##VIDEO ID:HlQF9X_isKg## all right welcome everybody to today's meeting of the Jones Library Board of Trustees um please indicate Your Presence by responding far here thank you Jean here Tammy Tammy didn't hear you here there you go Nat I'm here and Austin I'm here um and Le going to wait for one sec Lee seems to be joining us yes thank you Lee Edwards okay I know of any changes or additions to the agenda the next item is the approval of the minutes from November 8th is there a motion to approve the minutes moved second thank you very much corrections to the minutes okay voting uh on approval bar yes Jean yes Tammy yes Natt yes Lee yes and Austin votes um Austin votes yes okay next item is public comment uh there are four attendees if anyone wishes to make a public comment if they would please raise their virtual hand okay I see no hands okay so um I just wanted to remind us uh where we are in the building uh on the building process um as you know we received two bids uh one came in under um under budget uh we we are uh in the midst of the ongoing 106 process um we have supplied to the uh MHC on Alternatives analysis based on their findings of adverse um their findings of adverse effects uh we are waiting for their response um I believe they have 30 days to respond and the 30 days would be up on December 23rd I believe uh and we'll talk a little bit more about some of the details about the building uh project in just one second um I want to confirm the meeting dates that are on the agenda uh anybody have any problem with those meeting dates uh and the proposal is to meet at 4M on those dates January 23rd February 27th March 20th April 24th May 22 June 26 isn't today some big Sunshine day tomorrow I think oh it's not it's not today it's the it's the solce isn't it I think that's tomorrow or tomorrow and what is the one that happens in June the summer solstice the summer solstice all right enough about the Sun so do we have any objection to the dates okay if you would put them in your calendar whatever that would be um that would be wonderful we have a tradition of giving um um some celebratory gift to our uh to the staff of the library and uh Sharon is proposing Sharon I'm sorry uh $42.50 from each of the six of you so that the 51 staff members can get gift cards to Emmer's coffee and how do we go about communicating getting these funds to you we send a check to the library what what do we do please yeah check cash check made out to the Jones Library Jones Library okay and is there a holiday party that we're not invited to it it happened last week yes everybody had a great [Laughter] time I yes we all had a great time where Were You Austin I think I must say I think that falls into the category of um don't ask questions that you're not prepared to hear the answer to baren where was it oh uh so it it was actually the town holiday uh party for employees at it was at the you Mass if you said it I'd say yes that's what it that's what it is I forget the name of it it was at a new location this year and was there was there fabulous food always fabulous food fabulous drinks and fabulous company all everybody you know throughout the town they get their five year 10 year 15year anniversary certificates there's a raffle it's awesome wow okay put it on your calendars for next year guess I mean it's a guess put some date on and then you may or may not be right okay um other than that again I just want to say as we end the calendar year um a word of gratitude to our director and through our director to our uh to our staff for the wonderful work that they continue to do um I think in particular there are many people to thank but I think um George gets a special thank for keeping things moving and in good repair in so far as that is U that is possible and um to all of you again thanks and I hope you have a happy holiday season and a very healthy um and a very healthy New Year and I hope the Red Sox sign a significant free agent starting picture please okay so back to the library building committee um Sharon do you want to say something about the interim space where we are on that uh nothing nothing has changed I I think you know um things are kind of on hold waiting for MHC and and to get through the holidays so we'll pick it back up in January thank you and you all know that the mblc um unanimously approved an extension on our um Grant uh the extension date provides more time uh to sign a contract with the general contractor okay any questions about the building the building project CL yeah uh just one question um so if if everything goes well and we hear back from the MHC does that mean the next day you can sign a contract is that how it works Sharon or it depends on what they say there will be some kind of negotiation so at this point we just don't know what the timeline will be okay and the 106 process doesn't end with the determination by the mass historic because they're Federal right it's a process at the FED thank you um I did want to say publicly and I hope that our good um our good clerk can um uh I think we are all tremendously grateful for the work that Mindy Dom and Joe Comerford have done and with for the support that town officials have provided but I think that Mindy and Joe um you know have shown yet again what it means to have uh Representatives uh who are dedicated to the well-being of the town and who um who go the extra mile and you know that their support was particularly cited uh along with the support of Jim McGovern uh when the NLC was considering a um the request for extension I would like to ask that um our good clerk compose a letter um for Mindy Dom a letter for Joe and a letter for Jim mcgoverin that the letter be sent the old-fashioned way um before the post office is privatized um to to to each of them and um if it's okay with you I think we might authorize a good clerk to sign on behalf of all of us and um are we all good are we all okay with that oh okay and we can in we can invite them to the forthcoming