Library building committee meets um library building committee meets once a month. Uh we hear reports on uh the progress of the construction uh obviously which is the center piece
of the business and we review and um approve um invoices as necessary. progress on the building project continues a pace. Uh there is some
um issue about the steel that is needed for the next step and uh as I understand it the architect and the general contractor and the OPM are working on that um on that issue.
Uh the library uh is making some videos which um I think are going to be wonderful representation staff talking about the spaces that they will um that they will work in.
Uh so that's my report from the building committee. Any questions? Okay, I recommend that you go stand in front of the building and send good vibes and Sharon will keep a roll about who's
standing there and what vibes they're sending. >> Okay. >> Absolutely. [snorts] Next is buildings and facilities. Spur >> um we had one of the short shortest mystery sorry meetings in the history of
meetings was 4 minutes long. Um not a lot going on. There was some problems with there was some heat problems and a weird gas smell, but Berkshire Gas apparently said everything is fine. The landlords are great. George said for the
first time in his 37 years, he hasn't had to do any snow removal coordination. So, he was very thankful for that. Um, attendance is slowly up, not the same as on Amity Street, but I think it's
getting a little better with winter. Uh, not as many teens showing up on early release days. I guess because it's a hike to um maybe they don't want to take the bus. I don't know. Um, oh, and then Sharon had said that the
staff is is busy planning for services in the new building and, you know, like getting library cards distributed and things like that. >> I think that was it, right, Sharon? Yeah, >> sounds good.
questions for buildings and facilities. Can you say a word about what's going on at the branches? >> Status quo happy people. Um yeah, no usage is pretty much the same and um you know with the with the availability of
the meeting rooms in both of those buildings um library staff are can do more programming. Um so it's going pretty well. >> Um ESL is um Hither and Yan.
>> Yeah. >> And what is the report from ESL? Hither and Yan >> also going well. I mean they're really excited about you know all coming back to 43 AMD Street. Um because Lynn does a lot of driving between St. Bridgets and
101 University Drive. But um the it the tutors and and their students have have settled in, found places to um to meet and um yeah, so they're excited. >> Good. >> Yeah.
>> Good. Okay. Anything else for Billings facility? All right. Next, Ms. Edwards. >> Development Committee. >> Development Committee. Okay, I will
report that um the annual fund as of the end of uh November had a little under $40,000 39791.
Um, but I am told that the December uh contributions are coming in and will include, I believe, a what is for the annual fund, a rather large gift of over $7,000 from uh generous corporate donor and that in
a sense may replace the $10,000 that we got last year. So, we're we're catching up. um and the uh capital campaign. My understanding is that um Sharon and
Lisa may be negotiating a form that will suit everybody, but we're still continuing to use the old form. Um so that new pledges and new gifts came in of a little over 33,000.
Uh but in November cash payments came in which reflect uh old pledge payments and new cash gifts and that was about 48,000 almost 49,000. Um,
and that's uh we're figuring out various events that we might have in the spring semester to capital to capitalize to publicize the capital campaign and also other um media
materials that will publicize the capital campaign, including those of you who are Oh, yes. including that wonderful postcard that Nat is uh holding up that went was very widely distributed. >> Hold it up higher, Nat, so that it can
be seen. No, no. Hold it up higher. Raise it. Raise it. Raise it. There you go. So that it can be seen. >> Right. So, >> wow. >> That went out. And >> thank you, Nat. For those of you who are
Ammer Cinema patrons, uh there will soon be, you know, when you show up, um there are ads that appear before the movies and there will be one from the uh Jones Library uh very soon. One
one one thing that held it up was uh for a while the person who was our contact to the Ammerst Cinema from the campaign was in negotiations with the Ammerst Cinema in Ammerst, Ohio.
