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Record of Proceedings

Board of Library Trustees Meeting Summary - May 28, 2026

Boards and Commissions — Thursday, May 28, 2026
BodyMonterey, California
SessionBoards and Commissions
DateThursday, May 28, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:47:21
Transcript — Verbatim
1:25

This upside down so the people they can read.

1:33

So yeah, for a couple things.

1:37

He doesn't want to bring a computer.

1:38

I was gonna print out a couple of things.

1:41

So there it is.

1:43

Diane, when whenever uh we're all ready, we can start.

1:47

We'll start with the countdown and I'll hit it.

2:10

Okay, welcome everybody to this meeting of the Board of Library Trustees.

2:15

Um we will call to order with a roll call.

2:18

Yeah, here we are.

2:19

Uh Chair Delormier.

2:22

Here and Vice Chair Petty present.

2:25

Uh trustee Joshi present.

2:27

Trustee Silvera here and trustee Maron here, all are present.

2:31

And then on the staff side, we have uh library museum director Edwards, public service manager um Kim Smith and our team librarian.

2:42

All right.

2:43

Well, welcome all.

2:44

Thanks for being here.

2:45

And we will start with a presentation from Andrea.

2:49

Cool.

2:49

So I'm gonna go ahead and open this up.

2:53

And also let me do this and hold on, Andrea, because what I would like to do is go in here and also see if I could um share the screen.

3:03

Okay.

3:07

And let's go.

3:09

Okay, cool.

3:10

And we'll move.

3:12

So if this if this moves in here, I'm gonna be just a minute, because then that's the way I can move this out.

3:17

Okay.

3:19

Hopefully, that works.

3:28

Um just a little background.

3:31

I think I've been here for two years now.

3:33

And in the beginning, I know there hasn't been like a team library since we think um, since the pandemic.

3:41

Um so I did have to start from scratch, you know, making contact with everyone, bringing in teens.

3:48

Um, and I think there has been like a major improvement.

3:52

So um, first I just wanted to talk about the team programs that I currently have right now.

3:57

I had a clean advisory board.

3:59

Um, we have a reading buddy.

4:01

This is a pitcher of one of my reading buddies with um our regular kid that comes every week.

4:07

So right now we have three teen reading buddies and we get an average of five to eight kids who sign up for our reading session every Wednesday.

4:15

Um, and then we have team lounge, just like a gaming lounge, just for teens to come like after school and just play video games.

4:22

Um, we have a teen internship that also has um I just started a summer, um, the summer reading internship.

4:30

And then I also do teen book reviews, and this is more for those who can't really come directly like come to the library um and want to receive community service.

4:39

So I do have that set up where they could submit book reviews.

4:43

Um, and then we also did start a spring Dungeons and Dragons uh for teens.

4:50

And we got like an average of 10 teens for that one.

4:52

I was really impressed because we did get a lot of um tweens, like tweet boys.

4:58

I usually don't see in other of my programs.

5:00

So I feel like that was a major fifth.

4:59

So I wanted to talk more about the teen advisory board.

5:09

So the main goal to start up the teen advisory board was to increase teen involvement and just to encourage TAB when I first started doing programs.

5:21

I had an average of five to eight teens participating programs.

5:25

And usually this was me going around the library and telling them, hey, guys, there's a program going on.

5:31

And then after TAB, we now average around 20 to 40 teens that participate in programs.

5:37

So you can see there's been an improvement.

5:40

So this is why I really wanted to start it again, just to create just to have that type of um relationship with the teens.

5:49

So next.

5:51

So just a little bit more about TAB.

5:54

Right now we currently have up to 10 teens who are involved in TAB.

5:57

Usually it's a little bit more, but right now these are my current teens who have been really involved and who have been coming to the meetings.

6:06

Um we meet twice a month.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Youth Programs█████████████████████████████████33%
Procedural████████████████████████████████32%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████████████15%
Arts And Culture█████████9%
Miscellaneous█████5%
Personnel Matters███3%
Community Engagement██2%
Historic Preservation█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Board of Library Trustees Meeting Summary - May 28, 2026

The Board of Library Trustees of the Monterey Public Library met on May 28, 2026, with all five trustees present (Chair Delormier, Vice Chair Petty, Trustees Joshi, Silvera, Maron). Staff included Library Museum Director Edwards, Public Service Manager Kim Smith, and Teen Librarian Andrea. The meeting covered a presentation on teen programs, discussion of library operations and policy changes, and approval of the holiday closure schedule for 2027. No public comments were made.

Consent Calendar

  • Items 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 were approved without discussion: approval of meeting minutes (from April 23, 2026), Library Museum Director activity report, quarterly library activities statistical report, and financial reports. Item 4 (director activity report) was pulled for discussion.

