Library Board of Trustees Agenda and Packet 2023 11 09

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Library Board of Trustees Minutes DATE Page 2 of 6 Library Report - Sharon's report: • The Library has been mostly fully staffed throughout 2023, and several employees have been promoted. This is very good for staff morale. • We've added Curt Williams to our Leadership Team. Curt came to us from CU and has already made meaningful changes to create a much more welcoming environment at the Circulation Desk and in the Library entry. • The Library Plaza project has dramatically changed the whole library experience. People now work, meet, relax and play on the Plaza. • The Coal Creek Gallery and First Friday upgrades have created opportunities for many local artists to show their work and sell their pieces. • The 2023 Summer Reading Program engaged a record number of participants. • Library staff has worked closely with the EDI Manager on many programs and events celebrating the diversity of our community. • Our Adult Services team hosted two New York Times bestselling authors. • We fully transitioned away from the FLC and into the Marmot Library Network. This was a very positive move for us! • With the help of the Library Board of Trustees we created a new mission statement and strategic plan. • With the help of all Library staff we created a new work plan to take us into 2025. Public Libraries Under Attack Nationwide - -Members of the Proud Boys have taken to storming Drag Queen Story Hour events at libraries across the country, terrorizing patrons and library staff. • Residents of Jamestown, Michigan, voted to defund their library rather than tolerate certain LGBTQ+-themed books on its shelves. • Under a new rule in Missouri, public libraries will lose state funding if they don't follow new requirements barring them from giving minors books that their parents don't want them to read, and requiring them to keep "age -inappropriate" books away from areas meant for young readers. • The entire staff of the Vinton, IA Public Library resigned after suffering extreme harassment. • Residents in Dayton, WA described their library as "an irretrievably compromised entity," and declared that it "needs to be removed from our midst." Voters will decide in November whether to close their only public library. • After 27 years of working at the Campbell County Public Library in Gillette, Wyo., the institution's director has been fired over her refusal to strip LGBTQ+ books from the town's collection. • In 20 states library employees have been threatened with arrest for child abuse, pedophilia and distributing pornography, for including books with LGBTQ+ themes in their collections.