OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Thomas Balch Library Board of Trustees Meeting - March 12, 2026

Town Council & Commissions — Thursday, March 12, 2026
BodyLeesburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council & Commissions
DateThursday, March 12, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 55:42

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

Okay.

0:03

It's back to the town of Leesburg to report meetings of the town standing boards and commission.

0:09

This meeting is being recorded.

0:11

Thank you.

0:13

So I'll be called first reporter.

0:16

Do we have anybody that we need to approve for uh no, nobody reached out to a tenber.

0:22

It's just recording.

0:24

And we'll have the call to order and Google of the minutes or the February 11th and looking at the approve of this.

0:37

All in favor.

0:40

Thank you very much.

0:42

Okay, the library director for the forge.

0:49

So February.

0:51

It's a very short month that we had a lot of people come to the library and so despite being pretty only open 25 days.

1:02

We had uh over 3,000 people come through.

1:06

Which is great.

1:07

Yeah.

1:08

We crammed a lot of that over programming into February.

1:11

Um we had a very busy Black History Month, particularly.

1:14

Um, but in addition to the uh exhibit that's upstairs commemorating uh Sem Treaty Black History commemorations.

1:23

Um we did a pop-up exhibit at the Luckett's Community Center.

1:27

And we also um welcomed the uh Fairfax Historic Court Records staff to come talk about their collections.

1:37

Um which was an excellent talk.

1:38

Um I did not actually get to go to it, but it is available on our YouTube.

1:43

So it's they're just talking about what they had in Fairfax Historic Court Records and specifically with an idea um of the materials related to Loudon from before 1757.

1:54

It's also an interesting time for them uh because the courthouse is the courthouse building itself is closed, so they had to very quickly with very little warning, everything needed to access out of it because they're having to do a lot of good streams.

2:12

Yeah, I believe it's like HVAC issues specifically that were require them to get everything out.

2:19

Um we also did some school programming in February, particularly um Civil War pop-up exhibits at Stonebridge High School on two days at the beginning of the month.

2:28

Um we did a lot of outreach.

2:31

I think last time you were here, uh we talked about the um Fox Five and NBC four interviews, both which aired.

2:38

Um if you're interested in in links to those, you can have the one if this look good.

2:43

Sure.

2:46

I think the one with um Amy Birch made the library look very good.

2:50

I think the parts punch the Fox Five looked okay.

2:53

So didn't quite capture what we wanted to talk about.

2:58

What I would like would have liked them to capture, but it was nice to get the um airtime and we did get some put traffic out of it.

3:06

Um also the channel four people came back and attended Rich Gillespie's walking tour uh this past Saturday um and filmed it.

3:15

Uh so that that'll um drive yet more excitement up to that tour.

3:21

Um we've been doing some additional outreach with video.

3:25

Um if you did not see it on social media, I'm happy to share it.

3:29

Our um in in October of 20, well, in 2024, I tasked four new staff members with making uh introduction video to the library so that they could learn basic facts about the library by having to communicate them to other people.

3:43

So in um February of 2026, they finished it.

3:49

Yeah and a half in it.

3:50

Yes, it's a long journey.

3:53

Um so but it is it's a fun video that they think um that does do a nice introduction to the library.

4:00

Um this is posted later on social media and Facebook.

4:04

So it's on Facebook and Instagram as reels, and then I think it's also on YouTube.

4:08

Okay.

4:09

Um but um some lessons were learned also teambook and how people who work in libraries definitely don't like being filmed.

4:19

Yeah, so that was it the same team all the way through.

4:22

It was it was um many of those people will have moved on to other children.

4:29

Um but it was worthwhile.

4:31

It came out well.

4:32

Um we did acquire some new collections um and materials.

4:36

I think I already told you about the teacups last time.

4:40

Um, but uh just today we acquired some items from an auction that happened through Davenport auctions, um, which include uh postcards we didn't have in downtown Leesburg and um also some materials related to the Culpical bottling plant, which we've been looking to add something to our collection.