Library holiday party um to further express our appreciation okay building and Facilities bar we have not met since the last time I think George has been out but there hasn't been much to discuss so we did not we canceled our meeting last week but I don't know if there's anything to report regarding the building Sharon yes no no no and Mr President I I want to there's another there's another topic underneath president's report I wanted to make sure you get to it thank you uh the summer redesign invoices oh yeah I don't I'm sorry I must have had an old agenda sure so we have some invoices that thank you Sharon that require um our approval these invoices uh are or pursuant to the work that we asked FAA and subcontractors um to do and Sharon do you just want to walk us through those invoices and kind of explain yeah thank you so um back in June you all approved $550,500 to come out of the Endowment for the value Engineering Process um and out of that amount we have a little over $21,000 left right now now we have just received another invoice from FAA for almost 42,000 and I just received four invoices from the town uh for the ads that appeared in the daily Hampshire Gazette for um uh pre-qual and qualification and pre-qual one pre-qual 2 and the temporary space and for the GC uh so those invoices for The Gazette total almost $2,400 and I was told by FAA that we should expect one more invoice from them I'm not sure how much it'll be for um and so if you take the 44 and change th000 that we need to pay now and subtract the 21 and change that we have um we need um what I'm asking for from you is we need at least 23,000 um but what I'm asking for is $50,000 just to uh round it up so that I don't have to come back again and that'll be about a $27,000 cushion for whatever FAA will need when I get their December invoice is there a reason for um not coming back when you have the invoice I mean other than just I certainly can yeah if you want to go uh right to the dime then uh $ 22,9 6738 is what I need right now so would someone like to move um that we uh authorize the transfer of that amount of money out of the Endowment for the purpose of paying these invoices Lee no moved is there a second second any any discussion that um just to clarify since I'm a little bit new to this process but um these invoices will first need to be approved by the JL jblc so jlbc is uh still has to approve the $42,000 invoice that we got from FAA um but the four ads that appeared the town has already paid those so they won't go to jlbc and then when the next invoice comes from FAA that'll go to jlbc and then once they approve that then um that's paid directly from the endowment or is that reimbursed to the town yeah so the town will pay the bills first and then we will reimburse the town and it yeah it just gets directly wired back to us and ask us for more money uh once we get the the next FAA invoice I'll come back to you again can I can I have that exact amount again just for the the minutes yes 22967 and 38 thank you Lee Edwards didn't mean to raise my hand and now I don't know how to it's disappeared your F no it's back up it's disappeared okay you're good good uh je are you all set okay are we ready to vote on the question of approving uh the transfer of these funds out of the endowment Gan yes bar yes Tammy didn't hear you Tammy yes thank you Lee Lee Edwards yes that and yes and Austin votes yes thank you Sharon for uh not allowing that to slip by um on buildings and Facilities um either far or Sharon can you just kind of tell us what's going on at the branches I mean I know in your director's report there's stuff about the activities but anything to say about what's going on at the branches I'm pretty unmuted um uh uh do you mean programming wise or do you mean the actual buildings themselves I mean I think that the board on a regular basis ought to just hear an update on the branches um buildings program staff utilization again some of that's in your report but I think the branches are um important to all of us and I just think we should hear on a semi-regular basis what's going on yeah I do I tie the because I think of us all as one big Library so I tie us all in and when I when I share the programming information that's what's going on at the branches too yeah so very often um uh more and more programs that are happening at the Jones are are being tried out at the branches uh the staff there work with the town to reserve the the different meeting rooms and um they're attended beautifully and um things are just really smooth at both of the branches um and you know the town is working out the Kinks at the North amoris Library as far as the building goes and the keys and letting people into the meeting room which is separate from what library staff does um but yeah um people are really quite happy has utilization at the North ammer Library changed since the renovation uh I think it's about where it was before I'd have to go back and look at um you know to preco and that was so long ago at this point I wonder if the next for our next meeting you could just give us a little update on the branches yeah remind us again about how the Staffing um works and how the Staffing is working working at the branches uh just a little update I think would be would be good for all of us okay thank you far are we all good buildings and Facilities wise okay thank you um ask a question yeah sorry related to buildings and also um the um North and South there was something in the report I believe about um uh gender neutral bathrooms so is this this is something that um would be a town responsibility at the North and South am libraries and and what's the kind of timeline and and process there uh so um uh the town received a request to consider uh changing the bathrooms at the mson library into gender neutral and so Jeremiah uh met with the town manager and uh the Dei director Pamela Nolan young um and they talked about it and it it's it's more than just changing