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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Thomas Balch Library Commission Meeting - June 11, 2026

Town Council & Commissions — Thursday, June 11, 2026

BodyLeesburg, Virginia

SessionTown Council & Commissions

DateThursday, June 11, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:04:23

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

0:02

So things are broken, things we had to get special cleaning.

0:06

It was very exciting.

0:08

Well, nothing ever happened here.

0:10

No, nothing.

0:12

Nothing ever happened.

0:15

This is the whole year.

0:19

Oh, thanks.

0:19

Thank you.

0:20

Thank you.

0:21

But you are ready to start when I ready to start.

0:24

It's a practice of the town in Leedsburgh to record meetings of the town standing boards and commission.

0:31

So we will begin our meeting with Paul Order.

0:36

We have to approve anybody for virtual attendance tonight.

0:40

So we'll have approval of the minutes of the May 13th meeting.

1:08

That was fast.

1:10

You guys are really good.

1:20

Second it.

1:25

All those in favor.

1:27

Aye.

1:41

Okay.

1:44

So we have um the minutes have been approved and we'll move on to the director's report, right?

1:53

Yes.

1:54

Apes for that and for not catching it.

1:58

Look at the packets for someone nicely named them my instructions.

2:02

So my bad.

2:05

So May was a less busy month than the month that you thought you were going to hear about.

2:09

They're still pretty busy.

2:10

Still had good attendance.

2:13

The libraries had a lot of visitors from out of state doing research.

2:17

So that's really nice.

2:19

We continued to have the two exhibits that we had last month.

2:23

But with the addition of a new exhibit that our intern Andrew, um who is has graduated now, um did in the stairwell on the elevator about Rokeb, which is a choice uh selection.

2:36

He he chose on his own.

2:38

Um simply because he thought it was interesting.

2:41

Um it's a nice exhibit.

2:43

Uh ties in with the 250 because of the um declaration and constitution and other uh documents being put there during 1812.

2:53

Um had a nice schedule of events, um, including Jim Roberts walking tour, uh another first Friday at the cabin that focused on doctors this time as opposed to last time we did a medical themed one, which was about apothecaries.

3:08

Uh we had a wonderful talk that um hammy hosted with David Truonk, who uh talked about his memoir about his family escaping from Vietnam, uh which Jim attended.

3:20

So tell you more about that.

3:22

Excellent talk.

3:23

Our um intern Andrew also did a presentation about the Goose Creek Preservation Collection that he processed.

3:30

It's one of the collections he processed here as an intern.

3:32

And this is something we're requiring interns to do now is a presentation.

3:37

That's good experience.

3:38

Excellent job.

3:39

And it's a very interesting talk.

3:40

And okay, in addition to having things in in order, there are the rope be one or what so he did in addition to the um exhibit about rogue be, he processed a collection that was about uh uh creation of the goose creek preservation district, historic preservation district.

3:57

Including the murder by Bull Evan Smith of his wife in 1985.

4:04

Um experience for Andrew.

4:11

The guy that did the murdering.

4:12

Well, yeah, oh yeah, it was really very calling bull for anything.

4:17

So he was convicted, you know.

4:18

Um wow, okay.

4:20

Also, Andrew learned that if you talk about recent events in history, sometimes the people who were actively involved in them are in the room, so including you know their neighbors and the history found a couple of things.

4:32

It's 41 years.

4:33

But to Andrew, it seems like a really really really good idea.

4:36

Oh yeah, when you're 19.

4:40

He was he even warned um because I think everybody in the room except for maybe Jim and me had some direct connection to this cuts.

4:48

So he didn't think that he had to learn hieroglyphics to decipher the history of the era.

5:00

He was he was like really um entertained by there was a comment that John Lewis wrote on something about um Jimmy Mickey Mouse wearing a Jimmy Carter watch.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Historical Preservation███████████████████████████████████████39%

Historic Preservation██████████████████████████26%

Library Operations██████████████14%

Procedural██████████10%

Community Engagement███████7%

Data Center Operations███3%

Engineering And Infrastructure█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Thomas Balch Library Commission Meeting - June 11, 2026

The Thomas Balch Library Commission met on June 11, 2026, to review the director's report, discuss ongoing projects related to the 250th anniversary, and address new business including the 2026 Loudoun History Awards and the library's draft mission statement.

Consent Calendar

The minutes of the May 13, 2026 meeting were approved unanimously.

