Ketchikan: Library Advisory Board Quarterly Meeting of July 8, 2026

Okay, we're going to call to order the lab meeting at 6:04 AM.

AM. AM. It feels like AM. Well, I got the first sentence out of my mouth and I made a mistake. Okay, can we have the roll call?

Yes. Dave.

Bowling. Here. See, um, Brown. Oh no, not here. No, uh, Ethel Hawk.

No, Finnegan. Here. Govars. Here. Excellent.

Hurt. Here. Pops. Here. Uh, and no, Pell Brown.

And Lil' J'Gran. Here. Yay! Let's see, we have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 6 Present.

Good, so we have a quorum. Yes. Okay, so next is the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Okay, and then to acknowledge Native land. We are on Tlingit land, and we would like to acknowledge and give honor and respect to the traditional landowners, the Tlingit elders, and past, present, and future generations. We honor the relationships that exist between Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples. Okay, next item is approval of the agenda.

Did you tell me we do not have—. We have to vote. It doesn't— I was going to say, it doesn't seem like— and for the council or the assembly that they actually vote on the agenda. They just kind of typically just query if there are any changes to the agenda. Are there any changes anybody would like to make to the agenda?

Okay, hearing no comments, we approve the agenda. Now, can we I have a motion to approve the April 8th, 2026 meeting minutes. So moved. Second. Any discussion?

All in favor? Aye. Aye. Do we do—. We're taking roll for—.

Oh, do we have to take roll call? I think we're doing so for archival purposes. Yes. Okay. So on the motion to approve the April 8th minutes, Bowling.

Yes. Let's see. Finnegan. Yes. Jovars.

Yes. Burt. Yes. Pops. Aye.

And Lulzibrand. Aye. Perfect. And I can already see it's going to take a village to get me through this meeting. Okay.

So any correspondence? No correspondence. Okay. Public comment. We have 1 speaker signed up.

Hope you know I'm having PTSD flashbacks.

Um, I was asked by Nina to be here, that she wanted me to talk about the petition to have the borough assume area-wide library powers. And the reason for this is because what Sister Joan taught me is if what you're doing isn't working, for God's sake, try something else. So that's, that's kind of where, um, where I'm coming down on this. 4 Years ago, uh, the membership— I mean, the citizens of the borough outside the city of Ketchikan voted to, um, retain library powers at 2.7. Well, that's what it was then anyway.

And then, um, last year, year before, last year, the Borough Assembly decided to lower the mill levy to 0.5%, knowing full well that that was not going to be sufficient funds come the next year. Did it anyway. This year, of course, there were not sufficient funds to cover the contract with the city. And so instead of putting it all the way back up to 0.7, which would have been sufficient, they put it at 0.6, which still leaves us about $200,000 short of what is going to be required to fully fund the public library.

And this made me very mad. And, uh, 4 years ago, I threatened the borough assembly members, some of them, that, um, if I was really, really tired of the borough and the city fighting about the library, and that I thought my solution to this would be the borough needs to just get on with doing the job. Let the city off the hook. Let the borough take the responsibility. And according— my understanding is, according to state statute, if the voters vote for the borough to assume the legal responsibility, they must exercise that.

They must have public library services continue. Um, and I think I have all of that. I—. The borough also this year has said that they're mad at the city because they would not negotiate in good faith of redoing of the contract between the city and the borough. And what they have done is they have said, as of December 31st, if there is no contract, we are going to cut all funding to the public library.

I'm not sure how they can do that since they will have already collected the funds through the tax. Be that as it may.

And in your— I'm really old and I've been here for a really long time, and I remember in 1985, when the Friends of the Library formed with the sole purpose of asking the borough to assume at least non-area-wide library powers, because the city said, we're going to cut off all borough residents from using the library. And to me, what that means is that people that want to use the library and, and just want to are going to say, well, I live at my Aunt Sally's residence on 3rd Avenue. And this leaves the public library staff in the position of being cops and saying, oh no, you don't. We know that you don't live at blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. That's unacceptable, completely unacceptable to me.

Another thing that's unacceptable is that children who are not enrolled in school in town could be cut off from library services. And That is just not okay in any way, shape, or form.

So that's, um, I mean, the library is an essential public service, and I'm just, I'm just sick to death of the city and the borough going like this with the library in the middle. And something's got to change, and this is, this is an opportunity for change. The petition would put this question on the ballot, yes, and then it'll pass. It has to pass in both the area outside the cities of Ketchikan and Saxman, and it has to pass within the cities of Ketchikan and Saxman. So we have the two buckets— that's the way Casey explained it— two buckets of votes, and it has to be a majority in both buckets in order for it to pass.

So that's where we're at. As of Sunday, we had 289 signatures on the petition, which the minimum— I mean, if every single one counted, we would need 369. But we know that people like to— some people like to sign petitions whether or not they are a registered voter, or whether, you know, they can tell us what their actual birthday is, or any of that other stuff. So our goal is to get at least 400, and if we got 500, I would be like ecstatic. So that's, that's what I know, and I'm here to answer questions if people have questions.

Diane, what's your expectation that the borough would adequately fund and support the public libraries if they were to have area-wide powers? My expectation is that if this passes and the borough assembly is confronted with the reality that Everybody on the island wants area-wide services. I believe that they are politically astute enough to know that that means adequate and full library services. I can't promise you that they will. There are maniacs on every elected body.

And, and, you know, they're going to do what they're going to do.

But I really do believe that in the long run, that this is the right way to go.

Nina, um, two-parter. So I understand that part of the, the funding that the library receives has minimums in order to receive state funds or other grant funds. So would there be an understanding that if the borough didn't fund the appropriate amount that we could lose more, even more funding for the library? The $7,000 that we get from the state of Alaska? Yeah, not a big player in this scenario.

Okay. But like I said before, the state statute says that if the borough assumes this power and if the voters vote for it, then they will assume it. They won't have any choice about it. The state statute says you will operate.

You mentioned that there's a current petition going around. Petition, yes. And where is that petition? I've got one with me tonight if you are so generous. Yeah, I would love to look at it.

I just, I'm not sure how are you like advertising the petition or like how are you getting the word out about it? Mostly through just through word of mouth. Oh, okay. And, um, I've been in them at the mall, okay, for several days, not all day. And other people have been there, and other people have been other places.

Some people have been at the Pilot House, other people have been at Alaska Liquor North.

And the consensus that I have heard is that the people at Alaska Liquor North are not as crazy as the people at the mall. Oh.

Um, there was one other point that I really wanted to make about the whole petition and everything about that, and now it's gone. Oh well.