the signs there are in order to bring it up to code it's there's an expense and nobody was complaining about this the expense they just have to budget for it and then they started talking about you know the bigger picture do they do it at all the the town bathrooms and so it just kind of it's in that thinking stage at this point so that's all I know about it right now okay all set on that ready to move to uh the development committee okay so Lee y can you hear me yes yeah okay so for the annual fund we're more or less where we were at the same time last year right around $50,000 um and there's as I'm sure you all have gotten your latest mailings uh about contributing to the annual fund at the end of the year if you're so inclined uh we are optimistic that this appeal will yield additional funds um and I'll let you know next month and I know when uh you hear from the friends um maybe Rich will tell you about some of the things that the friends are doing that contribute money that um can be used for the library I mean is is contributed for the library but that doesn't really show up in the annual funds subject to the 8020 split but so we're we're doing well we're quite pleased but now I have some exciting news that I'm going to make in the form of a motion okay so I move that the trustees vote to approve the following recommendation which was voted unanimously at a recent Friends board meeting that half a million dollars from the Woodburry fund be used to support the renovation and expansion of the Jones library and I find this to be truly thrilling and exciting and wonderful so so moved um we need we need we need a second is there a second to that motion second so I want to just speak to it if I may first of all it's um you know it's a kind of Goosebumps on your neck moment to hear that and uh yet another example of the way in which the friends of the Jones Library uh are indispensable and by that I don't just mean that they're giving half a million dollar to the building project but I take it that this donation to the building project reflects the friends's consider considered judgment about uh what the long-term F what can benefit the long-term future of the library uh and I I'll just just say um it's just it's just amazing it's amazingly generous uh it is um again a kind of thrilling vote of confidence from the group that I think uh knows the library as well if not better than any other group in the town and um I just I think it's um I think it's amazing so amazing uh that uh I promise not to be disappointed when the Red Sox do not sign a significant free agent and I want to convey our gratitude to the friends and um uh I hope again we could actually do that the old-fashioned way which is to write them a letter and I think the letter should come from the trustees and um if would be great when the appropriate moment came when there was a big check you know one of those like Monty Hall checks for $500,000 and um we could all gather around it and receive it uh and I promis to dress appropriately so any other yeah far oh I just wanted to add that I received person Ally from the friends a golden pickle ball last week for my help during the tournament so I wanted to say how much I appreciated that that is completely fabulous and next meeting could you do a show and tell I mean I it's like life would be fulfilled if I got to see a golden pickle ball that is fabulous Sharon yeah so just you know for the record uh for those and the audience and and for eternity I just wanted to talk a give a little bit more background I uh I think Austin and I are probably the only two who were here in since the beginning and and um this is this is really really important and uh I love what Austin said about how the friends really thought this through this wasn't a hey somebody raises their hand and let's just throw them 500,000 it was really thought out um the wood berries they were longtime Library patrons members of the friends uh in 2010 their Estates left a large bequest over $500,000 to the Jones Library uh saying that it would solely be used for the purpose of and as directed by the friends and it has had to be approved the expenditures had to be approved by the trustees and so at that time that that was even before my time the trustees and the friends and the staff they talked about options you know what do we do with this amount of money they saw input from the public and after looking at all the possibilities uh they decided that refurbishing the the large meeting room at the time that was the clear priority and so those Renovations began in in 2012 I was there at that point and and now it resulted in the Woodberry room and it's amazing because if you had seen it what was before Oh awful anyways um so also at that time we were all having discussions about the building project you know what we're what we're working on now um and what the friends thought was they they would take the remainder of of the Woodburry fund and and invest it with with the libraryies uh foundation account with Vanguard um actually it was with a a different firm at that time um and there in intention was at that time to use the remaining funds for the building um I I do have a lovely quote from George Goodwin who the uh Goodwin room is named after and he was on the board of the friends he said quote just as the Woodberry room renovation was a one-time large expenditure project we may choose to do more such bold undertakings um and so we're at that point of of another bold undertaking and um I'm so grateful to the friends for the the work that they've put in you know since 2012 and overseeing the Woodberry fund and working with the trustees I think the relationship uh between the trustees and the friends right now is really beautiful and important um with a lot of respect between everybody um and just one final note uh that I want to remind people is that so the Woodbury room the Goodwin room the Bernette art Gallery the BR Art Gallery room all of those spaces are