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Record of Proceedings

Monterey Public Library Board Meeting Summary - August 27, 2026

Boards and Commissions — Thursday, August 27, 2026
BodyMonterey, California
SessionBoards and Commissions
DateThursday, August 27, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:06:56

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
3:35

So they should be they'll get tested everything.

3:42

And once we're ready, we'll give a we'll get a countdown.

4:42

Two one.

4:43

We're good to go.

5:00

Right.

5:01

I have the chair Morrow here.

5:04

Yes.

5:05

Do I have our vice chair Grove?

5:08

I have Josh.

5:10

If no, he is sick, as we said.

5:12

Do I have Petty here?

5:13

Present.

5:14

Awesome.

5:14

And you want?

5:16

Yes.

5:16

Perfect.

5:17

Okay.

5:18

Yeah.

5:20

Can I just make a note for folks attending on Zoom or by phone?

5:24

Um call in by by phone and enter webinar ID 161328864 to raise your hand.

5:33

Dial star nine so we could be alerted and then stall star six to unmute, and we will do this at the different times where it is appropriate.

5:43

And with that over we start with a presentation, right?

5:53

So I'm going to share from full side, full screen.

6:03

Which one?

6:04

Can you do full screen on the side there?

6:06

I don't know if I can.

6:08

It's on the right.

6:14

Oh no.

6:15

That one.

6:17

Central size.

6:19

Yeah.

6:19

It's fine.

6:20

It's just this little thing that's not going to be like.

6:22

Yeah, I know.

6:22

It does it on the same.

6:23

Okay.

6:23

It does along the same way.

6:24

All right, cool.

6:25

Welcome.

6:27

So I really wanted this little this presentation to have been presented by our bookmobile staff.

6:34

But Micah is on vacation.

6:36

Today's our very first vacation since it kind of came on board.

6:39

And today's the first day of their vacation.

6:41

And Esme uh is a part-time.

6:44

So she her shift ends at 3 15.

6:46

So I'll be doing it for them.

6:48

Um as you know, their supervisor.

6:50

And also this is an area that I've kind of have um taken over during my role here at the Monterey Public Library since I started back um about one year ago.

6:58

So I'll kind I'll go into uh the different sort of focus areas of bookmobile and outreach services, um, you know, who which staff members are involved, um, and give you a little bit of of numbers as well of different service areas and kind of what we're working on right now.

7:15

So next page.

7:17

Yeah, okay.

7:18

So for our bookmobile and outreach services team, in the in the photo there, you'll see that's Micah in the back and Esme.

7:24

So Micah Whitaker is um our regular full-time and serves as our bookmobile coordinator, and so they came on board uh starting the very beginning of this year.

7:33

So they started in January.

7:35

Um they came in after the previous bookmobile coordinator had left.

7:38

And then Esme, who is um standing in front of her, is our library assistant too, but is also uh very much um really important part of the bookmobile team um team, and so with both of them together, they've been the ones that have been doing the majority of the sites together.

7:56

There are some that they do alone.

7:57

It really depends on how much traffic each site gets.

8:00

Um, and so they are the main bookmobile drivers as well.

8:03

Um, however, I do want to mention that it's not just them two, they are kind of the main ones, but we also do it.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Library Services█████████████████████████████████████████████67%
Board Operations███████████17%
Community Engagement████6%
Meeting Procedures██3%
Public Engagement██3%
Procedural█2%
Personnel Matters█2%
Summary of Proceedings

Monterey Public Library Board Meeting – August 27, 2026

The Monterey Public Library Board met on August 27, 2026, to receive updates on the bookmobile and outreach services, discuss an advocacy guide, set the December meeting date, and hear trustee announcements. The meeting began at approximately 4:00 PM and included a presentation, consent agenda approval, and discussion items.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes and Information Reports (Items 2–6): Approved unanimously without discussion or pull. The consent agenda included approval of minutes and four information reports.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public spoke during the general public comment period. There were no public comments on agenda items.