Nick, while you wait for that to come back into mind, um, I was curious about, um, you mentioned— and I don't know if this come up in the discussions with the borough assembly, perhaps our assembly liaison could speak to this as well— but you mentioned the whatever revenues are being collected that it would otherwise be purposed toward the library if the agreement continued. If those are, if those are still being collected and the agreement is terminated, has there been any discussion about what the layout would be for those funds in the event of the end of that agreement? It'd still be sitting in account. Good question, because we pay our taxes in September.

I didn't remember what I wanted to tell you, and this is, this is kind of a serious downer, but, um, a person who is of high rank in city government said to a person who is of high rank in the borough government, "Where do you want me to leave the keys?" So, city said to borough. Pardon? City said to borough. The city person told the borough person.

So, my understanding in response to my colleague's question is that that non-area-wide tax will be collected. The borough is still obligated. To fund the library. It just depends at what, at what level. I'll talk more about it in comments, not to take up too much of this time.

And yeah, thank you.

Oh, couple more scenarios. One is if we get all of our signatures and we have to have these turned in by the 20th of July. The borough is having their public hearing about the library on the 20th of July. So we may have, you know, more than enough signatures to make sure that this goes on the ballot, but they won't all be certified by then. Still, numbers count for something.

The borough could decide to put their own ordinance on the ballot. And the other thing that could happen is they could ask the city if the city is willing to give up library powers, and then it just goes straight across. No vote, no problem. Everything is done. One thing that I did worry about before I even started any of this is the personnel at the library.

The personnel at the library are IBEW members. The borough has a contract with IBEW, not for library workers, but for other workers, and management is PERS and the borough management is also approved. So there should not be— should not be any problem for the staff, the library management, or regular workers.

Nina, any more comment for this? A little bit. I think we wanted to add that this was similar to the Parks and Rec Department. Yes. So that there is precedent for a transfer of departments.

And maybe could you dissuade some of the rumors or concerns people have about change in taxation? So I know 1.4% is what the city taxpayers pay. I don't know exactly what the city taxpayers pay. I only know exactly what the borough taxpayers pay because it comes on my property tax statement. Another thing that I asked the borough, or mentioned to the borough the last time I testified for the borough, is there are many, many different ways to fund a library.

There are communities in this town where it is funded entirely by sales tax. There are communities where it's, you know, a combination.

I cannot tell you what the borough may do about, about that part of it. Yeah, so far the city's been funding it through property tax.

So hearing none, I'll send out—. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.

Okay, so now for the reports. Nina, do you have other things to—. Yes. Friends of the Library are continuing to collect books even in the rain on the third Saturday of the month from noon to 2:00. And same, we just ask that they're decently conditioned books because the storage units are unforgiving.

So if they come in musty and damp, they will not get better. But please bring books because it goes to our biggest fundraiser for the October book sale. So we do appreciate the donations and it's, it's starting to fill up. It's exciting. The other thing is we have tote bags.

Friends of the Library tote bags. They are, I will say, can hold at least 20 books depending, at least graphic novel size. They're very durable. As you can see, mine is already fully dirty. Can be used.

They're machine washable. They will not break like those cheap grocery bags where all your stuff falls on the ground. They are locally sourced and it's one of our old logos for the Friends of the Library. They are on sale at the library for $10, which I think is an absolute steal considering how much tote bags cost. So please, if you go to the library and find yourself unable to carry all your books to the car, buy a tote bag.

And that's it. Yeah, we're just continuing to collect books and we have tote bags. We did do a call for artists to make a sweatshirt, and we are in the process of picking art and making sweatshirts that will be available to the public that are gonna be really cool. So the library and the Friends of the Library are getting new swag.

Am I allowed to ask a question? Yes, please. Um, I just wanted to follow up— I don't know if it's appropriate timing or not— um, about the school libraries that closed, did the Friends ever come to a conclusion with assisting on those closures? We were not part of that decision, unfortunately. That was all school board.

Um, we had contact and kind of did a light offer of assistance, and it was not something that we were looped into. Okay, yeah, thank you. So, Jack, you're up.

Uh, yeah, City Council, I think you'll hear more from my colleague in Borough Assembly, um, Library business, the biggest discussion at City Council of late has been on the forthcoming termination of the agreement between the borough and the city with respect to library operations. That's all we've had on that matter. Lovely. As always, I'm only speaking for myself and not directly or officially representing the borough.

That said, I kind of feel like it's wide open.

Um, just to quickly follow up, not wait till comments, but to follow up on what Ms. McQuarrie was discussing. When the borough— the borough staff was sent to city staff to renegotiate, they had— they were given one direction, and that is that they would increase the budget based on the consumer price index changes in Anchorage.

That was the— excuse me— that was the measurement. And of course, she said no. So I don't want the city to be painted as if they were being unreasonable, because that, that, you know, uh, wasn't in good faith. Uh, depends on your, your point of view about, uh, the library. Um, the taxes will be collected in the end of September when they're due.

They're collected at 6 mills, which is not going to be enough to meet the the requirements of the public library and that, and that current sort of 39-40% non-area-wide, 60% area-wide.

Speaking really frankly, one of the arguments for things are the library moving as a department to the borough is that right now people argue that the— some people argue that the non-area-wide people, people who live outside the city limits, do not have representation. The money goes to the city, you know, to the library, and that's where our input stops. Um, I called that out. I disagree heartily with that because When we do a contract with the city, it comes with a scope of work. We're going to give you this much money and these are all the things we're going to get for it.

So, I think it's disingenuous to say we do not have representation. Because when you do a contract, we're buying this. Okay, this is what, what we expect. What I've heard over and over again, if you go back even like to 2014, 2015, And just last year, Assemblymember Arntzen made a move to, to pull all funding for the library, right? Reduce that library levy to zero and give notice to cancel the contract.

I mean, that's— and if you go back and you look at the past advisory board meetings, She talks about the sexualization of children. It seems the collection is growing. It seems like there is a— quoting, this is the July 10, 2024 meeting at 1 hour, 2 minutes and 31 seconds. Seems like there is a higher prevalence of this type of reading material, and I do not think that is beneficial to our community as a whole. So, What is tightly woven into this challenge, this argument between city and borough and people not wanting to pay a non-area-wide fee, is they want control of collection development, which is so offensively absurd to me.

You know, we've hired professional librarians.

We— they're not going after Ketchikan Police Department or the fire departments or South Tongass, all that, about the equipment they're buying, what they're using to do their jobs. You know, these other professional departments. So, it's really clear to me, especially when you listen to people's comments, that it's really all about Klebsiand Development. And we need to make it— I encourage people to make things really clear that it's not our job to police people's selection of reading materials. It's parents' job to take care of their children.

