Monterey Public Library Board Meeting Summary - December 11, 2025
Monterey Public Library Board Meeting Summary - December 11, 2025
The Monterey Public Library Board of Trustees convened to address budget allocation for the upcoming "MC Gives" funding cycle, provide updates on the shared library pattern agreement between Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Carmel libraries, and review the state library report. The board also initiated a project to develop a standardized advocacy "elevator speech" for trustees and staff. Significant discussion focused on prioritizing the Community Room upgrade for sound and safety improvements, navigating the logistical and financial implications of the new shared courier service, and clarifying discrepancies in the state statistical report regarding active user counts and Wi-Fi statistics.
Consent Calendar
- Trustee Morrell requested the removal of Item #4 (State Library Report) from the consent agenda to allow for specific clarification questions regarding data columns, registered user definitions, and operational errors.
- The remaining Consent Agenda was approved with no objection.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Liberty Lane Residents/Community Members: One community member expressed appreciation for the "Canterbury Road Days" event, noting it was well-received and sparked significant engagement with the featured book.
Discussion Items
MC Gives Funding Allocation and Strategy
- Trustee Moore: Proposed prioritizing the Community Room renovation to address acoustic issues (reverberation from hard surfaces) and to create a more visible, welcoming space for adult programs and community groups. He suggested installing acoustic panels and updating the entryway to feature plaques acknowledging donor support.
- Trustee Silvera: Supported the Community Room upgrade as a priority, noting that nearly 100% of adult programs (including author talks and movie screenings) utilize the space. He emphasized the need for accessible sound systems that comply with accessibility standards, which would be enhanced by the current hardware limitations.
- Library Director/Staff: Clarified that the Community Room's shared use (NCIP meetings, community groups) necessitates upgrades to improve audio quality for feature films and lectures, as current laptop speakers are insufficient. The board discussed the need to obtain quotes for the renovation to include in the MC Gives application.
- Foundation Partnership: Staff noted that the Monterey Community Foundation (CFMC) has undergone leadership changes and selects 212 agencies out of 300 applicants. They advised aligning the library's proposal with foundation parameters, potentially emphasizing youth-focused outcomes as MC Gives prioritizes younger donors and youth benefits. Staff clarified that MC Gives funds generally do not support recurring staff costs unless strictly project-based (e.g., digitization).
- Reporting Strategy: The board discussed presenting tangible improvements (e.g., sound system upgrades) and video examples in future applications to demonstrate the successful use of funds, thereby encouraging continued support for general improvements.
Shared Library Pattern (Carmel Integration)
- Status Update: The shared pattern agreement between Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Carmel libraries has been approved by all three city councils. The agreement is currently moving through signature collection by city managers.
- Courier Service Logistics: The board discussed the expansion of the Pacific Library Partnership (PLP) courier service to include Carmel. The annual cost is projected to rise by approximately $1,000 (totaling $5,000-$6,000) due to Consumer Price Index increases, which will be split three ways among the partner libraries.
- Operational Changes: Staff reported that weekly meetings are ongoing to harmonize internal procedures, including loan periods, patron types, and hold rules, to ensure consistency across the three systems. While electronic subscriptions remain individually managed (leading to unique collections like Carmel's "Canopy" movies), the physical book sharing and catalog access will be unified.
- Patron Experience: It was noted that Carmel library patrons will likely utilize the Monterey locations due to parking availability in Carmel. The integration is expected to increase traffic and usage, particularly for residents commuting from the Carmel area.
State Library Report Clarifications
- Registered Users: Clarified that the "Registered Users" figure (18,000) refers to active users (cardholders with activity within the last three years), excluding cards dormant for longer periods despite a five-year shelf life. This aligns with California state-specific reporting guidelines.
- Late Fines: Confirmed that while the report listed a charge for late fines, the library has since eliminated late fines, and the data reflects the prior reporting period or a transitional state.
- Wireless Sessions: The report indicated a negative number (-1) for wireless sessions, which was attributed to a system migration from the previous network to Juniper. The library currently lacks access to the new data portal and is working with IT to retrieve and report this statistic moving forward.
- Bookmobile Costs: Discussed the high operating cost per checkout (approx. $2/book) attributed to internal city charges for vehicle depreciation and maintenance. Staff emphasized the non-circulation value of the service, including outreach, PR, and accessibility to underserved neighborhoods, which justifies the expense despite lower checkout volumes compared to fixed branches.