going to remain with those names um so as part of this building project that we're working on um so I yeah I just wanted to give that background thank you for letting me thank you Shar anything else yeah Lee yeah well as long as Sharon's brought up the history I think it might be worth underlining my understanding that when the Woodberry room was most recently renovated um care was taken such that everything that was put into the renovation that could be repurposed that wasn't going to be like timed out um can be reused in the renovated and expanded building I mean maybe the audio visual can't because it has a short lifespan but everything else as I understand it's going to be reused is that correct Daren yes thank you so I have just a couple of other things Sharon can you talk about how uh this transfer might affect uh the ability of the friends to support for example programming activities going forward yeah so um you know as Lee has said so often the the fundraising arm of the friends has really transformed over these past five plus years um they are it is a much more robust program and and pickle ball is a perfect example um and so at one point the friends group started to rely on on the Woodberry fund for that programming but it was never meant to be used as an endowment and um and so once this building project is done um the annual fund will be all about the annual fund which will continue to be um as successful as it is now if not more so and and that money will go towards uh the programming in the interim you know like between now and when the building project begins uh less programming I think will be happening just because of the building project and because we'll be offsite um we'll be doing programs out to the community and and and that kind of a thing but then after that it'll be more friends fundraising that we'll be relying on right okay anything else on this welcome motion Lee I'll say when I get to the budget committee it's okay so uh are we ready to vote uh on this again very welcome and wonderful development uh Tammy yes thank you Jean yes Nat yes laa yes Lee yes and Austin votes yes is it would it be appropriate that there be a collective harah har uh I don't know Sharon I think that's the first time in the modern history of the board that the board has ever hared in unison I agree please please make sure that that's in the minutes okay so uh lee anything else from development no and you get to hear from me I know you're excited awaiting to hear from the budget report you'll hear from me again otherwise I'll lapse into silence absolutely please don't do that and please be sure to refer to it by its modern name the budget and investment okay far PPP um PPP has not met since the last board meeting but I believe far may have a report on the Jedi committee yep thank you Tammy uh we Jedi I met this morning uh we had uh we welcomed our new member we uh talked we had all uh after the survey report we had all had some action some tasks so different a couple of uh groups had gone out to to follow up uh one of the things that I did with Melissa jro was we met with SH because we were looking we were talk we were talking about Collections and programming and how we can make sure that it's more like it's what the community wants and um so we'd met with Sharon and um Linda and we had a really really good discussion with them about and Linda was talking a little bit about the books she gets and how sometimes patrons make suggestions and how going forward maybe we could put out a survey asking patrons if you know if they would want um like what kind of books would they looking for or um whether they want a personalized list a reading list based on what they're reading and a bunch of other things we talked about programming and Linda had talked a little bit about how actually we didn't touch on this at our meeting today because we ran out of time but she had talked a little bit about how it's kind of hard right now to look too far ahead in terms of programming because of we don't know what's happening with the building yeah but um besides that some of another group had gone out and they were discussing how we can um bring the survey to the staff and see what their reaction is and also see how we can get them try to get more like um Dei based get them to attend more workshops so that's all something that that we're discussing and we're also trying to figure out how we can reach out to the community so we're we're going to discuss a lot about that next mon next at our next meeting just to see how we can figure out what the community's needs are I know this sounds really broad but when we get to the meetings everybody's just really excited and there's a lot of discussion and um just feels like an hour is too short but it's an amazing group of people who are really uh dedicated to doing this work so yeah it was a good meeting thank you for questions so far I want to ask a a question um so the world of uh Dei work has really changed uh in the last several years and there are many models of Dei work I think that are now out there in private and public organizations and I'm not talking about change in response to political pressure from the outside um and I wonder uh how if at all that your the Jedi committee is kind of plugging into the broader conversations about Dei work that are go going on as I said in public and private conversations uh where not really at that stage I think one of the things in that direction is in a couple of month um in February Pamela Nolan young is coming to our meeting and we're hoping to sort of tap into her resources a little bit more but right now it's more about what what what the needs are in our community M and how they're just based on our survey who are the kids who are feeling profiled who are the families who are not feeling so ours is more it's more smaller because we're just trying to find out what the community needs from our library but I um you know at some point I guess we will