That's it. So, um, yeah, I'm speaking pretty plainly, but you know what, I, as in this Guru said, I'm old, so I, I, you know, um, I'm just going to speak the truth. And, and, you know, I can, I can go back and show you where things are, are said. So whether it goes— whether it stays as a city department or moves to the borough, you have a borough assembly who is not interested in spending very much money on the library. So it's going to be a battle no matter what.

So I've just encouraged people to let, to let borough assembly members know that they expect no reduction in services at the library. And yes, in 2022 we had a vote, non-area-wide. People said, we taxes, taxes, so we have access to the library. They said that. They didn't say 0.7, but it was at 7.

So I think you can extrapolate from the services they were experiencing to their yes vote that this is the kind of library that they want. Um, Chair, may I continue? Yes. Okay. Um, so this last board assembly meeting, we were talking about a new wage packet where, um, where you determine steps for different positions and how people earn it, and capping the upper a little bit and bringing the lower compensated positions up a little bit more to make us a little more competitive.

And what was really clear in all this is the cost of benefits is really the problem. It—. You know, the wages are increasing every year and the cost of benefits are just climbing. The borough spends, I think, if I remember correctly, $48,000 per employee for healthcare benefits. So insured.

That's a lot of money. And I'm listening to this and I— and it's so clear to me, not being a Republican or Democrat, just understanding that, that if we had as a nation single-payer insurance, it would— it would make everyone's lives better. It would save money. We don't need to support Blue Cross or Aetna or the, you know, other large companies, we give them our healthcare dollars and they do not supply healthcare. So let's just make that really clear.

So I am again speaking on my own behalf, but we are in a system where our healthcare costs are going to continue to just fly. Up, and the only, the only way to reduce costs for, for anything is to cut people. But you cut services, people do services. So my really big concern is we are going to have a library with 20-year-old books and no real programming, you know, and that's it. Open whatever, 4 days a week.

So if you're applying for jobs or you're a homeschool family or you're a study group or you are— I know a contractor in town who relies on the library and the website to run business or run his jobs while he is here. I mean, it's an economic driver.

So the, yeah, the people who have not much will have less and the whole community will be poorer for it. So I, I will just finish up my little soliloquy, my homily, my whatever. I should ask Jack. He's the walking thesaurus.

To say that it's whether it's in the city or the borough, whatever the voters decide, I'm very interested in having the voters decide. Because especially if the non-Arya white people say no, then I don't want to hear another word about representation. We already come with a scope of work. I don't want to hear it. Because what you're really talking about is I don't want any naughty books.

They're not talking about books with murder. Point of order, Kathy, I hate to interrupt you, but this is veering really far off course of the borough update. We're in the comments. I love your comments. Thank you.

You're right. And it's way off book. So you're right. Thank you. I'll save the rest for comments.

But, um, well, probably not much left. But what people need to do is to contact their board assembly members and say, we want no reduction in library services. Thank you. Okay, so the library report. Okay, let's see here.

So I've got my usual library report in your packet.

With all of our ongoing activities, and we're very busy with the Tremendous Youth Summer Learning Program. I think we have well over 200 kids signed up for the summer program. They're going—. It's not just— they're not just tracking their reading. There are also a lot of activities they can do in order to earn points, and they earn a certain number of points and they get a grab bag.

What's a lot of cheap stuff. And if they fill out the entire log by the end of July and bring it in, then they will have a chance at one of several grand prizes.

So, we are very busy with that, which is great. We've also just started with the, with Borough Transit, a new island-wide scavenger hunt. Called, I think, the Great Forest Quest, where you pick up a log. There are going to be— there's going to be information about different kinds of trees in various bus stops across the island. And so kids go, they identify which tree description is at which bus stop.

And again, they can turn in their log, I think, by the end of August and have a chance at a prize.

So families, we have several families already who have, and we just started this program. Oh, let's see here. What else do we have going on? Senior Tech Time will now be held monthly, which we're very excited about. So KPU Telecom, and John Zacharias made the decision that they were going to make this a monthly thing.

Very, really popular with people who have devices that they may not know how to use fully. And so it's an opportunity for them to get their questions answered, which is tremendous.

Let's see here. Friends of the Library held 2 book sales. Over the past quarter, one of collectibles and the other of children's books, and netted $1,500 for library programs and initiatives. Okay, so thank you to the Friends.

And let's see, I think that's about it. Any questions about what all the stuff that's on this report?

Hearing nothing.

Thanks for that. I've completely forgotten. All the bruises have healed carrying all those books.

So now I think we have a presentation. Okay, you're done with your—. I am done. Okay, so now we have a presentation. Thank you.

Good evening, folks. Good evening. My name is Robert Rice. I'm speaking with you tonight on behalf of my position as the operations manager of the Ketchikan Public Library. It's a privilege to, to be able to come speak with the advisory board.

I thank you for all the time you've spent dealing with library issues. Tonight I plan to, to share a brief presentation about myself and what my role is at the library. It's going to be a little bit, uh, an abbreviated version of what I did last year with a couple new things in it. So let's get to it.

Won't make you guys pass in bed.

For the best.

While we're waiting, Pat, can I ask you a couple questions about, or at least a question about, sure, one of the items on your Director's report. Yes. So my kids attended the I Read, I Vote program. Yes. And they really, really loved it because sometimes they don't listen to me.

Um, was that an idea that you guys had or that the borough or city partnered and came to you with? Or how did this come about? Oh my gosh, that is such a good question. Um, because I'm not quite sure. I know it was a conversation between Amy and I think Taylor Lee, who's a city clerk.

And Casey Paxson, the borough clerk, was very much in favor. So a lot of enthusiasm with Taylor and with Casey. And I think they came up with the idea of having the voting booths. And I think Amy figured out it was kind of voting for the theme for the winter reading program. And which turns out to be, is it Trolls?

I think it is Trolls. I think he's ready. Okay. Okay. I promised that I said I wasn't going to use it.

I was just killing time. All right. Yeah, that's, we had to just push it. All right. So I gave you folks the introduction.

Onto the next slide.

So I'll share a little bit about how I got here. I was born and raised in Lima, Ohio, graduated from The Ohio State University with a BA in philosophy in 2016. When I was in college, I had a work-study job at the circulation desk at the architecture library. It was at that time in my life when I started to understand the importance of libraries as a public space, a commons of information, more than just a place to get books for entertainment. At that job, I developed library-specific customer service skills and a seed was planted.

I can do library work. When I arrived in Ketchikan in January of 2018, my first job in town was at the Ketchikan Public Library. Within a month of arrival, I was picking up shifts as a library substitute. Working as a library sub is a great introduction into the community, and you get to learn how most of the library circulation policies and procedures work. It's just a great job to be able to learn more about the town.

