OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Leesburg Library Board of Commissioners Meeting - July 9, 2026

Town Council & Commissions — Thursday, July 9, 2026
BodyLeesburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council & Commissions
DateThursday, July 9, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:03:07

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

Another gym looks like the world match.

0:08

So drive down here.

0:11

Okay.

0:11

So it is recording.

0:14

Okay.

0:15

It is the practice of the town at least work to record meetings of the town standing boards and commissions.

0:22

Yes, we are being recorded.

0:26

Okay, let me call the meeting to order.

0:29

Do we have anybody to approve for virtual attendance?

0:33

No, we don't.

0:36

Okay, we'll move on to the next item, which is approval of the minutes for the June 10th, 2026 meeting.

0:53

We have the ocean.

1:05

Okay.

1:07

Thank you.

1:08

Next we will move on to the library of records report for the May of June or June.

1:18

In June.

1:21

Okay.

1:21

So the June report, you've been busy.

1:26

So I were busy.

1:29

I look forward to business with a lot of things.

1:34

Yeah, so with I remember last year at this time we said June 2026.

1:38

We'll keep it the schedule pretty open because we know we'll be busy in July.

1:43

And we didn't do that.

1:45

We had a great, great month with lots of visitations.

1:54

Pretty good attendance at our programs, but notably we had a lot of reference questions in person because we had a lot of visitors from state and in-state as well.

2:04

So a lot of research.

2:10

And so they got a lot of experience.

2:13

We got a lot of out-of-town questions.

2:20

So we closed our botanical world exhibit um in order to make way uh for this wonderful textile exhibit.

2:29

Um upstairs we finally finished installing our uh exhibit, one of the uh semi-funcentennial, uh which is a look back at historic commemorations.

2:40

It took a really long time to the looks really good.

2:43

We just looked at it.

2:44

Thank you.

2:44

We have a lot of fun putting it together.

2:46

Some funny little pieces in there.

2:48

There could be more um dial it back on the bicentennial.

2:56

So um, but we do have a lot of great resources to draw from in the collection.

3:02

And we learned a lot about fireworks in particular.

3:05

Um they used to be a lot more dangerous, but luckily for us, they um are now in massive shows and not as bad at all.

3:16

Um no one is firing cans.

3:20

Um we also um turned some of the content from that into reels for the town, uh, which were put up on our social media and okay.

3:30

Um we actually didn't post QA that was supposed to go out on the 4th of July because of the parade being canceled.

3:36

We didn't want to conflict the message, so we might um read you that a little bit and put it out at some point.

3:43

Um we also have a very successful exhibit in June or first Friday, uh, which focused on revolution resistance and voices and that kind of protest in Leesburg.

3:54

Okay, so many topics.

3:56

Um Tammy is gonna use uh probably to avail a digital exhibit.

4:02

Um we had a couple of things that were not ours that were hosted here that we did play a part in, one on June 13th with allowed in the cemetery consortium's trustee course was aimed at teaching people how to be trustee for a cemetery, which is excellent.

4:18

Um Tammy actually attended that.

4:21

Yeah, um, and she said that it was uh really really actually they said for the second time they had people show up who had not registered, they had more people attend than they had planned, which is really great.

4:34

Um cemeteries are popular, everyone's waiting to get into them.

4:43

We hosted another um episode of the revolution on the screen with Bill Wilken talking about drums a lot in Mohawk.

4:51

Pretty well attended, and we also did some educational uh outreach, including uh Cold War Pop-up is it at Stone Bridge High School, which thank you, Karen, for your help.

5:00

And we also did some education outreach, including uh Cold War pop-up exit at Stonebridge High School, which thank you, Karen, for your um telling us some of the activities that you've done that you may enjoy by high school students as well.

5:07

And uh we also uh went to a meeting.

5:11

I know in our last meeting we talked a little bit about the social science fairs that don't exist any longer, but the librarians at Stonebridge are hoping to bring something back next January that would tie in with uh history day um projects that students are doing, but also it have different um historical agencies there to kind of present to the do interactive activities with families and students, and it's looking they're looking at doing through all grade levels right now.

5:41

So we had elementary, middle, and high school, which should be good if it all comes together.

5:47

Um with history day, we also um I served as a judge at National History Baby's junior division at the University of Maryland's college.

6:00

In my case, I judge websites, so making websites about things that are a little too good.

6:07

Um but history day is a really wonderful um uh sort of opportunity to see other professionals in education as well as in um libraries and museums and things like that.

6:21

Um so I met a couple of people, including the DC public library education outreach library, which is a great um great person to know.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Historical Preservation███████████████████████████████████████39%
Historic Preservation███████████████████19%
Community Events██████████████14%
Arts And Culture████████████12%
Procedural██████6%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████6%
Pending Litigation██2%
Technology and Innovation█1%
Parks and Recreation█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Leesburg Library Board of Commissioners Meeting - July 9, 2026

The meeting was called to order at 12:00 PM. The board approved the minutes from the June 10, 2026 meeting and received a detailed report on library operations for June 2026. The report highlighted high visitor numbers, increased reference questions from out-of-state visitors, and successful programming. The board also discussed acquisitions, building maintenance, upcoming exhibits, and the status of several community initiatives.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of the minutes for the June 10, 2026 meeting was moved and carried.

