OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Thomas Balch Library Board Meeting – April 9, 2026

Town Council & Commissions — Thursday, April 9, 2026
BodyLeesburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council & Commissions
DateThursday, April 9, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 52:18

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

It's the practice of the town, these were toward meetings of the town standing boards and commissions.

0:07

So we are online at this point.

0:12

So we have uh I guess we don't need to vote on his attendance.

0:17

No, no, no, no, no, no, that's that doesn't require vote.

0:21

Um so called order and we have approval of the minutes of the March 11th 2026 meeting by movement.

0:32

It's been moved, second and seconded.

0:35

All in favor.

0:36

I thank you.

0:40

All right, we will move on to library director's report.

0:46

All right.

0:48

So um we paint submits.

0:53

So um in March we had to attend it.

0:56

Um it seemed like an extremely long month, which was wonderful because we had so much going on to get it to it.

1:03

Um we had um a lot of visitors.

1:10

Um we launched some new programs.

1:14

Um and we um also had some returning community events.

1:19

Uh-huh, wonderful.

1:21

Wonderful.

1:22

Well we got the school girls coming down the stairs.

1:26

Like a property.

1:32

Thank you.

1:33

Sorry.

1:39

Um okay, we had 3,000 3700 and 500.

1:45

3700.

1:45

Nearly 3800 people in one month.

1:48

Yes.

1:48

That's huge.

1:49

That is a lot.

1:50

Um now a lot of that is because of um uh Rich Gillespie's walking tour, um, the exhibits.

2:02

We had multiple programs.

2:04

Right.

2:05

Um keep in mind the Leedsburg Ladding Hunting American Revolution Walking Tour had around 50 people registered.

2:11

It's unclear how many actually showed up.

2:13

So um did yes, yeah.

2:18

And they all came inside.

2:19

So because Rich Gillespie brought the tour inside.

2:23

Um, and uh they came in the reading room.

2:25

It was quite nice, actually.

2:26

A lot of people came back.

2:28

We had families, it was a really nice nice version of the tour.

2:32

Um, because of the 250th, he um tentatively said he would do it again in June because we had double that number on the waiting list.

2:41

So that helped with the foot counts.

2:44

Um in addition, we launched a couple new programs that were actually very popular.

2:48

One that we were quite sure about was the stitten fit and stitch, where we had PVCOM things and then in Brochet.

2:57

Um, and that was very popular.

2:59

Also, um popular was the revolution on screen kickoff for that program, which we poorly chose to schedule on St.

3:08

Patrick's Day.

3:09

Um the one attendee, a lovely conversation of Ben and Me.

3:17

So that was not a reason why we had 3800 people.

3:20

No, but um you know what movie did they show?

3:25

We showed Ben, we talked about Ben and Me, which is a Disney film from 1960.

3:29

That's right.

3:32

It's great in terms of um depicting the life of Benjamin Franklin as sold through his friend who is a mouse.

3:39

Um Disney, um, but also we were able to have um a good good conversation about like the depiction of the revolution, like why they chose what they choose to depict.

3:51

Like they show Paul Revere, they show rioting.

3:54

Um we could talk about Ben Franklin in the printing press.

3:57

We talked about how Disney um in the wonderful world of Disney introduces it as if they found um the mouse uh whose name is A Mouse.

4:07

Um his his um memoirs um and his family genealogy, and and well, Disney actually goes to a shelf and pulls a tiny little volume off the shelf and opens it up.

4:17

And we talked about how Ben Ben Franklin probably would have been incredibly into that with the numerous pranks he did with like his prudence, good wife collins and all of that.

4:25

So it was a great time.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Historical Preservation████████████████████████████████████████████44%
Library Operations█████████████████████████████████33%
Community Events███████████████████19%
Procedural███3%
Grant Funding█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Thomas Balch Library Board Meeting – April 9, 2026

The Thomas Balch Library Board of Commissioners met on April 9, 2026, at 7:15 PM. The meeting covered the Library Director's report, updates on preservation projects, planning for the America 250th commemoration, and preparations for the annual Boards and Commissions presentation. The board approved the minutes of the March 11, 2026 meeting and adjourned.