You know, just part-time. In 2023, I took on the full-time position of Library Assistant II, learning much more about the back-of-the-house work that keeps the library running smoothly. As an LA II, one of my roles was to provide backup to the office manager, so I got to learn bit by bit most of the tasks I do now from longtime office manager Kelly Johnson. In March of 2024, Kelly retired after 31 years of service to the City of Ketchikan, By June, I was promoted to that role with a shiny new name, Library Operations Manager.

So now the big question: what does an operations manager do? Well, the, the major portion of my time is spent dealing with the financial side of the library business, overseeing all the purchases that the library makes. This includes the procurement of media for patron use, such as books, DVDs, audiobooks, magazines, newspapers, Various digital subscriptions, such as Hoopla and Libby, and, well, as well as all the materials that are used for the various programming and all the other services and supplies that go into keeping the library running. Office supplies, toiletries, maintenance materials, services, all the stuff that goes into upkeep for our beautiful building.

I create purchase orders, place the orders, process the invoices, and track them through completion. Keeping a record of all spending from library accounts. When necessary, I submit quotes and negotiate shipping costs. I work closely with the librarians, the director, and the city finance department to make sure every purchase is getting the appropriate approvals and is being paid from the correct accounts.

A major portion of my time is spent with the book orders. Orders from the book vendors take a lot more time and attention because they trickle in and often melt together. For example, a $1,600 purchase order for 80 books may be open for 6 months or more while the books arrive. Often a box of books contains books from multiple POs, so it's my job to keep track of how much is being paid from each PO and to make sure that we got all the books that we ordered. And it's also split between 3 different librarians, so you have your adult, your children's, and then your outreach.

So I have to also— all the boxes look the same, and I have to make sure everything is getting to the, to the right librarian when the books arrive. No one is allowed to open the boxes except me. When an Amazon or Ingram box arrives, I verify all the items on the invoice match the package slip, and I prepare the books for cataloging. The books are then moved along to the librarian where the cataloging and the processing are finalized.

I have to keep all that information at my fingertips to be able to inform the librarians on what's going on with their orders. For example, a librarian might ask, "What's up with that new James Patterson novel? We've been getting lots of requests lately, and we ordered it in May." Usually in just a few clicks, I can find out if it's backordered, canceled, or in transit. If a librarian says we need a refund, or there's a discrepancy of some sort between the packing list and the invoice, I'm the person that has to see that through.

Other financial duties include processing of the library's incoming cash and credit payments. Each morning, usually first thing, I balance the cash in the drawer against the previous day's register slip. Uh, weekly I send over credit card receipts to City Finance, and at the end of the month I make a deposit to Wells Fargo. I believe that goes to the city general fund. I'm also setting— while I'm doing that, I'm also setting aside donations for the Friends of the Library and making sure school district books paid for at the public library are getting recorded correctly and vice versa.

Other financial duties. Sorry, twice monthly, I make sure all the part-time, full-time, and salary folks are getting their hours recorded on the timesheet so I can get it entered in time to the city's New World system. Thanks, Glenn. Moving on to the more operational things away from finance. So another task I'm responsible for is keeping all the records kept by the library maintained for easy reference.

Any invoice paid on the computer via PDF gets paid and saved— or gets saved to a folder that gets backed up onto a flash drive at the end of the year. For things paid with a paper invoice, I make a copy and make sure it goes to the appropriate folder. Records retention not only includes all the purchases, but things like check requests, reimbursements, payroll info, budget transfers, patron registration forms, and deposit card info, and quite a few other things that I probably just couldn't list here. All those forms need to be kept safe and secure where they can be found if needed.

One big part of my job that takes up more and more time, it feels like, over the 2 years I've been doing this is the magazine.

Periodicals subscription maintenance. The library currently has about 90 periodical subscriptions. These include magazines, newspapers, and a few professional journals. I plan to start work on the 2027 list very soon. So we're always working ahead of time on it.

We have a service through EBSCO that streamlines the process of placing the magazine orders. We place one big order, make one big payment, and they manage the back and forth for each prescription. In 2026, we had 72 titles purchased through EBSCO. That means the other 18 I have to deal with. So I must make and manage the accounts with each company.

And while EBSCO is appreciated, there's a lot of time and headache that goes into making sure that we are receiving what we order and making adjustments as the year goes on. Magazines and newspapers, they change schedule, raise prices, lower prices, sometimes file for bankruptcy midway through your subscription. It's my job to stay on top of all that so I can let the librarians know what's going on and they can make better informed decisions about what to buy next year. The periodicals list changes slightly every year. Each librarian drops or adds titles based on their data and expertise.

Once a new magazine arrives, I make sure it's cataloged and put into our system and ready for checkout.

Another part of my role as the operations manager is being an administrative assistant to the director, being a supervisor when there's no other librarian in the building, and then just working with the Friends of the Library treasurer to make sure all that accounting stuff for all the Friends requests is getting recorded correctly and all the receipts are there. And then we'll go on to some of the general duties.

So these, aside from the financial operational task, a much less stressful part of my job is just helping out with the general work at the library, such as working at the circulation desk, having phone duty, and doing reference assistance. All staff takes turns working the front desk. We call it Desk 1. I work an average of 1 to 2 hours there a day. Some days I might work 3 hours.

More often I might work no hours at the front desk. At the front desk, you're greeting people, checking books in and out, setting up PC reservations, placing holds, answering general questions, and many, many other things that may come up. It's the most visible and public-facing chair in the library, and this contact with the public, our patrons, is super important for the library as a whole. Working the front desk gives my brain a break from spreadsheets and allows me to work with the public, most of whom I look forward to seeing. The circ desk for me feels like home because that's the thing that I did when I started working in libraries.

Aside from working at the desk, all library staff take turns doing phone duty. That means for a specific hour, that staff member is responsible for answering the phone. The phone duty is done on top of regular work, which keeps that staff member tied to their desk so that they need to be near the phone and their computer. Having one person assigned to phone duty gives all the other staff a chance to be away from their desk to go do other stuff throughout the library. Uh, one of my favorite things to do is reference assistance.

Reference is when you help someone find something that goes beyond just telling them where the book is in the library. Takes a little more work to find. A recent example, I had a patron that heard an old yarn about some prospectors that were running gold up the Yukon— up the Unik River, sorry. He asked if we had any info on it. In a couple searches, I found that there was an article on the subject in the January 1937 edition of the Alaska Sportsman.

It's right there by the front desk, and, you know, 10 seconds, I had it opened up the bound journal with the 1937 magazine, and the look on the man's face was just priceless. And that's like the the fun part of being a librarian, just being able to find stuff like that and just spark someone up for something that they did not expect us to have.

And then I got some final closing comments. Hit it one more time.

