Board of Library Trustees minutes
August 26, 2025
Chair Gloria Parkinson calls meeting to order at 5:04.
Member of the public present Tina Gagliardi, no comments.
Board members present: Jill Ashton, Jacob Evans, Francisco Ramos, Gloria Parkinson, Jacqueline McGuire via Zoom. Director Marie Letarte.
Approval of minutes. Francisco motioned to accept; Jill seconded. Gloria an amendment, noting the library early closure on July 25, 2025. Approved unanimously.
Reports
MA Public Library Construction Program/Progress
Architect meeting report. Parking would be lost in an add/reno. Entrance would need to be moved to Church St. to accommodate ADA. Addition would be at least as big as current library. Multiple staircases would be required.
At the alternative location parking would not be a challenge. Only one staircase would be needed.
Both spaces would use multiple floors.
Questions about staging of construction, invoicing, and community engagement will need to be addressed at future PBC meetings.
The meeting will be available on YouTube shortly.
Open public meeting on September 16 – “Town of Clinton Library Construction Project”. Gloria proposed that each board member bring 3 registered voters. Jill proposed board members will share Facebook invitation on personal social media.
Directors Report
Tours have been successful, in particular very good questions.
School superintendent has invited the library board to distribute flyers at open house on August 28 – pre-k, September 10 – High, September 18 – middle school.
Gloria would like to revisit Advocacy Strategy and Stakeholder Engagement. Jill and Jaqueline will coordinate to facilitate the discussion at the September meeting.
Marie reported she has been doing more programming.
Letter to the Editor for open forum and tours. Group edits were incorporated. Jacob will take lead on final approval before Marie sends to paper.
Marie completed ARIS and currently working on financial reports.
Borrowing and attendance are up.
Bigelow broke a Libby/Overdrive record for use in July. Meeting room use is up.
Marie is considering a review and update of job descriptions. Last time a thorough review was done was 12 years ago. Library is not currently planning for budget impact, goal is to ensure accuracy.
Old Home Day, Saturday, September 6, noon to 5pm. Board members are invited to attend to talk up building project.
Next Wednesday Marie will be at the Council on Aging; the following day (September 4) there will be a tour.
Old business
Joint meeting with the Select Board regarding the open board position on September 3 at 7pm. Board members are encouraged to attend. A quorum will need to be confirmed in advance. If Francisco cannot attend, Jill will change plans. Gloria will confirm.
New business
The library staff is still not able to dial out of the area. A new VOIP phone system is planned to be installed. Marie has spoken with Town Admin Mike Ward and phone company and has been unable to resolve the problem. Major concern by the Board of Trustees regarding this ongoing matter. Board directs Chair Gloria to identify and execute a solution with the Town Administrator.
Next meeting September 23 at 6pm. Jacob may not be able to attend.
Motion to adjourn by Jill, seconded by Jacob. Passed unanimously.
