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Record of Proceedings

Puyallup Library Advisory Board Meeting - January 5, 2026

City Council & Commissions — Monday, January 5, 2026
BodyPuyallup, Washington
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateMonday, January 5, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 12:28

Original source
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0:08

All right.

0:08

I will call to order our January 5th, 2026 meeting.

0:14

Welcome everyone.

0:15

Happy New Year.

0:18

So roll call.

0:21

Board member Weissar.

0:23

Here.

0:25

Board Member Gersman.

0:26

Here.

0:28

Board Member Ferguson appears to be absent.

0:34

Vice Chair Zemer.

0:35

Here.

0:36

And Chair Fimmler.

0:38

Here.

0:39

We have a quorum.

0:41

Fantastic.

0:43

So we have received the agenda via email from library director.

0:49

So I am open to any motions regarding our agenda for today's meeting.

0:57

I move to approve the agenda for January 5th meeting.

1:02

Second.

1:06

All right.

1:07

Any discussion about our agenda for today?

1:12

All right.

1:13

So all in favor of approving the agenda for January 5th, 2026, say aye.

1:19

Aye.

1:20

Aye.

1:21

Aye.

1:22

All opposed say nay.

1:26

All right.

1:27

Looks like we have an approved agenda.

1:31

In our packet, we also had minutes from our November 17th, 2025 meeting.

1:38

And I'm open to any discussion or motions regarding the minutes from our last meeting.

1:57

Seconded.

2:00

Okay.

2:02

Any discussion about the minutes?

2:04

I read through them.

2:06

They looked fine to me.

2:07

But any discussion.

2:10

No, same.

2:12

Okay.

2:13

All in favor of approving the minutes from November 17th, 2025 meeting, say aye.

2:20

Aye.

2:22

Aye.

2:23

Any opposed, say nay.

2:26

And doesn't look like there's any abstentions as well.

2:30

So we have approved our minutes from November 17th.

2:35

Any citizen comments?

2:37

We did not receive any citizen comments emailed to us for the board.

2:41

Okay.

2:43

And it doesn't look like anybody has joined us either.

2:46

So all right, library director.

2:52

Okay.

2:53

Well, it's uh pretty brief this time, uh, I would say.

2:57

Um, you know, the monthly stats are all you know really solid.

3:02

We've been um we've been busy, it kind of speaks for itself.

3:06

Our overdrive use continues to show um steady uh increase and um our door counts, everything are pretty solid.

3:17

The one thing of note is that we are moving forward with ordering some new uh computer tables upstairs.

3:25

There has it wasn't something we applied for, it's for the uh 250th uh anniversary of the country, and um so the Carnegie Foundation is gifting every uh library 10,000.

3:42

So we are taking that money to um uh improve the look and functionality and access of the uh computer stations upstairs when you first get off of the elevator right now.

3:55

If you've been in there, there's just these um they're fine, they are rectangle tables, but our cord management is quite cumbersome and it also leaves the backside open for people to unplug and plug in their own things.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Libraries And Community Engagement█████████████████████████████████████████████63%
Procedural██████████████████████████37%
Summary of Proceedings

Puyallup Library Advisory Board Meeting - January 5, 2026

The Library Advisory Board met virtually on January 5, 2026, at 6:00 PM. The meeting lasted 12 minutes, with all four present board members (Chair Melanie Fuemmeler, Vice-Chair Justine Ziemer, Board Members Sarah Weishaar and Kimberlee Gerstmann) participating; Board Member Alice Ferguson was absent. Staff present included Library Director Nicole Erickson and Administrative Clerk Erin Priddy. The board approved the agenda and prior minutes, received updates on library operations, a Carnegie Foundation gift, Friends of the Library activities, and the Library Foundation's successful Lazy Ballerina event.

Consent Calendar

  • The agenda for the January 5, 2026 meeting was approved by a motion from Vice-Chair Ziemer, seconded by Board Member Gerstmann, with a 4-0 vote.
  • The minutes from the November 17, 2025 meeting were approved by a motion from Board Member Gerstmann, seconded by Board Member Weishaar, with a 4-0 vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No citizen comments were received via email or in the virtual meeting.

Discussion Items

  • Library Director's Report: Director Nicole Erickson reported that monthly statistics were solid with steady increases in Overdrive (digital lending) use and consistent door counts. She announced that the library will receive a $10,000 gift from the Carnegie Foundation to celebrate the country's 250th anniversary; the funds will be used primarily to purchase two new round computer tables for the upstairs area (similar to those at Tacoma Public Library), improving functionality and appearance. Approximately $3,000 will remain after the table purchase, and the library is considering using those funds to revamp another computer area between the reference desk and teen zone, pending installation of a second print release station.
  • Friends of the Library Report: Director Erickson noted that the Friends did not meet in December (their only non-meeting month). The Friends are experiencing a high volume of donations and have temporarily paused accepting new donations until after their upcoming book sale, which will free up space. The last book sale in late December generated approximately $181.
  • Library Foundation Report: The Foundation has not met since the previous board meeting but will meet the following Monday (January 12). Their recent Lazy Ballerina event was one of the Foundation's most successful initiatives ever, selling out 40–45 seats plus two walk-ins. The Foundation is likely to plan similar events in the future, though a specific venue and date have not been confirmed.
  • Board Member Comments: Board Member Weishaar inquired about donating a ukulele to the library's musical instrument collection. Director Erickson confirmed that the library welcomes instrument donations and can arrange repairs if needed. Weishaar indicated her son was ready to part with his ukulele and would bring it to the library.

Key Outcomes

  • The agenda and November 17, 2025 minutes were each approved unanimously (4-0).
  • The board acknowledged the Carnegie Foundation gift and the planned use of funds for new computer tables and potential revamp of an adjacent area.
  • The next regular meeting was confirmed for March 16, 2026, to be held in person.
  • The meeting adjourned at 6:12 PM.

Meeting Transcript

All right. I will call to order our January 5th, 2026 meeting. Welcome everyone. Happy New Year. So roll call. Board member Weissar. Here. Board Member Gersman. Here. Board Member Ferguson appears to be absent. Vice Chair Zemer. Here. And Chair Fimmler. Here. We have a quorum. Fantastic. So we have received the agenda via email from library director. So I am open to any motions regarding our agenda for today's meeting. I move to approve the agenda for January 5th meeting. Second. All right. Any discussion about our agenda for today? All right. So all in favor of approving the agenda for January 5th, 2026, say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. All right. Looks like we have an approved agenda. In our packet, we also had minutes from our November 17th, 2025 meeting. And I'm open to any discussion or motions regarding the minutes from our last meeting. Seconded. Okay. Any discussion about the minutes? I read through them. They looked fine to me. But any discussion. No, same. Okay. All in favor of approving the minutes from November 17th, 2025 meeting, say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. And doesn't look like there's any abstentions as well. So we have approved our minutes from November 17th. Any citizen comments? We did not receive any citizen comments emailed to us for the board. Okay. And it doesn't look like anybody has joined us either.

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