4:56

We had a bottling plant here.

4:58

We did, yeah.

4:59

It was um on South King Street.

5:00

Okay, I forget what the business is that's in the building now.

5:04

Um I think it went through the 50s.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Library Operations██████████████████████████████████████38%
Historic Preservation███████████████████19%
Community Engagement██████████████████18%
Community Events███████7%
Public Engagement██████6%
Arts And Culture█████5%
Public Works████4%
Procedural███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Thomas Balch Library Board of Trustees Meeting – March 12, 2026

The Library Board of Trustees met on March 12, 2026, to receive the library director's monthly report, discuss upcoming programs, and address ongoing projects including the St. James Cemetery, Oakhill preservation, the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, and the town's purchase of Rock Spring farm. The meeting was called to order and the minutes from February 11 were approved unanimously.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes Approval: The minutes from the February 11 meeting were approved by all in favor.

Discussion Items

  • Library Director's Monthly Report:
    • Despite being open only 25 days in February, the library had over 3,000 visitors. Black History Month programming included a pop-up exhibit at Luckett's Community Center, a talk by Fairfax Historic Court Records staff, and Civil War pop-up exhibits at Stonebridge High School. Media interviews with Fox 5 and NBC4 aired.
    • New collections acquired: postcards of downtown Leesburg and materials related to the Culpeper Bottling Plant (a former Leesburg business on South King Street). The library is still seeking photographs of the plant. Also acquired were bottle caps from the plant. A desk and five chairs (originally from the library in 1922) were returned from conservation and placed in the reading room.
    • New programs piloted: "Sit and Stitch" (craft night with Travis Shaw demonstrating revoultionary war hunting shirt sewing) and board game nights. Both attracted multi-generational attendees. The library's meeting room is now regularly rented by a mahjong group.
    • Periodicals binding: 30 volumes were bound at a bindery in Pennsylvania, saving shelf space and preserving fragile newsletters. The cataloging librarian (Echo) coordinated the effort.
    • Friends of the Library update: Membership structure clarified – a single $35 fee covers Friends membership with an option to join the Black History Committee. A book sale is scheduled for April 18 (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) in conjunction with the Flower and Garden Show. The Black History Committee debuted an oral history of Jim Roberts at Douglas School’s Black History Month celebration; a full showing at the library is planned.
    • Foundation: Diane Helm Jared has agreed to serve; nomination will go to the town council after the budget cycle. The Belch Family Trust funds have been received and invested.
    • Budget: The director presented a budget to the board; furniture purchases are under consideration.
    • St. James Cemetery: Ground penetrating radar readings were returned, showing many burials (estimated up to 400). The town is considering next steps, possibly including a water feature or sculpture, signage, and future meetings with the town. A meeting with stakeholders is proposed for June or July 2026.
    • Oakhill Preservation: The state budget line championed by former Representative Spanberger was removed, effectively killing the preservation bill for this year. A petition is circulating to reconsider in April. The county is unlikely to fund it, and the federal government declined. The director noted that earlier preservation efforts were missed.
    • 250th Anniversary of American Revolution Events:
      • The town launched a website aggregating all 250-related events in Leesburg.
      • A new program series, "Revolution on Screen," will feature local historians discussing film and TV depictions of the Revolutionary War (first up: Disney's Ben and Me). Sessions run monthly through at least September.
      • A scholarly publication of essays on recent research on the Revolution in Loudoun County is underway, with essays due in mid-April. An introductory essay has been commissioned.
      • Partnerships with Loudoun 250 communications committee and other organizations continue.
    • Virginia Forum: The director and board member Jim have been registered for the forum, to be held the following week in Winchester. The board discussed the schedule and the benefit of networking for future speakers.
    • Annual Report to Town Council: Scheduled as a memo in October (Archives Month). The board agreed to this timeline. The director will prepare a brief slide presentation emphasizing community engagement (visitor numbers, new programs) and collaboration with other commissions, particularly regarding the 250th events.