Discussion Items

  • Library Director's Report (June 2026): The director reported a busy month with strong visitation and program attendance. Notable exhibits included a botanical world exhibit (closed), a textile exhibit, and a semi-quincentennial (250th anniversary) display looking back at historic commemorations. The library also hosted a First Friday exhibit on revolution, resistance, and protest in Leesburg.
  • Acquisitions and Collections: The library accessioned 95 collections since January 2026, including 11 in June. A highlight was a 1776 bond from Philip Nolan (sheriff) that shows the transition from royal to colonial authority, donated by a private individual. Other acquisitions included World War I letters from the Edgar family, Chamberlain family papers (1860s–1880s), and a lead eagle gate weight from the Monroe family estate. The library is processing the League of Women Voters collection and reached out to the new owners of the Fanny Spider Bar (formerly a pharmacy) to document the building.
  • Building and Preservation: The Department of Historic Resources conducted its annual easement visit and gave a positive verbal assessment. Plaster cracking in the 1922 section was noted, but DHR was not overly concerned and suggested a building assessment. The outdoor metal railing was repainted, and a neighbor accidentally removed a section of the library's fence, which will be replaced.
  • Foundation and Friends: The library foundation has one open board position (town council-appointed) now scheduled for review. The foundation's 10-year saga to secure IRS tax-exempt status and merge the Bulge Trust (approx. $200,000) was resolved. The Friends of TLB scheduled their annual fundraising event for October 22, 2026, at the Berkeley House.
  • St. James Cemetery: Ground-penetrating radar found nearly 400 graves (over 300 unmarked). The town is deciding future landscaping. The board discussed inviting Tammy (likely a staff member) to present findings.
  • Oak Hill Preservation: The governor added funding back to the budget, making it a state park. Reenactors (including a Monroe portrayer) now live on the property as caretakers/interpreters.
  • 250th Anniversary Programming: The library's 250th programming has been very successful. July 4th events included a pop-up exhibit at the Donaldson Cabin (25 attendees) and a display at the courthouse (over 600 visitors). The revolution on film series continues. A journal is nearing completion, with a forward by Cynthia Kerner.
  • History Awards: The board formed a two-person subcommittee (new member and experienced member) to review nominations. The submission deadline was moved to October 1, 2026, to allow more time. The awards ceremony will be November 1, 2026.
  • New Business: The town clerk informed the board of a Virginia Code change effective July 1, 2026: no final action may be taken on items added to the agenda after the meeting begins, unless time-sensitive or arising from a closed meeting. The board acknowledged this.
  • Commissioner Comments: Commissioner Billy suggested recognizing the late Russell Baker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former host of Masterpiece Theatre, who was a frequent library patron. The board supported the idea of a future exhibit or plaque.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved the June 10, 2026 meeting minutes.
  • Formed a subcommittee for the 2026 History Awards, with a new deadline of October 1, 2026.
  • The board expressed appreciation for the library director and staff for their work on the 250th anniversary programming.
  • No formal votes were taken on other items, as most were informational or directive.

Meeting Transcript

Another gym looks like the world match. So drive down here. Okay. So it is recording. Okay. It is the practice of the town at least work to record meetings of the town standing boards and commissions. Yes, we are being recorded. Okay, let me call the meeting to order. Do we have anybody to approve for virtual attendance? No, we don't. Okay, we'll move on to the next item, which is approval of the minutes for the June 10th, 2026 meeting. We have the ocean. Okay. Thank you. Next we will move on to the library of records report for the May of June or June. In June. Okay. So the June report, you've been busy. So I were busy. I look forward to business with a lot of things. Yeah, so with I remember last year at this time we said June 2026. We'll keep it the schedule pretty open because we know we'll be busy in July. And we didn't do that. We had a great, great month with lots of visitations. Pretty good attendance at our programs, but notably we had a lot of reference questions in person because we had a lot of visitors from state and in-state as well. So a lot of research. And so they got a lot of experience. We got a lot of out-of-town questions. So we closed our botanical world exhibit um in order to make way uh for this wonderful textile exhibit. Um upstairs we finally finished installing our uh exhibit, one of the uh semi-funcentennial, uh which is a look back at historic commemorations. It took a really long time to the looks really good. We just looked at it. Thank you. We have a lot of fun putting it together. Some funny little pieces in there. There could be more um dial it back on the bicentennial. So um, but we do have a lot of great resources to draw from in the collection. And we learned a lot about fireworks in particular. Um they used to be a lot more dangerous, but luckily for us, they um are now in massive shows and not as bad at all. Um no one is firing cans. Um we also um turned some of the content from that into reels for the town, uh, which were put up on our social media and okay. Um we actually didn't post QA that was supposed to go out on the 4th of July because of the parade being canceled. We didn't want to conflict the message, so we might um read you that a little bit and put it out at some point. Um we also have a very successful exhibit in June or first Friday, uh, which focused on revolution resistance and voices and that kind of protest in Leesburg. Okay, so many topics. Um Tammy is gonna use uh probably to avail a digital exhibit. Um we had a couple of things that were not ours that were hosted here that we did play a part in, one on June 13th with allowed in the cemetery consortium's trustee course was aimed at teaching people how to be trustee for a cemetery, which is excellent. Um Tammy actually attended that. Yeah, um, and she said that it was uh really really actually they said for the second time they had people show up who had not registered, they had more people attend than they had planned, which is really great. Um cemeteries are popular, everyone's waiting to get into them.

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