That's just me. Over 2 years now, as my role as the library's operations manager, there's been a lot to learn. And even as I settle into the flow of the jobs, things are always changing just enough to keep me on my toes. The main issue I'd like the board to be aware of is just increasing costs. We're constantly wrestling with vendors to get processing up where we want it to be at prices that are predictable and sustainable.

The post-Baker and Taylor reality is that all book prices, processing, and shipping costs have gone up, so we are buying less books for the same amount of money each year. And aside from general inflation for basic supplies, this year especially we've had an increase in amount spent on the maintenance of the building. Already this year, we've purchased and installed quite a few electrical ballasts, a couple HVAC parts, replacement fixtures in the bathrooms, and we know that these costs are going to increase as the library building ages. Finally, I'm very proud to be working with such high-functioning staff. I get to see firsthand the planning and consideration that goes into material selection and the various library programs and services, and how it all adds up to create this vibrant space that beckons a person's curiosity.

For me personally, it's not just about getting books into hands, but about facilitating access to information, education, and recreation for anybody that walks through the door. My job description says I perform bookkeeping, recordkeeping, procurement, cataloging, distribution of materials, and various other services that support the library staff and their work. I see my job as an attempt to keep the library running smoothly by bridging the gap between higher-level strategy and the daily task. That need to be done to keep it running. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Any questions?

I just want to give the comment, thanks for helping the funds, because we don't have the capacity to have a treasurer constantly, um, maintaining that. So when you turn in all the book cart money—. Yeah, it's more easy for me to just set money into a certain stash but it's a great pass of income for the funds, and we appreciate you. No problem. Thank you, guys.

Well said. Oh, are we not done? No, no, just thank you. Great words. So it looks like the next thing on the agenda is the advisory board guidelines and operating procedures.

This was kind of your baby, or at least you were shepherding it a bit, Kate. Do you have any comments as we start this? No, no additional comments. I submitted, based on our conversation last quarter, I submitted my suggested edits to Pat, which she incorporated into the current form, and I have no additional edits at this point. So I leave it there for you all to add add or write anything else, and then hopefully we can move that along.

I had one typo. Section 2, Item A, second sentence, the library director, it says of, I think it should be or. Oh, yes, you're correct.

Or. And then I had one other thing on the page 2. Item 3, Section B. We had talked about that the election of the officers should be the last action item on the agenda so that the new officer doesn't get stuck running the meeting. Remember we had that discussion?

I remember it. So I would. Okay. Do I have to move to amend it, or do we do that at the end, Jack? You can make that motion.

Oh, okay. Yeah, I would move that after— or before the sentence, before the last sentence, um, be added, the elections of officers should be the last action item on the agenda.

Okay, or on the meeting agenda.

Sorry. Second that.

All in favor? Do we have to take a roll call? We asked for discussion. Discussion. Thank you, ma'am.

You did a lot. There's so much to—. Actually, I knew that and I didn't do it. Any discussion? I'm sorry, just which sentence were you at?

It was, um, Section 3, Item B, right before the last sentence, I'd insert one more. Okay.

I'll offer one comment. Yes. Just in support of the addition, in part because the chair of whomever is presiding over that last meeting as an officer has helped assemble that agenda. So I think it stands to reason that they should see through the agenda that they helped to establish before the gavel changes hands, so to speak.

Any other discussion before we have a vote? Yes. Should that be in the elections section or the organizational meeting section?

So I guess it could go either way, but it should be in the organizational section because that's the part that talks about it. Juniors meeting is limited to officer elections, blah, blah, blah. But you could do it either way. I thought—. I agree.

I thought it was less— I thought it was a little clunky in the election section. Well, could we just say the board members shall elect a chair and vice chair at the annual organization— at the end of their annual organization meeting in January? I think it should be the last action item, but it could be that for Officers A.

So, at the—. So, as the last action item of their annual organizational meeting in January.

Does that make sense? I don't have a strong opinion over the other songs that's in there. Okay. The only strong opinion I have is this will make it more complicated for me because now I have to do an amendment.

But Jack's here. Do never leave Jack. So does anybody want to make a motion that it be moved to a different section.

I retract my suggestion. Okay, because you're probably seeing the panic on my face.

Okay, so there being no further discussion, should we vote on this? Okay, let's see, on the motion to add a sentence to Section 3B, the second to the last sentence being added to have the election of officers be the last item on the meeting agenda for the organizational meeting. I will call the roll. Bowling? Yes.

Finnegan? Yes. Govars? Yes. Hurt?

Yes. Pops? Yes. And Lilligrand? Aye.

Yay. Okay, it's unanimous. So now do we actually vote? As amended. Yes.

So now can we make a motion to approve the new guidelines of the Ketchikan Public Library Advisory Board, um, including fixing the typo?

Motion to approve as amended with typo fixed as well. Second. Okay, any discussion? Great.

Seeing there's no discussion, can we have a roll call vote? Let's see. Finnegan? Yes. Gobars?

Yes. Ert? Yes. Pops? Hi.

Oh, let's see. Bowling? Yes. Milgram? Yes.

Okay, that's unanimous. Okay, now on to news business. So, Pat, you're up in your budget. All right, um, I think Sarah, get those slides up. And you—.

Should I talk? Should I speak here, you think? Please. Okay, can do that.

Okay, time for another midyear budget. Your packet includes the 2026 Library Budget Performance Report dated June 21st, 2026. We're about halfway through our 2026 budget year. So in this presentation, I'll explain the budget structure, and I'm really sorry this is repetitive for board members who were here last night. I'll talk about major changes in the 2026 budget.

And what changes may be in store for 2027. So next slide.

So as you know, the library is currently a department of the city of Ketchikan, and our budget is part of the city's budget. Within the library department, the budget is split into activities, and we often call them divisions. And those, uh, activities are grants— so that's great state and other grants that the library would seeds. Uh, there's also the adult and technical services, uh, activity. Adult services is pretty self-explanatory.

Technical services is a traditional library term that actually predates the computer age, and it refers to all the backroom functions such as acquiring materials, cataloging and processing them, as well as collection maintenance activity such as weeding and inventory. The outreach services activity Outreach librarian Rebecca Brown brings library books and DVDs, magazines and newspapers to people who, for whatever reason, can't come to the library. Elders in senior facilities, homebound members, people in the correctional center. She also conducts read aloud and other programs for elders. The children's services activity— children's services provides collections and programs for children and teens ages 0 to 18.

The First City Libraries activity, the public library shares its online library system with the school district libraries, and the First City Libraries budget is used to pay for the expenses associated with the maintenance of that system. This partnership with the school district is governed by a 40-21 agreement, and the school district contribution to this activity is in the file for them. And then finally, there's the operation and maintenance activity. This is the budget for building, and equipment maintenance, cleaning, replacement, and repair. Each of these activities is split into broad subject categories, and each category is split into one or more specific accounts that we budget and then pay from through the year.