get broader and I think Pamela could help us a little bit in terms of that but that's where we're at okay thank you yeah so I have a question for the PPP um I noticed in the minutes of the PPP that there was a reference to my favorite subject which is Library governance and um I wondered where that conversation is and when the PPP will come back to the board um and facilitate a conversation about models of Library governance what what we've learned um this is the project that you Jean um initiated and he's been working on flowcharts and um ideas of how to present um graphically how the Jones is organized and I don't know if he wants to speak to that now or wait till our next meeting Jean I can speak to it's in a draft State just trying to untangle the complexity of stuff that happens in Amherst um is is fun and and revealing we've had some good discussions the the my thought was the next PP meeting as we discussed in the prior PP meeting PPP meeting that we would um look at the draft then um get any input and decide whether or not it's ready for the the larger group of Trustees um I could share what I what I have now after the meeting if we want or we can wait um until the the PPP committee has vetted it I'm joining the next meeting yeah I'm not I wasn't uh urging that you um you share it now if anybody else wants to they should I I'm just um um there's a library word called uh having spilky um and I'm having spiles about this about this report so do you think it'll be um in January or when do you think assuming that the PPP doesn't have to send back for revisions what's our time frame that's what I'm trying to get a sense of me I think we can commit to January it's I would say it's 89% done 90% done I'm really just looking for some input and to make sure that it's yeah it's truthful because of the complexity again so yeah I must say you know someone is precise when they say it's 89% done I I appreciate that Precision okay well thank you and thank you for the for the work we'll look forward to yep um to that conversation I have another question and I've I have don't have the recollection of this I believe we've talked in the past about reviewing the bylaws on an annual basis and I don't remember the last time we did it I remember that we did do it because uh Bob Pam among others had suggestions and for all I know it could have been you know two months AO go but um I just want to make sure that it's on the calendar so to speak of the PPP and the board on a on a regular basis okay okay we'll take it up at our next meeting okay thank you thank you thanks very much okay a report from the budget and investment committee comme yes okay so um the framework is it was quite uneventful we carried out our ongoing review of the budget and expenses for this year which seemed to be on track uh there nothing unusual to report uh the 1090 for the library is about to be submitted or by now may actually have been submitted the third item on my list you've already taken care of with that Sharon had a moot about approving funds related to the summer I'm glad that's off my plate and so um give you the news that the endowment as of December 1 was at 9, 32531 and of some more than usual interest this month the Woodburry fund was at 7915 $559 so that even given the most generous commitment of $500,000 of that money uh we have close to $300,000 remaining in the Woodburry fund over this period while the library is being constructed and we conclude successfully the capital campaign to raise um to to work to to shift the significance of our fundraising efforts from the capital campaign back to the annual fund and I'm I I am very optimistic I always say that I wish I had another word but I I I think it's just going to be terrific I think that as we hoped the success of the capital campaign will feed uh enthusiasm for the library generally and that will lift the capital the um the annual fund and that's what the friends will turn their attention to even more and it's all going to be good that's my report thank you Lee questions for budget and investment I may I may have um misheard or something but just uh for Jean's um benefit uh in the minutes um Le was referring to the filing of the 990 I said I meant to say 1090 is it 990 yeah I believe it's the right it's the the federal tax return right the 990 I believe 990 sorry sorry okay we good couldn't make my own handwriting I hope we filed the right form so that is that is good okay thank you budget investment I have one quick question have you had any dealings with the people from Mercer yeah uh two I think two meetings ago uh Dan whose last name I forgotten came to our meeting and I reported it I think at the last meeting yeah but we haven't had any we haven't had any further dealings with yeah but but things are from your point of view yeah going swimmingly yeah okay great but that may have Ju Just to to add to that my understanding it's the same Personnel from Vanguard that moved over to Mercer uh sood yeah um but uh my sense is that it's a my my first time meeting in person but I was very impressed uh with the personel and the relationship okay all right next uh thank you thank you Lee thank you Natt next is a report from the friends yes I think I speak on behalf of my colleagues on the executive board uh grateful for the support of the trustees and um supporting this Grant from the Woodbury fund I thought it was um I really appreciate the fact as I get older in my life that um uh the people who inspired this fund who were the on who made the made the actual contribution and I don't know whether there's anybody on the screen who was personally acquainted with the woodbury's um I I was not but uh I am not but um I I just think that this is um and we had some uh some discussion about this as to how this met the intent of the Woodbury the the the origins of the Woodbury fund and um uh we decided um we decided that it did um the grant did uh meet those uh meet that intent in a in a really terrific way