Discussion Items

  • Teen Programs Presentation: Teen Librarian Andrea presented an overview of programs rebuilt since the pandemic. Highlights:
    • Teen Advisory Board (TAB) with 10 active members, meeting twice monthly, helping plan and execute events. Programs include reading buddies (average 5-8 kids weekly), gaming lounge, Dungeons & Dragons (average 10 teens), and a summer reading internship with 10 interns starting in June.
    • TAB participation increased program attendance from 5-8 to 20-40 teens.
    • Teens accumulated 157 community service hours in the past year.
    • Teens expressed a need for a more welcoming and safe space (more color, beanbags, lights, and separation from adult computer use). Director Edwards noted future plans to renovate the teen area as part of a broader library reconfiguration.
  • Director Activity Report (Item 4): Director Edwards discussed:
    • Public Art Policy: Work with intern Ariana to develop a citywide policy for public art on private and public property, addressing sign permits, historic preservation, and zoning. Collaboration with Planning and Community Services departments.
    • Library Help Desk and Shelving: Updating the help desk with adjustable heights and moving holds/new books to a central “marketplace” area to improve flow and free space for computers and teen area.
    • Outdoor Space: Interest in using the back patio for programs, but no current funding.
  • Policy Changes – First Reading: Proposed updates to board policy regarding library cards:
    • Clarify that cards are valid at cooperating reciprocal libraries (Pacific Grove and Carmel).
    • Replace address verification with identification verification for free California resident cards, simplifying process and aligning with partner libraries.
    • Fee-based non-resident cards ($25) would remain, though only about 4 are issued annually.
    • A correction was noted: replacement card policy should also change address verification to identification. No vote taken; first reading only.
  • Holiday Closure Schedule for 2027: Discussion and amendment of proposed schedule:
    • Corrected Christmas dates: closed Friday, Dec 24 (Christmas Eve), Saturday Dec 25, and Monday Dec 27 (observed holiday).
    • Independence Day: closed Monday, July 5, 2027 (observed).
    • Thanksgiving: closed Thursday and Friday.
    • Chocolate & Wine event (by Friends and Foundation) scheduled for Saturday, Feb 27, 2027 (library closes early that day).
  • Director Evaluation Process: Trustees discussed the timeline (must complete by end of September) and agreed to review materials and propose dates for closed sessions at the June meeting. Trustee Silvera noted her term ends June 30 and she will not reapply.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent calendar (items 2,3,5,6,7) approved.
  • Director activity report (item 4) approved after discussion.
  • Holiday closure schedule approved as amended (motion passed unanimously).
  • Policy changes (item 8) will be brought back for second reading and vote at a future meeting.
  • Director evaluation timeline and leads to be discussed at June meeting.
  • Trustee Silvera announced she will not seek reappointment; her term ends June 30, 2026.
  • Director provided updates: bookmobile schedule adjustments at Casanova Oak Knoll and Montecito Park, Pride events in June (parade table, drag queen story time, Rainbow Rocks program), and summer reading program starting June 1.

Meeting Transcript

This upside down so the people they can read. So yeah, for a couple things. He doesn't want to bring a computer. I was gonna print out a couple of things. So there it is. Diane, when whenever uh we're all ready, we can start. We'll start with the countdown and I'll hit it. Okay, welcome everybody to this meeting of the Board of Library Trustees. Um we will call to order with a roll call. Yeah, here we are. Uh Chair Delormier. Here and Vice Chair Petty present. Uh trustee Joshi present. Trustee Silvera here and trustee Maron here, all are present. And then on the staff side, we have uh library museum director Edwards, public service manager um Kim Smith and our team librarian. All right. Well, welcome all. Thanks for being here. And we will start with a presentation from Andrea. Cool. So I'm gonna go ahead and open this up. And also let me do this and hold on, Andrea, because what I would like to do is go in here and also see if I could um share the screen. Okay. And let's go. Okay, cool. And we'll move. So if this if this moves in here, I'm gonna be just a minute, because then that's the way I can move this out. Okay. Hopefully, that works. Um just a little background. I think I've been here for two years now. And in the beginning, I know there hasn't been like a team library since we think um, since the pandemic. Um so I did have to start from scratch, you know, making contact with everyone, bringing in teens. Um, and I think there has been like a major improvement. So um, first I just wanted to talk about the team programs that I currently have right now. I had a clean advisory board. Um, we have a reading buddy. This is a pitcher of one of my reading buddies with um our regular kid that comes every week. So right now we have three teen reading buddies and we get an average of five to eight kids who sign up for our reading session every Wednesday. Um, and then we have team lounge, just like a gaming lounge, just for teens to come like after school and just play video games. Um, we have a teen internship that also has um I just started a summer, um, the summer reading internship. And then I also do teen book reviews, and this is more for those who can't really come directly like come to the library um and want to receive community service. So I do have that set up where they could submit book reviews. Um, and then we also did start a spring Dungeons and Dragons uh for teens. And we got like an average of 10 teens for that one. I was really impressed because we did get a lot of um tweens, like tweet boys. I usually don't see in other of my programs. So I feel like that was a major fifth. So I wanted to talk more about the teen advisory board. So the main goal to start up the teen advisory board was to increase teen involvement and just to encourage TAB when I first started doing programs.

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