Uh, next slide.

This is a pie chart of the 2026 adopted budget. Separated by categories. And as you can see, the cost of staff wages and benefits are a whopping 73% of the total budget. The next largest slice is contract services. They're about 15% of the budget.

This includes building inspections, monthly pest control services, our shared library system, and other auxiliary systems. And, uh, Every once in a while, it doesn't happen every year, but sometimes it happens that we bring in a performer for a children's library program. Supplies account for about 8% of our budget. They include office supplies, programming supplies, postage, supplies for building maintenance and cleaning, and all of the new books, DVDs, magazines, games, and other items that we add to the collection. Collections.

Interdepartmental charges are charges for the city's liability and vehicle insurance. Um, that gets split up by department, and so that is for our chunk of those, uh, charges, as well as the city IT services to maintain the library servers and other computer equipment.

Minor capital this year includes replacement of furniture and fixtures and replacements for our aging security gates. In cameras. Next slide. So, in the past few years, I found it helpful to analyze the budget according to how much discretion the library has and how each account is budgeted and spent. The library's discretionary accounts are those over which the library has some control.

The non-discretionary accounts are those over which the library has little or no control. The discretionary accounts are about 10% of the library's budget. These include salaries for substitute staff, and substitute staff are the staff that we call in when one of our regular staff are on vacation or sick. All of our supplies, our fireplace fuel, all of our collections, books, DVDs, magazines, etc. Travel and training for conferences or training.

Databases and ebooks like Hoopla and Libby, and programming expenses. Um, and some of those are covered by the Friends, and we're very grateful. Um, and then we also have some programming expenses in the library's budget. Non-discretionary accounts are about 90% of the library's budget. And these include regular staff salaries and benefits.

Facilities cleaning, maintenance, and repair. Utilities— heating, electricity, water, and sewer. Telecommunication charges. Liability and vehicle insurance.

And over the past 6 years, the library's discretionary expenses have had their ups and downs, but they're about 11% less in 2026 than they were in 2020. In that same period, the library's nondiscretionary expenses have gone up 46%. Next slide.

So overall, the library's budget has increased 37.5% from 2020 to 2026. In addition to increases in the nondiscretionary accounts, the 2026 budget includes funding to replace, as I said before, our failing security gates. And these are the gates that set off an alarm when somebody tries to leave the building with library materials without checking them out. And the security camera system. It also includes the cost of migrating to a new online library system that is more user-friendly, secure, and cost-effective.

Next slide.

The 2026 First City Library's activities budget includes $53,000 for the one-time cost of migrating from our current online library system that we share with the school district libraries to a modern system. Our current SIRSI Guidance Systems annual maintenance fee is over $38,000 this year, and the vendor estimates it will increase by 7.9% a year over the next 5 years. Last August, we received estimates from 4 other system vendors. The annual fees for 2 of them would be considerably less expensive to begin with, by almost half in 2027, and they would increase by no more than 5% a year.

In the 2026 budget, we assumed that the school district would contribute about 40% of the one-time cost of migrating, or about $21,500.

However, given their financial situation, the school district will not be able to pay a share of the one-time migration cost. Although fortunately, they were able to budget for the annual systems maintenance fee and for one district librarian. So, to cover the school district portion of that one-time migration cost, we have applied to the state for an Interlibrary Cooperation Grant to cover the district portion of those migration costs. We hope to hear whether or not we've gotten that grant by the end of this summer. Next slide.

Because we submit our draft budget to the city in early September, some late changes are not reflected in the following year's budget. We've had several of these in the fall of 2025 that affected the 2026 budget. In October of 2025, the police department offered several of their old vehicles to other city departments. We received one of these vehicles at no cost. We were able to add accounts to our 2026 budget to pay for fuel, maintenance, and vehicle insurance.

But it was too late for us to reduce the amounts that we had already budgeted for acquiring a used vehicle, which we no longer needed, and for reimbursing staff for the use of their personal vehicles for library business, since we now could use the library vehicle. Also in October, We put our 2026 janitorial contract out to bid, and the low bid was actually $10,000 less than we budgeted for. So this account in the operations and maintenance activity will be underspent this year. And finally, even though we increased the budget in the utilities account for electricity, heat, and water, the rates have gone up again this year, and we are on trend to spend more than the $100,000 budgeted in this account. So next slide.

So this pie chart is the library's 2026 budget by activity. Although it is not included in the pie chart, I included in the slide, uh, the 2026, uh, uh, debt service on the building. The city anticipates the bond will be paid off in 2031.

So next slide. So what's to come in 2027? Bargaining unit salaries will increase by 4% in 2027. That's already been negotiated. All but 3 of the library's full-time regular staff are in the IBEW bargaining unit.

The cost of personnel benefits, utilities, and telecommunications will increase by an unknown amount. In the past several years, all of these accounts have seen over 5%.

Increases. In its June 25th budget meeting, the City Council discussed a no more than 5% increase in each departmental budget. This may or may not include personnel salaries and wages accounts. And after a few years of being fully staffed, there will be personnel changes in 2027.

The whole borough discussion is the big unknown. Will the library become a department of the federal? If not, will the terminated borough-city library services agreement be renegotiated by the December 31st deadline? According to the old agreement, which remains in place until the end of December, the borough pays a percentage of the library's budget that is the same as the percentage of the borough population who lives outside the cities of Ketchikan and Sassafras. The short answer is we just don't know what changes are going to take place.

We're going to proceed as normal until we hear otherwise. So that is my presentation. And are there any questions?

Yes, I want to—. If we can jump back briefly to your discretionary budget, I was just curious how you account for the reduction in spending there compared to 2020. I was surprised to see that that's at a lower dollar figure than it had been during COVID of all times when I thought that programming might be at a minimum. Yes, programming was at a minimum. Now, when we budgeted in 2020, we actually budgeted because we didn't realize the pandemic was going to hit.

Sure. So basically that was the budget we came up with in 2019. But we try and take the budget assumptions We all— each department gets a list of budget assumptions when they're preparing their budget for the following year. And so we take those assumptions very seriously, and we try as best we can to keep as flat as possible all of the accounts that we have control over, all those discretionary accounts. And with the increases in the non-discretionary accounts, We kind of try as much as we can while still being responsible and still providing services to kind of squeeze what we do have control over, that discretionary part of our budget, to at least partially make up for the non-discretionary increases.

So I think that's what it is. I know books and other materials, those new materials costs, those, those are going up. And yet we, really do try, we've decreased those budget lines.

