categories and excluded items that would require heavy tech support, pose elevated injury risk, or create cleaning and pest concerns.
• Pilot results included more than 1,000 items circulated, over 400 unique borrowers, about 46% repeat borrowers, and almost two-thirds of items circulated. The pilot used more than $77,000 in bond funds to purchase 734 items. Presenters reported patron savings of more than $95,000, later updated to well over $130,000. Loss and damage was 0.3%, compared with 5% for traditional print and media.
• Patron satisfaction was generally favorable; lower satisfaction was tied to the reservation software. Presenters recommended expanding Library of Things system-wide over the next two-plus years, training branch staff, conducting storage audits, and using all branches as at least fulfillment locations.
• Trustees praised the program and asked questions about cross-branch transfers, currently allowed only among the six pilot branches; technology-category items such as Tonies, Yoto devices, cameras, and video-to-digital converters; maintenance of assistive devices; connections to general circulation and deactivation criteria; liability waivers; and whether technology limits were informed by the existing Chromebook and Hotspot program. A trustee who identified as a physical therapist offered to suggest maintenance safeguards for assisted devices.

Finance & Bond Updates

• The Finance Committee, chaired by Dr. White, presented the monthly financial update. Revenue collections were at 58% of budget with 75% of the budget year elapsed, while expenditures were at 61%, described as favorable. Year-to-date expenditures were about $42 million. The library received $400,000 from a CICF grant versus $225,000 budgeted. The finance team is working with its bank to raise the sweep account interest rate from 2.75% toward about 3%.
• Resolution 38-2026, authorizing issuance of $19 million in bonds for the Remington Branch Renovation and multi-facility long-term capital improvement and equipment update project, was approved unanimously. The City-County Council had approved it on October 5; next steps are a Moody's rating call and bond sale.
• Updates: the 2027 budget was approved on October 19; travel per diem increased from $15 to $30 for a half-day and from $30 to $60 for a full day.
• The Diversity, Policy and Human Resources Committee had no report this month.

Facilities Committee

• Resolution 39-2026 awarded a construction services contract for East 38th Street Branch carpet replacement to Consolidated Flooring, the lowest responsive and responsible quote among three received. The award was below the estimate and will be funded through bond fund 485. A trustee acknowledged that feedback from a City-County Councilor about the 38th Street carpet was received and acted on. Approved unanimously.
• Resolution 40-2026 awarded a construction services contract for Southport Branch carpet replacement to EF Marburger for $125,000, below the $150,000 estimate, funded through bond fund 485. EF Marburger is city-certified WBE and will self-perform 100% of the work. Approved unanimously. Facilities noted Consolidated Flooring did not bid on this project.

Library Foundation Update

• Dr. Riola read the Foundation update: Teresa Browning will retire in January 2027; Denise Elkins will retire in June 2027. Promotions effective January 1, 2027 include Peg Sullivan to Executive Assistant, Kelly Keepers to Senior Development Officer, and Emily Schickner to Director of Finance and HR.
• The Foundation thanked 156 donors from the past month and reported more than $150,000 in support to the library, including Staff Day, Lillian Children's Hall Scholarship, team package programs, and bilingual storytime.

CEO Report & September Engagement Data

• CEO Gregory Hill presented the monthly report. Highlights included the first-ever Book Bonanza at Central Library on September 12 with 761 guests; a preschool STEAM pilot at West Perry funded by Cummins with 45 attendees; Eagle Branch's immigrant welcome center Pathway to Literacy course averaging about 15 guests per session; and preschool visits reaching about 140 participants.
• System output measurements: 2,209,612 visits, down 2.7% from September 2025; Tuesday was the busiest day at about 22% of visits; 2-4 p.m. was the busiest time at 27%; circulation was down 2.8% from NDPL locations but slightly up when shared partners were included; public PC use was down about 9%; program attendance was 17,868, averaging 17-18 guests per program.
• Hill shared a 90-second impact story about staff helping a patron experiencing domestic abuse connect to support resources and a social work referral. A trustee praised the social-worker-in-library initiative as the right path.
• Library Card Days from September 26-28 brought more than 19,000 visitors, over 600 new cardholders, 1,100 renewals, and 5,000 tote bags and cookies.
• Staff recognition awards and workplace initiatives were reviewed, including the career development program with 161+ participants and its 11th session. Upcoming events include Staff Day on November 2, Fall Fest at Central Library on November 21, and the final Heart of Every Neighborhood event on December 14.

Third Quarter Operations Report

• Chief Strategy Analytics Officer Mary Ann McKenzie reported more than 10,000 new cardholders in the quarter, with 64% of cardholders active. Total circulation was down 1%; physical circulation continues a slow decline of 2-5% per quarter while electronic circulation is growing. Database, online learning, and other digital platform use increased 11% over 2025.
• Branch visits were down 2%, attributed partly to closures including Franklin Road's three-week recarpeting closure and Central Library's unexpected closure. Wi-Fi and public PC usage were down; public PC use was down 7% in the quarterly comparison. Study room usage remained strong, especially at Central Library's new second-floor study rooms. More than 60 partners tabled in branches on over 66 occasions.
• In response to a trustee question, McKenzie said there is no current intention to decrease physical item purchasing despite the physical-circulation decline.

Key Outcomes

• All roll-call votes were unanimous (7-0): approval of the September 28, 2026 minutes; acceptance of the Treasurer's report; Resolutions 38-2026, 39-2026, 40-2026, and 41-2026.
• The board received and discussed the Library of Things expansion recommendation; no formal vote was taken.
• The CEO agreed to follow up on a requested library-card-days target and on future agenda items, including more outreach data and possible MCP connectors to library resources and databases for AI tools. Trustees also acknowledged the library's booth at the STEM familia fest on Halloween weekend.
• There was no unfinished or new business. The next board meeting is November 23, 2026, at the Eagle Branch Library, 3905 Muller Road, at 6:30 p.m.