Discussion Items

  • Bookmobile and Outreach Services Update: Melissa, Library Administrator, presented on behalf of the bookmobile team (Micah Whitaker, coordinator, and Esmé, library assistant). Key highlights:

    • Bookmobile Stops: 7,281 visits recorded from August 2025 to July 2026, a 12% increase over the prior year. Items checked out reached 12,000, a 10% increase. The Casanova Knoll stop was moved from 2–3 PM to 4–5 PM after a neighborhood survey, resulting in average visits rising from ~4 to 8–12. A new private stop at the Ohana Center for child and adolescent behavioral health will begin September 3, 2026, on the first and third Thursdays from 3–4 PM.
    • Hold Pickup Lockers: Installed late 2025, lockers at Montecito Park and the Sports Center have processed 306 and 574 checkouts, respectively, from January to July 2026, with monthly usage increasing. Returns are not tracked but are reported as frequent.
    • Outreach Events: 23 events were attended (same as prior year), reaching 4,755 people (23% increase). Events included the MPUSD back-to-school fair, Fourth of July parade, and Monterey Pride.
    • Community Connections: Staff updated marketing materials with a new logo and bilingual guides. A citywide summer reading competition among city departments was initiated, with the Finance Department winning. Board members requested updated web content and explored adding foundation/friends information at outreach events.

  • December 2026 Meeting Date: The board discussed scheduling a combined meeting (replacing the late November and December regular meetings) for early December. After reviewing council and commission calendars, the board set the date for Monday, December 7, 2026, at 4:00 PM in the library meeting room. Motion carried unanimously.

  • Library Advocacy Guide Update: Melissa presented a draft “zine”-style pocket guide intended for trustees, staff, and foundation members to use when advocating for the library. Feedback included:

    • Renaming it a “Pocket Guide to the Monterey Public Library” rather than an advocacy guide.
    • Clarifying language (e.g., “Be understanding of MPL” deemed vague; suggested replacing with “Learn about MPL”).
    • Adding a QR code or link to the Friends & Foundation website for donations.
    • Updating statistics to use rolling 12-month averages instead of fixed fiscal-year dates to avoid frequent reprinting.
    • Board members requested one week to submit additional feedback via email before finalizing for printing.

  • Disbanding the Advocacy Ad Hoc Committee: Trustee Petty moved to disband the ad hoc advocacy committee (originally formed to create an advocacy guide and deploy a strategy). The committee’s initial task (the guide) is nearly complete, and future scheduling of advocacy events (e.g., budget town halls) will be brought as a separate agenda item at a later meeting. Motion passed unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • Bookmobile and lockers: Service statistics and new stop approved for Ohana Center. Staff will update the website and consider adding foundation materials to outreach events.
  • December meeting: Scheduled for Monday, December 7, 2026, at 4:00 PM.
  • Advocacy guide: Revisions to be submitted by board members within one week; printing to proceed thereafter.
  • Ad hoc committee: Dissolved; future advocacy scheduling to be agendized separately.
  • Trustee announcement: Trustee Petty announced his intention to resign from the Library Board at the end of 2026, after more than 10 years of service. He cited a desire for rotation and personal burnout. The chair thanked him for his service.
  • New library card design: A new library card design was unveiled, to be issued starting September 1, 2026. Stickers designed by staff will also be sold to benefit the library trust fund.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 4:55 PM.

Meeting Transcript

So they should be they'll get tested everything. And once we're ready, we'll give a we'll get a countdown. Two one. We're good to go. Right. I have the chair Morrow here. Yes. Do I have our vice chair Grove? I have Josh. If no, he is sick, as we said. Do I have Petty here? Present. Awesome. And you want? Yes. Perfect. Okay. Yeah. Can I just make a note for folks attending on Zoom or by phone? Um call in by by phone and enter webinar ID 161328864 to raise your hand. Dial star nine so we could be alerted and then stall star six to unmute, and we will do this at the different times where it is appropriate. And with that over we start with a presentation, right? So I'm going to share from full side, full screen. Which one? Can you do full screen on the side there? I don't know if I can. It's on the right. Oh no. That one. Central size. Yeah. It's fine. It's just this little thing that's not going to be like. Yeah, I know. It does it on the same. Okay. It does along the same way. All right, cool. Welcome. So I really wanted this little this presentation to have been presented by our bookmobile staff. But Micah is on vacation. Today's our very first vacation since it kind of came on board. And today's the first day of their vacation. And Esme uh is a part-time. So she her shift ends at 3 15. So I'll be doing it for them. Um as you know, their supervisor. And also this is an area that I've kind of have um taken over during my role here at the Monterey Public Library since I started back um about one year ago. So I'll kind I'll go into uh the different sort of focus areas of bookmobile and outreach services, um, you know, who which staff members are involved, um, and give you a little bit of of numbers as well of different service areas and kind of what we're working on right now. So next page.

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