Key Outcomes
- Project Priority Established: The Community Room acoustic and aesthetic renovation was identified as the primary candidate for the next MC Gives funding cycle.
- Agenda Amendment: Item #4 of the Consent Agenda was successfully reclassified as a discussion item, allowing for immediate clarification of state reporting discrepancies.
- Advocacy Draft Assigned: Trustees agreed to appoint a single trustee (Janie was suggested) to draft an "elevator speech" / advocacy cheat sheet. The draft is to be presented at the January meeting for review and refinement.
- Timeline for NCIP Vote: Confirmed that the NCIP (Neighborhood Community Improvement Program) committee will vote on project funding next Wednesday, with the results to be formally presented to the City Council in January for adoption, likely in April.
- Next Steps: Staff to work with the IT department to secure access to wireless session data; all three libraries to continue harmonizing loan rules and patron protocols ahead of the go-live date.
Meeting Transcript
They can't start. I can I can reference City Council's agenda package. Right that says the budget has been approved. So then you put in there and you say we expect 65,000, right? So you put that into the budget annually. And the revenues, the revenue is not the part, and not the I just mean the expenditure part, right? That's where it's like, and it's trust. So you put it into the trust fund because then if we don't expend that money, it rolls back. Yeah. And next year we built it back in. Not use it or lose it within 12 months. No, it goes right back into our cash account. Does MC Gifts ever circle back to ask where it was spent or if it was spent? That's in part of the application. Okay. So the application, like we were talking about like every year they're gonna ask us what do you do? Would you do with what you do with your money? Okay. Yeah. And what do you intend to do with the money you're going to get? And that's where this year it was kind of the general description and everything. So for our discussion, is it is it this last paragraph, but we figure out how to allocate percentage to youth programs and or are we looking for specific. I I I thought on this one it would be a good idea for any kind of other projects or any other requests that have been on back burners or have not been brought forward in the times. I know Kim and I have talked, you know, multiple times over time on collections and ebook collections. And I don't think we have to have a hard percentage, because that's the and the nature of this, because it's more about we're gonna try to see where we can because I honestly I don't know how much that community room update's gonna cost. But I will say, like other things, like the screen, it's a better screen. And my goal on the community room is that we put in a plaque at some point as easier than because not everybody does a message. And of community groups work the room also we have NCIP meetings in there, we have other group meetings that are in there. And I think if you fund in there and you put on something on the entryway that says this, you know, renovations were made possible by yeah, by a state grant by made by don't that goes in there and that's very reasonably priced for us to do, but we could do that right in the entry, right? And that's the best way to do something like that. But I do feel that we would get in, we need to get some quotes about the community room because that affects just about all of us. And Melissa knows, I mean, we'll also been doing movie movie days. Put them on pause for now because it's just and because of that, it's that bad. Yeah, we had a sound system, is that bad? You can't play a feature, a long feature film. It's just it does it disturbs the audience. No, the oh yeah, that's and so we ran into that with teen movies, yeah. And so we've run into that with speakers. So there's something that's uh that's what I mean. It could be something small, it could be something very large. And that's why I don't want to get, but I but I feel like to me, that's one of the things that I was thinking like bringing out to here, which is that I think that's a priority priority, you know, is that we look at that as that's a priority for us to work on this funding. What are other priorities which might be on there? I do think that room we probably want to look at long term, it being like you've talked about in the past, used by other groups and used extended hours beyond library hours if we can seal it off and make that something that is a an all community room. So part of this depends on honestly what NCIP does too, because if we get all the funding from NCIP, then that was in there, for example, so the room, and then we'd have discretionary to use it for other things, I think. But I agree with with Bob also that you want the most visible stuff and the most visible stuff is gonna be in the community room, the amenities for people from all over the place. Um the the other the other pieces um like things like author talks, that brings in a lot of people, I think it brings in a wider. And it and it increases potentially your donor base, which then brings in more money, which then allows you to do yeah, so it's um yeah, I was just thinking the same thing that uh I'd say probably the majority, if not a almost 100% of the adult programs take place in the community room. And you know, they're a guest speaker or a guest performer or something visual. Um to show a movie, do you have to use the room speakers? Yeah, you need the sound to be, it's not going to be loud enough just from a computer.
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