    • Rock Spring Farm Purchase: The town council voted to move forward with purchasing the historic Rock Spring (Cook Farm) property off Dry Mill Road. A public hearing is required before funds can be appropriated. The town is primarily interested in preserving green space; the historic house contains a spring in the basement. The property was the site of Leesburg's historic sledding hill. The library director mentioned that the Cook family donated some papers and World War I materials to the library.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes Approved.
  • Annual Report to Town Council: Set for October 2026 (as a memo with optional presentation).
  • St. James Cemetery: Next steps include a stakeholder meeting tentatively in June or July 2026 to discuss design concepts (water feature, sculpture, signage) with the town.
  • Oakhill Preservation: State funding eliminated for this year; a petition may lead to reconsideration in April.
  • Library 250 Events: Continue as planned; the board encouraged inviting other commissions to participate.
  • Rock Spring Purchase: Town council has voted to proceed; a public hearing will be held before finalizing funds.
  • Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned after commissioner comments.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. It's back to the town of Leesburg to report meetings of the town standing boards and commission. This meeting is being recorded. Thank you. So I'll be called first reporter. Do we have anybody that we need to approve for uh no, nobody reached out to a tenber. It's just recording. And we'll have the call to order and Google of the minutes or the February 11th and looking at the approve of this. All in favor. Thank you very much. Okay, the library director for the forge. So February. It's a very short month that we had a lot of people come to the library and so despite being pretty only open 25 days. We had uh over 3,000 people come through. Which is great. Yeah. We crammed a lot of that over programming into February. Um we had a very busy Black History Month, particularly. Um, but in addition to the uh exhibit that's upstairs commemorating uh Sem Treaty Black History commemorations. Um we did a pop-up exhibit at the Luckett's Community Center. And we also um welcomed the uh Fairfax Historic Court Records staff to come talk about their collections. Um which was an excellent talk. Um I did not actually get to go to it, but it is available on our YouTube. So it's they're just talking about what they had in Fairfax Historic Court Records and specifically with an idea um of the materials related to Loudon from before 1757. It's also an interesting time for them uh because the courthouse is the courthouse building itself is closed, so they had to very quickly with very little warning, everything needed to access out of it because they're having to do a lot of good streams. Yeah, I believe it's like HVAC issues specifically that were require them to get everything out. Um we also did some school programming in February, particularly um Civil War pop-up exhibits at Stonebridge High School on two days at the beginning of the month. Um we did a lot of outreach. I think last time you were here, uh we talked about the um Fox Five and NBC four interviews, both which aired. Um if you're interested in in links to those, you can have the one if this look good. Sure. I think the one with um Amy Birch made the library look very good. I think the parts punch the Fox Five looked okay. So didn't quite capture what we wanted to talk about. What I would like would have liked them to capture, but it was nice to get the um airtime and we did get some put traffic out of it. Um also the channel four people came back and attended Rich Gillespie's walking tour uh this past Saturday um and filmed it. Uh so that that'll um drive yet more excitement up to that tour. Um we've been doing some additional outreach with video. Um if you did not see it on social media, I'm happy to share it. Our um in in October of 20, well, in 2024, I tasked four new staff members with making uh introduction video to the library so that they could learn basic facts about the library by having to communicate them to other people. So in um February of 2026, they finished it. Yeah and a half in it. Yes, it's a long journey. Um so but it is it's a fun video that they think um that does do a nice introduction to the library. Um this is posted later on social media and Facebook. So it's on Facebook and Instagram as reels, and then I think it's also on YouTube. Okay. Um but um some lessons were learned also teambook and how people who work in libraries definitely don't like being filmed. Yeah, so that was it the same team all the way through. It was it was um many of those people will have moved on to other children.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com