So it took a while to get that. But what caused um this disjunction to be recognized was when the person at our end said, "But we're not showing wicked." [laughter] So
I'm looking forward to 2026 as an even better year. And that is from the development committee. Lee, can you say um over the course of the last calendar year from January to now
uh how much has the capital campaign committee raised in pledges or gifts? >> I don't have those numbers now, but I'll have them for you uh when the year end closes from December uh you know from
December to from January to December. And can you help me [clears throat] the numbers again a little bit? Be follow me a little bit. The new gifts and pledges says 36,000 new gifts and new pledges. So new gifts
is new gifts and cash that people gave. Okay. And so that's cash and that's going to show up in that second line at the bottom. New pledges are new people who came in and said, "I am now giving you a pledge
of x amount of dollars for the capital campaign." >> Trying to reconcile the 36,000 with the 48,000. >> Well, we we should I I either we're going to have a whole new form that that Sharon and Lisa are going
to negotiate or we'll have two new columns on the right. One will say new gifts and that'll be cash and it'll have a number and the other will say new pledges and that will be not cash but commitments and that'll have a number
and then at the bottom uh we will separate out again pledge payments and that'll have a number and cash gifts and that'll have a number. >> So again I'm sorry the the >> so you'll have a number the bottom number is cash. So, in the month of
November, the the capital campaign took in $48,710 in cash. >> Some of that was new gifts. >> Yeah. The the cash gifts are new. Yes.
>> So, I'm sorry to just persist. So, what it says is that some of that cash was someone pledged and now they're sending in their money. >> No. Oh, well, yes. Yes. Under pledge payments, but two things under under cash. Pledge
payments came in and cash gifts. Just somebody walked in and said, "I want to give you a bag full of nickels." And the new gifts and pledges includes
>> cash at the bottom. >> The cash at the bottom and pledges that are not reflected in that bottom line. New pledges. Somebody came in. I'm not giving you cash, but I'm pledging to give you a sack full of nickels over 5 years.
Okay. Any questions for the development committee? far >> Lee. Um, how does that sack full of pledges get like how does that come to us over five years? Does it come like
this amount on a certain year? >> There's a pledge form that people fill out. >> Okay. >> And there are various ways that people fulfill their pledges. Some people just write a check. >> Some people transfer stock.
>> Okay. Uh some people um have a what's called a donor advised fund and they transfer payments out of that. >> Okay. >> So it's just divided over five years >> or or the lump form they can indicate
how they >> okay >> the maximum that they quote can do is to divide it out over five years in whatever way they decide. Some people divide it into smaller units over three years or two years and some some people
just you know make a pledge and over the course of the year they pay it off. >> Okay. >> They're variety but lean based on your experience what is
the expected rate of non fulfillment of a pledge of pledges? It's a it's very it it it's very low and you know based on what people have done and what people have said to us um a couple of people have lowered their and
literally a couple of people y >> and one person quite a while ago had a pledge and rescended that pledge. Otherwise people are fulfilling their pledges. We send out reminders and people have coming back to us with
>> So it would be accurate to say that based on experience that we're going to get 99 whatever of these pledges fulfilled. >> Yes. Yes. Yeah. I mean I Yeah. Yeah.
>> Could you remind us uh of the proposed end date for the capital campaign? It's the Well, depends on what you mean by end date for the capital campaign, but the MOU
said that um the library would turn over to the town. >> Yep. >> Whatever amount needed to be turned over to complete all the payments.
um as of sort of the completion of the project which I think I in my head is when the certificate of occupancy is actually issued for the new building and that will you know that
will be at some point after um all the bulldozers have gone away and the building looks to be open but there's you know stuff that has to be done to make sure that people can in act move into the building. So, it's that
date that funds have to be turned over to the whatever whatever the gap is between what has been turned over and the cost of the building um [clears throat] needs to be
turned over. >> Sharon, is that your understanding? Uh I um mostly uh so there's a lot of estimating going on and guessing. It depends on when the project is going to end, when the MBLC
gives us their last payment. >> Um yeah. Um yeah. >> When do we anticipate getting the last payment from MBLC? >> They're not sure. uh they you know their
regulations state one payment uh per year but because we're so far behind and that is hurting it's hurting them because they have already moved into another grant round and we're kind of gumming up
the works. So they want to get us our money so that they can you know close out our grant round and move on to the new grant round. So, it's a lot of it it's it's really a lot of confusion at the MBLC and confusion isn't the right
word. They're just not sure yet. >> Okay. And um uh Sharon, we anticipate being in the new building roughly when? >> February of 27.