I wish I could say we all sort of came to this together but though no no it sort of came in a certain way that at least my ears were sort of pinned back by the idea like why didn't I think of that um um uh and then when it just seemed to make terrific sense to us uh after after it was discussed uh for to some extent um so um we are grateful to that we um are facilitating this Grant and the friends and we honor the intent and the spirit of the origins of the fund and the fund uh will continue uh you may have heard the math from Lee um there's still an extensive amount of there's still quite a bit of am U quite a bit of money there uh for uh the friends to um uh help manage um along with the annual fund so um this is um it's a terrific uh situation for us to be in um uh on more mundane things we're still trying to find a time to meet that will uh accommodate uh a new recruits to the executive board having a little trouble with that but we're working that out uh and I also want to uh mention the fundraising that was done for pickle ball I don't know whether that's come up but it's I'm told it's somewhere between between 17 and $20,000 that um uh is going to assist the annual fund and we're um uh starting to talk about the book sale for 2025 um and um trying to just come up with other ways to um to help the mission of the library as we go forward um we're all always looking for new executive board members um so if you know people who love the libraries um please you know um mention this this opportunity to serve that's all I have thank you thank you Rich any any questions so I have a couple of things Rich um uh and Sharon you can help me so we had a practice of an annual joint meeting with the friends uh with the board the friends and my uh when I was last with the friends it was for a wonderful presentation in the meeting room at the at the mson that was that was great and uh I was there for a board meeting but I wonder if we can kind of resume putting on a calendar annually a joint meeting with the Friends board and the board of the the Jones I found those meetings in the past uh really instructive and it was great to get together with the Friends board and talk talk about our joint interest and I take it that that would uh have to be a public meeting um and so it would have to be noticed under the open meeting law and all and all that but um um I I will bring this up with um with the friends we're meeting on the 2nd of January and then I have a suggestion uh or a thought um uh which I'm going to direct to the friends but maybe it's better directed somewhere else um we have said um repeatedly how uh the role and function of libraries public libraries uh will be is and will be more important than it has ever been and public libraries are likely to face challenges um they've already faced lots of them uh in the new world that we are entering and I wonder if um we could the friends could put on a an event I was going to say big event but I didn't want to scare anybody away an event about um this question uh the role of the libraries democracy uh challenges of um a time when democracy itself seems to be uh under threat and most importantly a time when democracy itself seems to be uh losing its hold on the allegiances of vast numbers of people in this country though not necessarily in ammer and um I don't have a particular thing beyond that um uh we were privileged that we heard that wonderful rousing pitch for public libraries in Johnson Chapel um but I wonder whether or not the friends might be interested in that that kind of event and I'm I want to make a suggestion a couple of possible aventor is that the right word people at an event are aventor one of my colleagues um retired from ammer we had a retirement party and I wrote an ode and I said that the one who reads the ode should be known as the Oder they they didn't think it was funny either but I thought it was kind of cute so uh could we for example get I mean invite uh someone like Tony Marx from the New York Public Library could we invite um again I'm just I like the librarian of Congress um and put on a big uh again to use Library word Milla event um around this around this theme uh well I will I will bring it up with the executive board um you know we've had um you know it's it's it's hard to ignore that we've um had a sort of an existential discussion about libraries and where they fit in the institutional life of the Town um and the Civic life of the Town um so we've had that going on already um but um uh I'm just hoping we could I you know I'm thinking we could do something that um wouldn't be locally politicized but would be um part of a sort of a bigger discussion I'm actually starting to see some press about this about libraries I I think I've seen more press about the function of libraries um uh um in the national press more than I ever have it's it's come up quite a bit bit I think Sharon's sh nodding her head so she's seen the the Press too um but I will uh I will bring this up with the the friends and we'll have a bigger discussion about about what we might do yeah and I I think that's right rich I um I love the fact that people in our town have been so engaged in the discussion about the library uh whatever side they're on I love the fact that people in this town have invested so much of their time in trying to um advocate for whatever conception of the library they have uh it makes us a better Town it makes us a better Library it makes us better trustees uh Applause is nice um I was in a meeting of the the faculty of ammer college and um I was going to say something in the G name of constructive criticism to the president of the college and I said to the president um in front of the assembled faculty I said I want you to know that I love you and he said so you say and then I said and of course the best expression of Love is constructive criticism and he said so you say so I love the the that there's engagement and that people Express their love for the