Discussion Items

Director's Report: Director reported that May was less busy than anticipated but still active. Highlights included a new exhibit by intern Andrew on the "Rokeb" (related to the 250th anniversary), a walking tour by Jim Roberts, a First Friday at the Cabin focusing on doctors, a talk by David Truonk about his family's escape from Vietnam, and a presentation by the intern on the Goose Creek Preservation Collection. The library participated in the town's Public Works Open House, hosted student groups, and had many out-of-state visitors. A new collection was received from the Cook family (Rock Spring property). An exciting, unannounced donation was noted – an 18th-century document found in a 20th-century envelope, possibly overlooked by the donor, which is very timely for the 250th. The building is being assessed for preservation issues; roof repairs were completed. The library is preparing for July events, including an exhibit on past celebrations, a new exhibit at the cabin, and the launch of a Revolutionary War walking tour app.
Friends of the Library: The Friends group postponed their annual fundraiser from June to November, potentially as a gala celebrating downtown Leesburg history. The new chair, Casey Young, has been proactive but busy with her dissertation and family. The board has new active members (Gertrude Evans, Denise Motor). They are seeking more members. The Friends have made annual contributions to the foundation endowment (approximately $14,000 last year).
Foundation: Received a donation of over $12,000 from a donor who enjoyed researching family history at the library. Awaiting the estate of Liz Monroe. The foundation paid taxes and filed tax returns.
Old Business:
- St. James Cemetery: Ground-penetrating radar revealed nearly 400 graves, fewer than 100 with headstones. The St. James Cemetery Committee will present to the town council in July, possibly requesting additional funding. $10,000 remains from the initial budget for landscaping.
- Oak Hill Preservation: Discussion on data center tax exemption controversy. Governor Spanberger and the House Speaker want to eliminate the exemption, claiming it cost the state $600 million in foregone taxes over two years while data centers bought $33 billion in equipment. The state predicts $1.5 billion in additional revenue over the next two years.
- Library 250 Events & Programming: For July 4th, the library will join colleagues at the courthouse to display documents, including George Washington signatures. There will be reenactors, the museum, and walking tours. Other programs include a "Revolution on Film" series, oral history project (first online with permissions), and a Journal publication that has been delayed but will have lasting scholarship.
New Business:
- 2026 Loudoun History Awards: Discussion on nominations and process. Usually two awards given, but special recognition may be considered for the 250th. Potential nominees include Alicia Conan and Gertrude Evans for their work on Black Patriots and Loyalists exhibits, and retiring officials such as Eric Larson (historic records manager). The call for nominations will go out in August, deadline in early October, with the awards ceremony on the first Sunday in November.
- Library Mission Statement: Staff presented a draft mission statement that is more descriptive than current. Commissioners suggested breaking it into separate mission, vision, and values statements for clarity and memorability. The staff will revise based on feedback and then present to the town council.

Key Outcomes

The May 13, 2026 meeting minutes were approved unanimously.
The commission recommended that the library mission statement be restructured into separate mission, vision, and values statements.
The 2026 Loudoun History Awards timeline was set: call for nominations in August, deadline in early October, awards ceremony on the first Sunday in November. Potential special recognition for the 250th anniversary will be discussed further.
No other formal votes were taken.

Meeting Transcript

So things are broken, things we had to get special cleaning. It was very exciting. Well, nothing ever happened here. No, nothing. Nothing ever happened. This is the whole year. Oh, thanks. Thank you. Thank you. But you are ready to start when I ready to start. It's a practice of the town in Leedsburgh to record meetings of the town standing boards and commission. So we will begin our meeting with Paul Order. We have to approve anybody for virtual attendance tonight. So we'll have approval of the minutes of the May 13th meeting. That was fast. You guys are really good. Second it. All those in favor. Aye. Okay. So we have um the minutes have been approved and we'll move on to the director's report, right? Yes. Apes for that and for not catching it. Look at the packets for someone nicely named them my instructions. So my bad. So May was a less busy month than the month that you thought you were going to hear about. They're still pretty busy. Still had good attendance. The libraries had a lot of visitors from out of state doing research. So that's really nice. We continued to have the two exhibits that we had last month. But with the addition of a new exhibit that our intern Andrew, um who is has graduated now, um did in the stairwell on the elevator about Rokeb, which is a choice uh selection. He he chose on his own. Um simply because he thought it was interesting. Um it's a nice exhibit. Uh ties in with the 250 because of the um declaration and constitution and other uh documents being put there during 1812. Um had a nice schedule of events, um, including Jim Roberts walking tour, uh another first Friday at the cabin that focused on doctors this time as opposed to last time we did a medical themed one, which was about apothecaries. Uh we had a wonderful talk that um hammy hosted with David Truonk, who uh talked about his memoir about his family escaping from Vietnam, uh which Jim attended. So tell you more about that. Excellent talk. Our um intern Andrew also did a presentation about the Goose Creek Preservation Collection that he processed. It's one of the collections he processed here as an intern. And this is something we're requiring interns to do now is a presentation. That's good experience. Excellent job. And it's a very interesting talk. And okay, in addition to having things in in order, there are the rope be one or what so he did in addition to the um exhibit about rogue be, he processed a collection that was about uh uh creation of the goose creek preservation district, historic preservation district. Including the murder by Bull Evan Smith of his wife in 1985. Um experience for Andrew. The guy that did the murdering.

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