>> So, it's basically uh 13 14 months from now. >> Yes. Oh, I just wanted to add in terms of the bigger picture, I thought at least earlier this year, we were thinking that it's possible that not the entire additional 7 million would be raised by
the time the library was completed as part of the capital campaign. And so we were prepared to uh use the libraryies endowment to backs stop that. and then it could be another 10 years or so as we continue to raise funds for the capital
campaign that would then be able to pay back the um endowment. >> So in terms of you know when does it end there may be different questions there um when does the building get completed versus when is all the fundraising done that we hope to complete.
>> Right. Right. And that was sorry that was what was going to be the second part of what I had to say. But depends on what you mean by when does the capital campaign end. And it's not unusual for capital campaigns
to continue after the project for which capital funds were raised uh has at the users end appeared to be complete. In other words, you know >> that very important for everybody to recognize. Yeah.
>> So, um um it is it is common for capital projects to be to get their cos and up and running and fundraising for those projects still to go on.
And so the idea that, you know, we're going to have to have everything nightly nicely tied into a bow by February of 2027 uh would not necessarily reflect the experience that other projects
uh have have had. >> Okay. Anything else? Do you expect given the end of the year that December will bring uh oh yes I'm gonna deduct it from my
this or thats? >> What we hope >> what has been the experience in past deceers. They they have been good but you know each year has its challenges and
you know as you know depending on what happens to health care in the United States our fundraising and or and the libraries finances may be affected. >> Okay.
Thank you Lee. Thanks for thanks for the work that you and the capital campaign committee are doing. Next is the personnel planning and policy committee. Faro, do you want to say anything?
>> Um, I can speak to Jedi. I don't think PPP met this month, right? Yeah, >> correct. >> Um, we met last week. We um actually we had quite a a very robust
discussion but we talked about different things. One of these was I had reached out to two members of the commu at at our last trustees meeting. I mentioned that we had been talking about community outreach and the com the Jed uh Jedi
subcommittee was uh talking about having some sort of a community outreach event in the spring and also tying in things like you know you can come and get your library card etc. And I've reached out to two members
of our community who do a lot of uh facilitating of different dialogues. I mean they're they've done different things in town and um they have been they are willing to talk to Sharon and I
come the new year. So we will sit with them and figure and the the town DEI committee because Phillip and Pamela have been really helpful um you know just sort of steering us in the right direction.
Uh we also talked about uh what you had brought up last time Austin art and two levels. One is Sharon, Katherine, George and I are going to meet early in
December to talk about the existing art, >> right? >> And what about placement? And then we talked about what we could do in terms of art in the new building, like could we like have some sort of a contest for a
mural on the walls or the front and we talked about maybe collaborating with the high school or with the me museum. So there were a lot of thoughts, a lot of ideas put out there and talk of having an art subcommittee that everyone
wanted to be on. But um we kind of got the discussion rolling on that. So those were the two main things. Um Sharon had mentioned something about art for the donor wall, right Sharon? you
had talked about something like a tree. So, I'm just looking at my notes from the meeting. >> Yeah. So, yeah. No, I used the tree as a as an as an example of what some organizations do uh after having a a capital campaign.
They'll put up a tree with brass leaves and people have their name on those. So, we we are in need of a donor wall, a piece of art, and it would be lovely if it were a lovely piece of art. Um, and so, uh, I was talking with Austin today
and, um, we were, uh, we were thinking that this, this topic should go under buildings and facilities. This is what Austin had suggested and and I I actually think it's a great idea. Um and so we can talk
more in buildings and facilities about this whole really ex it's so exciting. >> Yeah. Well, I'm kind of excited about that and placement of the current art and yeah um we talked about ways to try
to get a youth member a college student. So someone is going to create an Instagram post. Um I think that was it right Sharon? >> Yeah. >> Yeah. That I mean we meet for an hour so
a lot gets discussed in an hour. Oh and also Mia Oh there was one other thing. Mia had held a to the J C Penney event where they um
try and correct me if I'm saying if I'm not saying this correctly, but there was like every time you checked out at J C Penney, they asked you to round up and they I think they collected like $7,000 that they have given to the children's
room and they also gave out five $100 gift cards to the event a couple of last Saturday or a couple of Saturdays ago and Mia had a sort of had a story time and there were a bunch of people there
and um she said it went really well and talked about you know if you could have more partnerships like that but not wanting it around purchasing something. So that's something that she wants to look into going forward. I just do want to say that I'm pretty I I was telling
Mia how impressed and how grateful I was for what she does because I saw her doing a story time at the Mary Maple and literally reading to one person at one point. There were no other kids around and then she did she had I ran
into her at Big Yesterday and she was going to Kendrick to do the sto the story time there at around 4 in the afternoon. Um, yeah, I'm kind of rambling, but we had a, you know, we were discussing a lot of things, so
they're all in my head right now. Any questions? >> How old is the oldest member of your committee roughly? >> Right now, I think I am the oldest member of our committee. Do you want me to tell you how old that is?