library and the people who work in it by expressing uh constructive criticism it makes us a better do but I really liked what you said Rich because I think there's another conversation to be had how it intersects with the local conversation will play out if this event happen and that is to remind ourselves and remind our town that the debate about the library and by the way I don't think there's much of a debate about the library the debate that takes place about how the library can best serve the community and what facilities is part of a national conversation and um you know Tony Marx was the president of amor he's now the president of the New York Public Library has a a local tie in any case whoever they might be it would be really I think wonderful to have uh that kind of that kind of event and I we'll be eager to hear the reaction from the um from the executive committee thank you for thank you for thinking about it I'll I'll pass that along great thanks thanks so much Sharon Sherry the director's report uh the only thing that I wanted to highlight is if if you haven't been to the Bernette Art Gallery lately you need to go this month uh because the staff of the library are exhibiting um there's maybe 25 different staff members with their with with pieces of their art it's really spectacular um we love that the brunette art art gallery committee asked staff to do this and and I also I think it's really impressive for the staff to take that leap you know people tend to become Librarians because they're shy kind of introverting um and on top of it when you're an artist uh who doesn't necessarily normally show what they produce it it's it's a piece of them and they've put it on display for the entire public to see and I just give the staff so much credit for it so um I'm encouraging you to go and see it if you have the opportunity that's really all I wanted to highlight thank you for that and thank you for the um the report thank you for the wonderful document that was prepared for the town um that included in your um report any questions for Sharon so I have a question for all of you that I'd like you to answer um and I hope you won't find it taxing to be asked what I'd like you to do is to share with all of us what in the course of this year uh you are most proud of about the work of the amoris libraries and uh to start the conversation I'd like to ask the director to tell us what she is most proud of over the course of the year gosh okay so it's really hard to not my brain always goes to the building project first and and I just I want to highlight the staff so what the staff have been through over these past five six years or so has been really intense um and and you all have have been there too but it's different when you're on the front lines and so last spring we the staff we thought we were moving out and so everything stopped and their brains went okay into high gear how do we how do we move how do we function in the new place how do we have programs in other places you know the Fine Arts collection where does that go and working with new entities so excitement and and fear and and then it all fell flat and and and our heart sank and but the stat they went back to it and and Bam they went right into uh putting together an incredible in-person summer reading program and it was spectacular it was one of the most highly if not the most highly participated in summer reading program that the Jones has ever had and um so watching what they do and how many balls they juggle and they still have those Smiles on their faces genuine Smiles really loving what they do that's what I'm I'm I I'm not sure I want to use the word proud because that makes it just Pride I just I'm in awe of them thank you for asking all right Natt you're up mute myself here um so I I go back to um things I might see in the in the p or whatever that that really moved me and um this past year I know this happens every year but but the naturalization ceremony for the new Americans and um to me that that just is so important and maybe maybe this year more than other years but but when I was reading about that and um hearing about you know all the stories um that just had such a big impact on me thank you n Jean it's it's uh it's it's an interesting question the thing that comes to the top of my mind is I I staff the um the popup tent at the block party um I've done that for I think two years now um but what always struck me is you just get a parade of people coming up and and and rapidz how about how awesome the the Jones library is and a lot of these are uh UMass students Emer college students coming in it's like I got my library card it's a great place you know we go there all the time because they have fiction which our library doesn't have um and and there was just like a a level of Engagement with the college students all the little Elementary School students coming in and getting their stickers and their tattoos this year um and even hearing because I listened to New England public radio listen to the classical music during the day and Emmer's College radio steals or hijacks that station for a couple of hours each day and they do uh you know various student run shows and one of uh one of their little rotating PSA is you know visit the Jones it's really great and then like all the students kind of again just talking about how awesome it is that they're able to get to this no pressure place to either run Wine read fiction get work done in a place that's that's um that's not kind of uh I guess a not it's much more conducive for them I guess so just kind of just thinking about the the that one thing of all the things that the library does in the town um it actually kind of surprised me because why would college students go to the library and apparently they do and a lot of them do and they're really really really enthusiastic about that and I would then sort of pile on a little bit to what uh Sharon said and it's like they they all seem to really