Well, like I said, still trying to provide the services and materials that people need. Thanks. Kate's got her hand up. Oh, hi, Kate. Yes.

Hey, thanks, Dan. Pat, I was looking at the budget spreadsheet that you provided, and it looks like you're a little over a third spent $100,000 spend for the year, and you said you're about halfway through the year. Is that typical spend? Like, do you have a lot of end-of-year expenses that come up that would bring you to like closer to 100% of budget by the end of the, end of the year? Or are you kind of, is your runway a pretty gradual?

There are certain expenses that kind of hit all at once. They do tend to hit toward more the beginning of the year than the end of the year. I'm not sure when the EBSCO—. That'll go in November. Okay, so that is toward the end of the year.

So, but we always try, and when we're— we try to spend kind of less than the percentage we are through the budget year, just because in December, as the budget year is ending, there are deadlines for getting, POs done and getting invoices paid. So we try to kind of have things, actually try and have things paid a little bit ahead of time. But we generally, I think I looked at the average of our adopted budget versus what we actually spend in a year, and we're generally about 5 to 7% under, in our spending as far as comparing that to our adopted budget. Got it. And then it seems like when you say you don't have much discretionary, if you have extra budget at the end of the year, you can't— is there room for that to roll into, um, kind of extra book buys or different programming, like, or prepaying for something like Hoopla for next fiscal year?

Well, we can't, we can't prepay. What we can do is if there are things that we can actually pay for and receive in the current fiscal year, we will do that. So oftentimes that will get things like furniture or something that we know we're going to have to buy this sooner or later, as long as we can buy it and receive it. Fiscal year, we can do that. Um, we can't prepay for things in the, in the next fiscal year though.

Got it. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Kathy, you had your hand up. Uh, thank you, Chair.

I was— I've been asked if the library, let's say, just closes 2 days a week, what kind of impact would that have on your, on your budget? Would it Save money? Well, it's tricky, um, because hours equals people. Um, uh, there would be, uh, as far as other expenses, um, that we would save money on, it would be vanishingly small amount aside from people. So it would be, it would be staff., if we were to, to close, you know, a certain number of days a week.

The only way we would save money is to reduce staff.

Thank you. Anything, any, anything else? No, I, I have one other, um, great news that the winning janitorial bid came in under budget. That's It's always nice to spend a little bit less than you expect to on a service that you require. And I just wondered what kind of account flexibility the library had.

I assume that those funds earmarked for operations or for— no, for contractual services, I imagine. Are you able to repurpose those funds towards something like the minor capital outlay programs that you have, maybe the replacement of some of the security gates? Since you realize those savings, can you apply them to other needs at the library? I think in some cases, yes, for some accounts we absolutely can. And that may be one of the accounts where we can, if we need to get like sort of deep clean all the upholstery, which would be really great.

I think we could probably use that money for that because it's in the same general category of building maintenance and equipment. I think it would have to be kind of in that same, same category, which is great because we do— our building gets very used. And so there's a lot of, a lot of things that need to be cleaned and repaired. There are other accounts like training and travel and training that if we don't spend it on the travel or training that we're intending to do at the beginning of the year, we cannot easily use that for other purposes. Thank you.

Thank you. Oh, sorry. Um, Pat, it is up to your caliber of presentation. Thank you for articulating everything so clearly. I was actually really curious what was going on with the new database system and with the— what was happening with the schools.

By chance, do you have a date of when you might know if we get the grant funding to cover that cost that they won't provide? I know that the deadline for applying for that grant was June 30th. And they said that they would be reviewing applications in July. So I really, really hope that we hear by sometime in August, but I don't know. They didn't give a specific date.

Okay, and then do we have a backup plan? Is that something like that has to be like a capital project, or like, I mean, like, how would we go about getting it? Because we're kind of committed to it and it needs to happen, and it doesn't seem fair that the library has to absorb the entire cost of it. I think we'll have to— we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Fair, fair.

At least you have a plan. I didn't think that there was a grant for this, so I'm amazed that you found things in our We're constantly putting out fires. Well, the grant, the state is very generous. So, yeah.

Okay. Okay. So, I realized I didn't give us a break, but it's only quarter after 7. If people can continue to sit for a little while, we could finish what little is on the agenda, or we could take a 5 or 10-minute break.

Okay, shorter is better.

Okay, so let's see, we are down to board member comments. No, good. Oh no, we are new business item B, changes. Oh, that's why you're still up there. That's why.

How do you think this meeting would have gone if Jack wasn't sitting there? You'd have found it. Yes, I lost track. So those slides are just the end of this. I was thinking something depressing hadn't happened yet in the discussion.

Just feel my old— I thought we were close. It's just sad. It's okay. Okay, you're up again. Yes, I'm up again.

And, um, well, I was bringing up the the slides.

Okay, perfect. Let's see. Uh, so currently there are a number of changes being considered in the library's relationships with the, um, Ketchikan Gateway Borough and with the school district. Since 1985, the city has had a contract with the borough to provide library services to non-area-wide borough residents. The most recent contract was signed in 2021.

And the library's had a contract with the school district to share a library system and collections since the early 1990s. And the most recent multi-year contract was signed in 2018. Both of these relationships are in flux. So we'll start with the city borough contract, and some of this you might be familiar with from Judith's remarks. So by the terms of the current contract, in March each year, the City Finance Department calculates the library's estimated budget.

Oh, sorry. Sorry about that. The City Finance Department calculates the library's estimated budget for the upcoming borough fiscal year, which is one half of the current calendar year, which the city goes by, plus one half of the estimated upcoming calendar year budget. Then multiplies this by the percentage of the borough's population who live outside the cities of Pittsfield and Saxton. And finally, they make adjustments to account for the actual expenditures of the library in the previous fiscal year.

The resulting number is the amount that the city requests of the borough to provide library services to non-area-wide borough residents. Next slide.

So this chart, it might be hard to read, um, lists the library's fiscal year budget from 2020 to 2027. The columns in orange are the amount that have been requested each year for the borough, um, uh, for library services and the percent of the increase in each year's request. As you can see, the annual increase in their request starting in 2024 has been quite high compared to previous years.

Next, next slide. The contract doesn't specify the source of the borough funding for library services. Since 1987, the borough has levied a tax on non-area-wide property owners specifically to pay for library services. This chart shows the history of the non-area-wide library mill rate. Next slide.

So due to concerns over the recent increases in the borough's contribution, the borough assembly voted to terminate the current library services agreement effective December 31st, 2026. This gives the assembly time to consider their options, which are option 1, to renegotiate the library services agreement, uh, with a view to limit the amount that the borough is contracted to pay the non-area-wide library services. Option 2, put a measure on the October ballot for the borough to adopt area-wide library powers. If passed, the borough would provide and pay for library services for all residents of the borough. And as you've heard earlier tonight, there's also a citizens initiative that's going around for signatures to put this measure on the fall ballot.