>> No. I'm interested in the concept of diversity and whether it includes for example age. >> Um so with Mark I think are it will go up a little bit
but the age group right now is 50s the is the average. >> Yeah. So I'm just there one of the significant >> one of the significant user populations for the library are >> are >> older people. Yeah. So I think Mark
would be a great member to have in terms of reaching a different uh level of patrons. Let's put it >> just keep I'm just asking you to keep in mind >> well yeah that's what I was thinking actually also when people
>> spo spoke with us I was thinking that would be you know so now we we will cover different age groups I feel yeah >> okay I'll just say it one more time keep
seniors in mind um >> always >> because one of the most important things that we can do is to serve a senior population. And we do we have this fabulous homebound program.
>> Yeah. >> Which is not just for older people. >> Mhm. >> But um I think it would be good just to keep that population in mind as we think about what diversity inclusion is going to
mean in our new library. >> Yep. Thank you. Okay. Any other questions for Far? All right. Well, thank you, Lee. Budget and investment. Okay. We met on uh December 9th.
Um it was a routine meeting. I mean, the minutes are virtually identical meeting to meeting. Um Sharon updated the salary figures again for FY25
uh because there were some additional uh payments made from uh state aid. So >> okay so that was done. Um uh we are investigating possible alternatives to Mercer to see if we can
find a local provider who will do those services for less money but that's in process. Um Sharon reported on the town's BCG meeting and if she wants to do the details I think that will be in her report.
Um and as of November 30th the annual fund stood at I did that 39. The endowment was at 9,243 and the Woodbury fund was at 324832. and there was no public comment and we
adjourned after almost about an hour of meeting. >> Could you remind us what uh performance of our endowment was again going back to the beginning of the calendar year roughly? >> Uh hang on. I might have those figures. >> Okay.
Well, I I I didn't print out from the very beginning, but um as of Oh, no. Excuse me. I do. I did. Um 12:31. All right. 1:31
2025. 12:3124. That's where we began. It was at 7. That's the Yeah, it was at 9,32531. And now it's at 9 million 243. >> So lost a little value.
>> Yep. >> Can I interrupt you for a minute? I have 13125. The value was 8.9 million. >> That was 131. I was reading 1231 but of 2024 but
>> and then as of I don't have the 1231 date but the 1131 number is 9.2. >> Yep. Well, how about how about next uh for next meeting uh you just you know give us January 1 to December
31st uh what the what the figures were >> right 131 2025 it was 8 million798 369 and 51 cents >> so I'm talking about January 1st or 1231
of the preceding year >> 123 31 it was 9,32531.79 >> that >> uh just to give some uh perspective again those numbers are what the balance of the endowment is and so I have to
realize that we're drawing down from the endowment to fund our regular operations. Uh so that doesn't necessarily give you a rate of return. It just says there was X on what a year ago and Y. >> That's what I'm interested in. It's what's what how much money we have in
relation to what we had. >> Yep. Yep. >> Rate of return is a different question. >> Right. So just on on rate of return just to give some perspective. I was just looking at this um not for a particular reason but curious about it and looking back very
[clears throat] rough numbers the last say 10 years and um the rate of return in other words take into account uh the amount we were drawing but um also taking into account the expenses that we're paying out you know very ballpark
numbers it's roughly 7% annually the rate of return >> so again I'm sorry to be opaque about what I'm asking. When we meet next time, it would just be good if we could be clear about how much money we had in the endowment
as of January 1st, 2025. How much we have in the endowment as of December 31st, 2025. And if we want to talk about rates rate of return over the course of a year, it would be good to know what that is. and
um over 5 years, 10 years um I just think we want to be as informed as we can be about what's happening with the performance of the endowment. >> So just to be clear, the information that you're asking for actually is in the packet.