really appreciate the staff there so it's just a really great organization that that really impacts a lot of part of the town uh far I want to ask you is impacts a verb now impact yeah no impacts Jean said it impacts the town I just want to make sure that was a verb yeah okay I I come from corporate Amer yeah there's all this there's all the jargon there and no I just wanted because far is is like our our consultant on all things proper uh grammatically and englishwise so far what's what is the thing that you would share about the thing that makes you most proud of the library so I actually was going to say what Sharon said um for me it's always the staff because I I'm in there I I go to work at the library many days of the week and I always have conversations with them and usually you know they're they're usually usually they they'll usually say something like thanks so much for all you do and I'm like what are you talking about you know we really appreciate all you do and you know they're all they're stressed they have different takes on things but they're always smiling they're always so helpful and I just I've just and you know I've been seeing these people been in this town 14 years from when my kid was little and it's the same people most of the time and I just really appreciate how how they are with the patrons with um just the fact that they're so positive and upbeat and I don't and the way the programming has has uh continued but also how they seem to wear different hats like we have a couple of them on Jedi like Mia was the main person and now Linda is taking over while Mia is covering for Claire and it's just the enthusiasm they bring to everything and the fact that they know so much and they know the patrons I just I I'm always always amazed by that when I walk in there but also can I just add one more thing I did attend that ceremony that was talking about and I I was just sobbing because I did the same thing in New York 20 like 10 or 12 years ago and it's just it's always so moving but I think it was particularly moving this year just because of the political situation so thank you far oh it's not ventor um we'll talk after class Lee Edwards I'm going to be brief I'm gonna allude to Elizabeth war and I'm going to say we and by we I mean all of us the trustees Capital Campaign Committee the friends the staff the library director the president of the Board of Trustees the town we've persevered thank you Lee hammy um I spend a lot of time at mson I can walk there and I hang out there a lot and I've really gotten to know the librarian who's in charge of the branches and the assistant librarian in charge of the branches plus all the staff who work there some from North amoris and I have enormous respect for all of them and I enjoy as a librarian myself I enjoy hanging out with Librarians um and uh it's just a wonderful place people come in um neighbors and is kind of A Gathering Place and people greet one another and chat and um it's a very vibrant place and I'm very appreciative that I live so close to it the other thing I want to say about the staff in general is that when I do the evaluation of Sharon the staff go overboard to help me um post posting things online putting out boxes and um it's just wonderful that this I can't say enough about the staff so that's my one comment so uh Rich can I have a shot at this only if you limit yourself to one thing couple of these people have violated the rule so I just want to say I'm very proud of the number of people who were complete Outsiders this year who were not direct beneficiaries of the library who looked at what we are doing here and what the vision is for the future and who got excited about it and and got excited maybe providing money or you I'm going from John Lithgow to um our Congressman uh to various agencies that looked at the library and were were a struck by the the planning and the vision and uh everything that went into uh what we're looking for for the future I'm very proud of that thank you um it's hard to add to that list um the thing that makes me proudest of the library is how messy it is uh whenever I go in the library there's disorder they're little kids who are pulling against the hands of their parents and wanting to get too close to me and spread their germs there are people in the library who would not be welcome in many of the spaces in the town there are things that are lost can't find their technology problems can't make it work there people that are trying to find a job and they can't figure out how to do it there're people who are struggling to learn English and it's painful for them so what I most proud of about the library is the mess and that mess is a reflection of um Democratic life at its best we celebrate this the triumphs of democratic life we celebrate the St for all the good work that they do uh but what makes our library I think remarkable is the mess the humanness of it not it's Perfections not its successes but it is a distinctively human place people don't line up they don't wait for the Bell to ring uh uh they move in their own ways and that is something I think uh remarkable and uh anytime you go in the library I think you're going to see it and that's what I'm most I'm most proud of and that's what I celebrate most about our library now in the spirit of having broken Traditions come on one more time let's have a Harrah for our library come on harah way to go you should all have by the way Sharon what is Elf on the Shelf Molly has aged out but if you have never had an Elf on the Shelf uh I don't recommend beginning Elf on the Shelf it it it's a fascinating little cultural thing where you have to move the elf every night and you can't touch the elf and and in theory it it helps your children be good well I hope that you all have your own elves on the shelves uh for the holidays and uh really uh uh happy and most importantly healthy New Year and you too love you we love you rich moris stay well everybody you too take care