Library Director's Report

  • Attendance & Programs: March 2026 saw nearly 3,800 visitors (up from typical months), attributed to Rich Gillespie's walking tour (50 registered), new programs (Stitchin' Fit and Stitch, Revolution on Screen kickoff), and a Sunday book talk with George Overleeds. Reference inquiries reached 609, about 100 more than average.
  • Staff Changes: Two staff members departed (Michelle Champ to Florida, Taylor Rusinski to Richmond). Two new staff were hired: one former library volunteer and Naomi Santos (background in Fairfax historic sites and libraries). Hiring continues for weekend coverage.
  • Facilities: Plaster repairs and lighting work were completed around the cupola in the Clark Room. A lift was removed. The library will seek a specialist to investigate widespread plaster cracking, possibly water-related. Exterior railing painting is scheduled for May.
  • Exhibits: A new exhibit on the 1976 visit of the Countess of Loudoun to Loudoun County is now on display through May, created by a former high school student who photographed the visit.
  • Upcoming Programs: A talk from Sterling Public Library on their digitization station (April 23); a talk from Frederick County archivist Mary Mannix in May; the Revolution on Film series continues (April 28: Alicia Cohen on Black Loyalists).
  • Friends of TBL: The Friends will hold a book sale on April 18 (10-3) during the Flower and Garden Show, accepting book donations until April 15.
  • Foundation Report: The foundation account is now active and funded. The board attempted to purchase a James Monroe letter about Oak Hill and enslaved people at auction, bidding up to $2,800, but lost when the price reached $3,000 (plus fees). The foundation will meet April 21 to discuss auction strategy.

Old Business

  • St. James Cemetery: The board has not yet reached out to the church. They aim to reconvene a working group in June to develop plans, involving Judge Horn.
  • Oak Hill Project: On hold at least through 2026 due to legislative calendar; there is hope for progress in 2027. An intern is creating an exhibit on Oak Hill, and the board is working with Dave Maroo's Presidential Papers project on a traveling exhibit about Monroe.
  • Virginia 250th Commemoration: The library is ramping up programming for June and July. The Revolution on Film series will continue. The board is applying for a traveling exhibit from the Virginia Museum of History and Culture. A journal of recent scholarship on Loudoun County and the Revolution is in progress: six authors are expected to deliver papers by April 15 (two have requested extensions). Peer reviewers and copy editors are needed; several board members volunteered themselves and their contacts. Topics include the tenants' revolt, a Native American woman in Loudoun, and the claim that Loudoun provided the most militia men in Virginia.

New Business

  • Boards & Commissions Presentation: The library will present on April 30 at 6 PM at IWE. The board will prepare a 3-minute, 3-slide presentation covering three accomplishments from the past year and priorities for the coming year. Accomplishments discussed: hosting a successful 2025 history awards event, hosting the Lafayette visit, and supporting preservation projects (e.g., Oak Hill exhibit). The 250th planning was highlighted as a top priority. Synergies include making library resources available to other commissions.
  • Virginia Forum: Attended by three board members; well-attended (pre-pandemic levels). The 2027 budget includes funding for three members to attend the next forum in Norfolk (likely at Old Dominion University).
  • Volunteer Picnic: April 20 at 5:30 PM; invitations sent via e-blast. Members were asked to RSVP.
  • Friends of TBL Recruitment: The board encouraged members to recruit new Friends members (membership $25/$35) to ensure the group's sustainability.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved minutes of the March 11, 2026 meeting (unanimous).
  • The board will finalize the presentation for the April 30 Boards and Commissions meeting, with edits to be submitted by the director.
  • Progress on St. James Cemetery will continue with a June meeting.
  • The journal project will proceed; volunteers for peer review and copy editing are being collected.
  • The library will continue to monitor auction opportunities and explore plaster repair resources.
  • Meeting adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

It's the practice of the town, these were toward meetings of the town standing boards and commissions. So we are online at this point. So we have uh I guess we don't need to vote on his attendance. No, no, no, no, no, no, that's that doesn't require vote. Um so called order and we have approval of the minutes of the March 11th 2026 meeting by movement. It's been moved, second and seconded. All in favor. I thank you. All right, we will move on to library director's report. All right. So um we paint submits. So um in March we had to attend it. Um it seemed like an extremely long month, which was wonderful because we had so much going on to get it to it. Um we had um a lot of visitors. Um we launched some new programs. Um and we um also had some returning community events. Uh-huh, wonderful. Wonderful. Well we got the school girls coming down the stairs. Like a property. Thank you. Sorry. Um okay, we had 3,000 3700 and 500. 3700. Nearly 3800 people in one month. Yes. That's huge. That is a lot. Um now a lot of that is because of um uh Rich Gillespie's walking tour, um, the exhibits. We had multiple programs. Right. Um keep in mind the Leedsburg Ladding Hunting American Revolution Walking Tour had around 50 people registered. It's unclear how many actually showed up. So um did yes, yeah. And they all came inside. So because Rich Gillespie brought the tour inside. Um, and uh they came in the reading room. It was quite nice, actually. A lot of people came back. We had families, it was a really nice nice version of the tour. Um, because of the 250th, he um tentatively said he would do it again in June because we had double that number on the waiting list. So that helped with the foot counts. Um in addition, we launched a couple new programs that were actually very popular. One that we were quite sure about was the stitten fit and stitch, where we had PVCOM things and then in Brochet. Um, and that was very popular. Also, um popular was the revolution on screen kickoff for that program, which we poorly chose to schedule on St. Patrick's Day. Um the one attendee, a lovely conversation of Ben and Me. So that was not a reason why we had 3800 people. No, but um you know what movie did they show?

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