>> Direct me to it. So if you look um in the financial pages, >> I am >> um there is a colorful endowment summary with colors like statement date, total account value. >> I'm I'm looking at mine in black and
white. >> Okay. Um so it's the Jones library. >> Yeah, I got it. I see it. >> Endowment summary. And so if you look down the left hand column to Um,
I guess the closest one would be 11:30 2024. >> Yeah, I see it. But that's not what I'm >> End of the month is >> I see. We could look We could use Right. We could use the
December 31st, 2024. It says 8798, >> right? and it says 9243. So over the calendar year, we've increased the holding in the endowment by about
a little less than a half a million dollars, >> right, for those 11 months. >> Yeah. And what I'm saying is it would be good at the end of the year to add in and look at the whole year, >> right? Okay.
>> All right, Lee, more on the budget. That's it. >> Um Sharon, do you want to say anything about the budget and what we're doing? >> Um the budget and what we're doing. So, uh the finance committee
uh has asked that we show them what a level services budget will look like for the library. And so um I'll be calculating those figures which will include uh the three positions that we have not been able to afford to fill
uh for the past five or six years. >> Yeah. Um uh so that's a uh b we'll we will all continue to to attend BCG meetings where each entity the school uh the town and
the library talk about the challenges and for us the challenges are midway through FY27 uh the new library will open and um ideally uh these three positions
uh will be filled. Um and then at some point, as we were talking about earlier, we will have to pay the town the remainder of whatever it is that we owe for the project. And as Nat said, um
the thinking right now is that we will take the balance out of the endowment uh which will affect the draw, either the rate or the draw itself or both. And so ultimately the trustees will have to decide
[gasps] how much money to take from the endowment, you know, and what that draw rate is. And um it's it's going to get it'll be complicated. It'll be complicated. I do not expect, this is just me speaking on
my behalf, I I do not expect the town um to be giving us more than any of the other entities. I wouldn't recommend that that we ask for more. Um, and I I would expect me as the library
director, I would expect that the um whatever above and beyond funding that we need to run the library would come from the library. Um, but that's just me. >> So, I want to just ask a couple questions just so that we're all on the
same page. Roughly what percentage of the library budget are we getting from the town? >> I'm going to say 75%. >> If we went back 10 years, what would that percentage have been?
>> That's interesting. Um I I think the same, but I'm not I'm not sure. >> So here's here's the question I'm trying to ask. Every year health insurance goes up by much much more than we get from the town in the way of an increase. >> Yeah.
>> So this year if they give us a 3 and 12% increase and our health insurance costs go up 18%. Well that's not dollar for dollar because three and a half over the budget and 18% o just the insurance. the town's contribution may be reduced
by the increase in expenses over that amount. >> Yes. It it used to be that the town appropriation covered the health insurance increase and it doesn't even touch it anymore. >> Right. So, one thing that um I think the
library needs to do is to be in conversation with the town about the town's financing of the library because over time I'm under the
impression that the town's contributions have not kept up with increased in costs. Sharon, would you say that's accurate? >> Completely. Yeah. >> And
it's not going to get any better uh unless we think together and think with the town [clears throat] about um the way in which the library is
financed. We have a very conser in my view we have a very conservative draw rate of 4%. Um the 4% draw rate is not
written in stone and over time we have dramatically reduced the draw rate on the endowment in order to preserve its value over the value of its principle over time.
But we may need to increase that draw rate in a way that would still put us within the range of what is responsible in endowment management. But I there's like been a hidden tax on
the library. It's true for other town departments that our expenses have gone up more year in and year out than we get from the town. And that means for us that we are
plugging it in through other sources, fundraising, the endowment, state aid. But I think it would be really good for the budget committee to look at this over time. 10 years ago,
the what the town gave us covered in percentage. Today, it covers n minus percentage. Um, and part of the reason I say that is in certain places in the town, the gap
is visible. Meaning, if you try to run schools and you have to have teachers and you don't get the money in the library because of the endowment, it's been less visible.
we just go and pull from the endowment to keep doing what we're doing. But for example, with respect to filling positions, uh how would we want to finance that?
It's just we'll pull it out of the endowment. If that is what is done, it will increase the gap between the amount that we get from the town and the amount that we need to spend.
