Thread by @socialistdogmom

i don’t know if this will be interesting at all, but subjecting myself to public board meetings is my passion.

you can tell a meeting isn’t typically well attended when the agenda has 5 total minutes allotted for announcements & public comment.

a community member is reading a letter in support of drag queen story hour. libraries must support free access to information.

i would hate to see our local reactionaries try to claw back a bit of ground by fighting something so harmless and fun.

the scottsville town clerk is here to tell us about proposed sidewalk improvements. this is the content you all crave, i know.
they’re applying for funding to improve ADA accessibility of their sidewalks, including in front of the scottsville branch of the library.

VDOT would be awarding funds next spring. if they get funding, construction would begin in 2020. this will improve accessibility to the library’s book drop, among other things. scottsville is looking for an official letter of support from the JMRL board for their application.

everything i know about roberts rules comes from spacing out during a meeting and coming to suddenly wondering why someone is making a motion

this update about the summer reading program is the most wholesome thing i’ve ever seen at a public meeting. this YA services manager is the embodiment of the perfect polar opposite of seeing the county prosecutor watch a cop hit my friend in the face at a school board meeting.

update from the library policy committee:
- evaluate the policy manual overall re: organization, overlapping policies, what should be “presented to the public and what should be internal”
- specific changes will be discussed at the next policy committee meeting in 2 months

JMRL policy committee - “we took a more detailed look” at the programming policy. it’s currently “very vague.”
he seems to be alluding, very vaguely, to concerns about the drag queen story hour programming.

the policy committee will take a closer look at the purpose of programming and “the purpose of partners.”
“would there be any boundaries on” the “types of programming that would be appropriate or not appropriate?”

there is currently no “reconsideration process” in the programming policy, as they have in other policies. they’ll examine a need for one.
they’ll also discuss more concrete stances on whether the library “endorses” certain programming.

another board member asks for clarification: “reconsideration” is an official policy on how to handle challenges from community members about materials, displays, etc.

another board member, jane kulow, cautions the policy committee to review the ALA guidelines — “i don’t think it is our role to get into that” - the board should not be making a lot of decisions about programming.

kulow says the board received 6 emails in support of drag queen story hour but she saw no pushback. one board member says he got one phone call. another says he received one anonymous letter against it.

drag queen story hour was held on the third floor, “in a location that would be very difficult to stumble upon” (not in the children’s corner)

in response to concerns that allowing this program opens the door to “anyone” to request programming, kulow says it does and that’s not a problem - the professional librarians make determinations about what programming supports the library’s goals of inclusivity & access to info

update from the publicity work group:
- a librarian is working on branch-specific quarterly newsletters for smaller branches
- developing and publicizing a list of services (the library offers so many amazing services you probably don’t even know about!!)

budget update! JMRL is slowly raising salaries... too slowly. it’s been a while since i saw the data, but i recall seeing that our local librarians are compensated well below average for the profession (anybody know where i can dig up those graphs?)

this is my first library board meeting but the guy i immediately liked the least just reminded the whole board about the particular roberts rules they operate under as a board so i feel vindicated in my gut reaction to him.