And I'd like to make it less invisible. Now, I think the budget coordinating group is a great group and I think we're all working in the interest of the town, not just we're the librarian and and therefore all we want to think
about is the library, but there's a way in which library expenses, you know, there's the schools, there's the town departments, and a lot of that is visible. the roads don't get repaired or they don't have
enough fire people. But in our case, it's just not because we run the library, we go to the endowment. And I just think it would be good for the budget committee look at this and kind of inform the board
um you know the library board so that we can be as clear as we can be in our conversations with the town. Now, that doesn't mean that I expect that the town is going to say, "Oh, you're right, and here's here's money to
make it up to you." But, uh, I do think that greater I don't know the word is transparency is not the right word, but greater visibility. So this is this is what's happened.
So that the town and the residents of Ammeris will know in a way that they do not now I think would not now know. So maybe for our next meeting we could have that conversation. The budget
committee could do whatever the budget committee is going to need to do. that and sharing could do whatever they need to do and we could we could have that in front of us. >> Thank you for that overview summary and deep dive cuz you're exactly right.
Thank you. >> Well, the faces on the Zoom don't look excited so I don't know. Maybe that wasn't the Okay. um electronic payment of invoices is listed on the agenda. Did anybody want
to say anything about that? >> John was not able to come to uh the meeting and so we're in limbo on that. >> Okay. Thank you. Um Richard Morse on behalf of the friends.
>> The friends met last on Monday, December 1st, and we'll meet again on J Monday, January 5th, 2026. Uh we've had generalized discussions about fundraising. I say generalized um and of course we
continue to fund um u certain programs um and so we allocate money for that. I would indicate that I do report back the gist of these meetings to the friends who um who are not watching right now.
So they they get back from Lee and me uh what happened at the last trustees meeting. For example, last trustees meeting I reported back about um some of Farah's concerns with her Jedi committee and we had a sort of an over general general discussion about that which
didn't go anywhere but we we had some discussion about that and tonight and I expect to report back next Monday about the discussion about the the library's finances that went on today. That's all I have.
Thank you, Rich. Any questions for Rich? Well, I'll just say something, Rich, so you can communicate this. This is not about in the budget coordinating group. I made a raised a question or made a
comment of the following kind. What's happened to the library has happened all over town which is the financing of the town because we're you know prop two and a half and other things
has been much more limited than the needs of the town so that everywhere in town I think you can see what I'm going to call fraying at the edges and I think it's important for the town,
libraries and schools to have a conversation about what would it take to kind of stop the fraying at the edges. And it may be that that conversation
can't be had in the in the midst of the current budget cycle because a lot of work has to be done. But I hope everywhere in the town we can begin to think together about
uh what what are we going to do and property taxes are very high. Um so residents of the town are right to say you know our property tax already high people don't you know say I can't live
here I got to go somewhere else. Uh but none of us wants to live in a town which year in and year out can't meet the needs that are growing rather
than uh and growing faster than um the rate at which we can bring in new new revenue in the town. Well, um I just say I I also sit on the board of assessors and there are three of us on that board and we spent a lot
of time uh granting exe exemptions to various people. Um, and by the way, Austin, there's another Ammeris College graduate on that board, which is probably too many for a threeperson board, but but anyway, um, one of the things that happens for the
board of assessors, and it's true for all boards of assessors in the state, is you have to go through an education uh, process. So there's in my case it was four days at UMass in the summertime and one of those days was involved with Prop 2 and a half and
>> um the limit the the caps that that are placed on the levy um are fairly draconian caps and there's nothing particularly scientific about two and a half%. that simply that was simply was the percentage at the time that led to
the u to the ballot the ballot referendum. But anyway, it it it seemed to me in the eight years that I've been or seven seven or eight years I've been a board of assessors that the math just doesn't work out that the the costs um
that you can see um um don't work with a levy that is capped a total levy that's capped at two and a half%. >> Yep. That's a problem that every community in the state has, not just us. >> Yeah. >> Um, so that that's that's where we are.
>> Well, I think the problem if you talk to people who, you know, live elsewhere in Massachusetts, the problem is often visible for them as well. >> Yes. >> But um, uh, I'm not saying that I know that there's a magic wand or I know how to
solve the problem. I just think that we as a town need to be talking about it and whether that what that means in terms of the financing of the town that I don't know but >> well I I think the observation you made
that the the um uh existence of the endowment uh uh and its contribution to the expenses of the library on on the draw that has a tendency to disguise >> Yeah. of the particular plight that the
library is in. So that's just um I I think that's that's true. I don't know that other communities have endowments that are that are um yeah >> in their libraries that are making contributions to the expenses of the of the libraries in other places like I
don't know what happens in Northampton for example. So >> okay thank you Rich Sharon. >> Yeah. So I I wanted to highlight two things that that the staff are working on. One is for the branches. Um Cecilia
the teen librarian is working with some of the branch staff to to uh bring in a a rotating collection. Um you know both the north and the south are small library spaces and and um
>> and so Cecilia is giving this a try. I think it's a really fabulous idea, a great way for people who are going into the branches to be able to see a a different teen collection. So, we'll see how that goes. But I just love that they came up with that idea. And the other I
think it was either Lee or Far who that had talked about the staff. They're all they they've all started preparing for the move back into the new the new library. And it's going to be, you know, it's not going to be the same library. Um and and the way patrons use the
library will not be the same. And so the just the things that the staff have talked about, for example, getting a new library card and that experience, you know, when you're when you're four years old, um it's exciting to get to your new
library card, but it's also exciting if you're 14 or 34 or 54. Um, and so, uh, wouldn't it be awesome if balloons came from the ceiling, you know, every time somebody new, uh, got a library card? That won't be happening, but
[laughter] but the staff are talking about how they can turn it into a a really fabulous experience. Um, they're talking about which rooms will people be able to eat and drink in, that kind of a thing. Um, you know, talking about passive activities and so having puzzles
laying out is kind of neat. um outreach. They're talking about doing some PR. They're also talking about uh a library bike that's uh electric. And so instead of a a bookmobile, it would be
an ebike that some brave staff member would be, you know, riding around the streets of Ammerst. Um I just think things like that. um things. I I just give the staff so much credit for for thinking so far in
advance and I'm very grateful. And [clears throat] so those are my those are my little updates. >> How frequently is the homebound program used? [laughter and gasps] >> I do not have those figures in front of
me. Uh yeah, so I I don't want to guess. >> You could tell us next month. >> Sounds good. tell us next month about the homebound program and how frequently is how frequently it is used. I wonder whether or not it's been affected by the move in any way, but that's another
thing to think about. >> Questions for the library director? Library cards. [laughter] library cards. >> Can I do it entirely online? >> I think folks can get library cards, but
eventually they still have to come in to get the physical card. It I it it's nice. So, if you're working on a homework assignment and you need some kind of electronic resource and you don't have a library card, you can get one online um so that you can use that electronic resource. I think that's
really fabulous. >> But I I mean my my my question really is a question which is are libraries um still wedded to library cards going forward?
>> Oh yes. Yes. You know and and li we are librarians are nerds and I'm a proud member of the nerd club. So I don't I don't say that uh uh derogatorily. Um, but
there's a range and and and you have librarians who are like me that I prefer limited rules and and policies and then on the other >> in the world of libraries broadly speaking
uh are libraries getting away from physical library cards and doing things electronically or is it still standard practice you get a physical library card. >> Yes. So, you know, I was the moral of my story was you have folks with the with
the rules and the policies and they want to see the library card so it proves who you are and and uh so yes. >> Okay. All right. Anything else for Sharon since my reference to the possibility of
technological innovation fell flat? I mean, you could have one of those little things that you put on your keychain, Austin. That's what I have. So, you don't have to carry your library card or your wallet, but you have to carry your keys if you leave the house. Most of us do.
So, that is a >> This is the the 21st century beckons, but we don't want to move too fast into it since it's only a quarter. >> No, I would not say that. You know, Austin, you know as well as the rest of us in this Zoom room, libraries are
about people and community. And so, come on into your library and meet your librarians. >> All right. Well, with that, um, may I say thank you, Sharon, and thank you all. I wish you all good holiday season
and most importantly that the year 2026 should be a healthy one and that all of us should during the year of 2026 remember the vital role that libraries play in the preservation of democracy,
fairness and equity. >> Yes. >> So have a good thing everybody. >> Thank you. Be well. >> Happy happy. Bye-bye. >> Thank you. Happy