Option 3: negotiate with the city to transfer additional non-area-wide library powers to the borough so that it would cover the city of Ketchikan as well as non-area-wide borough residents. So this would mean that the borough would provide and pay for library services for the city of Ketchikan and non-area-wide residents. It's unclear whether or not Saxman residents who now receive full library benefits would be included in that plan. Or option 4, the current agreement would end in January 2027 with no other provision made for non-area-wide residents who would no longer—. Say—.

Have access to the library's physical or electronic collections. The library's budget would potentially be reduced by 40%, the approximate amount of the borough's contribution to library services. Next slide.

So the assembly will next take up this issue at their July 20th meeting when they will hold a public hearing and work session. The citizens' petition to put on the fall ballot a measure for the borough to adopt area-wide library hours is going around.

And there are a ton of rumors going around. I know I've heard them, and I think probably a lot of people have heard them about what this all means and what people's intentions are. But this is all I know to be true. This is how I understand the situation right now. So next slide.

So now we'll move over to the school district. Hmm. The public library and the school district libraries have shared an online library system since the early 1990s, which has allowed them to share items in their collections. Using the school district's courier service to pick up and deliver items put on hold in the system to any Ketchikan library. UAS Ketchikan Campus Library joined the consortium in the 1990s, but they left to join the University of Alaska-wide system in 2021.

The current contract between the school district and the public library sets out the responsibilities of each library to maintain and update the patron and item records in the system, to share their collections with other libraries in the consortium, and to pay a portion of systems costs. The portion for each entity is determined by the number of bibliographic records or titles that they have in the system. And this is represented in the chart, which is— I know, hard to read, sorry— for the years 2020 to 2026.

The public library is the managing partner in the consortium, and so system costs are paid through the First City Library's activities in the library's budget. Next slide.

In their fiscal year 2026-27 budget, the school district was able to retain the district librarian position, which is great, and budget for their portion of the system. The system's annual maintenance fee. However, they were not able to budget for their portion of the one-time cost of migrating. As I noted in my budget presentation, we have applied for a state grant to cover that cost. Jen Simpson will be the district librarian, and the Thomas School of Arts and Sciences also has its own school library staff person.

Jen is great, but she is one person. And unless the district reinstates a few library paraprofessionals so that there's one library staff person in each school, that would be K High, Schoenbart, and Hauptmann, we will have to renegotiate our First City Libraries consortium contract to redefine system responsibilities for the school district libraries. I'll be seeking a meeting with the new school superintendent, uh, Kara Forbair, to discuss all this, uh, later this month. So next slide.

So changes in the library's funding and governance will affect our ability to participate in shared library services with the school district. And of course, changes in the school district will impact public library operations and services to students, teachers, and staff. So we're kind of in the middle and we don't know how it's all going to shake out. So That is it for my— as much as I know about those situations. Any questions?

Oh, Kate? Yeah, Pat, in your slide deck you showed the mill rates over years, but then there was this N/A for a period of years. Is that just we don't have data or there were no mill rates collected? In my brief research into this, I was— using the mill rates that were described in Borough Attorney Glenn Brown's report on the various options. And he did— he didn't have a mill rate listed for that period.

Do you have a sense if we— I would assume that there would be some sort of news that we weren't collecting borough tax dollars during that time. So I'm assuming that's just gap of information, not lack of collection. I think that's true. Yes, I believe it. Got it.

Thank you.

Do you know whether this change in the libraries at the school, only one librarian, is going to affect kids' ability to get library cards at the school and use those cards at the public library? I think that's something that we're going to have to work out in our discussions with the superintendent. Because I think what the school district was thinking of when they decided to retain one district librarian is the public-facing services that such a librarian would provide. So they would go to Schoenbar one or two times a week, Keihan one or two times a week. Howling, uh, and check books in and out and, um, uh, helped students find things, do all of the kind of training and teaching aspects of library work.

But then there's also the things that are not very visible, which is the work in the system to update the students' records, to add new students as they come in at the beginning of the year. To, if they, and I don't know what their collections budget is going to be like, but if there are new materials that come into the system to catalog those materials so that they're in the system. And also to when somebody from the public library puts a hold on a book that's, say, at K High, getting that book off the shelf, processing it so that The courier service can then bring it to the public library and then vice versa. If a K-5 student wants a public library book, puts it on hold. Once it gets to K-5, who is going to be in the library to process that?

That hold. So there are a lot of unknowns about.

How it's going to impact students and teachers. Thank you.

Anything else? Yeah, I think—. Okay, if I may, through the chair, um, I know that library's budgeting is already complex because of the different calendars. Is it just as a starting point, is it a complicated figure? Now, you, as you describe it all of this uncertainty that's been introduced.

And I think it's probably next to impossible to game plan various scenarios, at least from a budgetary standpoint. But I wondered if there was even a basic framework in place in the event of, say, a doomsday scenario where you did see a 40% reduction in your budget, if there's even a, like, a blueprint or a like a rough draft of how you would approach a major setback of that, of that nature? We are developing impact statements to, you know, if there's a 40% cut, what would that mean? What would it be possible to do? So, so yes, they're kind of more general.

And then of course the whole school district piece of it, I don't think we've actually tackled that of what a 40% cut in our budget would do to our services to the school district. Um, but we are, we are thinking about what would be involved in a 40% cut, um, in the library, in library services. So yeah, it's kind of— we're kind of thinking about this. Thank you. Through the chair, if let's say My understanding is the borough has to pay some amount, collect non-area-wide or area-wide, depending on what the voters decide or whatever movement between government happens.

Uh, the, the borough, whether or not it— the library's gonna be a borough department, may decide to only allow the budget to increase 3%, 4%, 5% a year. And if you're If your costs are 8-10% in 5 years, are you also thinking about the impact if your budget gets reduced 15-20% in 5 years? That's what we— not the 5% or not the 5-year scenario, but yes, we are looking at impact statements through those kinds of scenarios. Scenarios, or like 3 or 4% cap, hard cap on the library's budget.

I think there's some talk about, about that. If it just caps at, uh, $0.7 mil, that's already not enough. Yeah, so, um, yeah, so yeah, it would—. It's, it's definitely something we're, uh, thinking through. And just so that we kind of get some kind of an idea of how to respond when people ask those kind of questions.

Yeah, so they could make a decision on how they want to vote or who they vote for. Thank you.

Anybody else? Move on to board member comments.

No? Okay. Thank you, Pat. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. That was informative but not cheery. I'm so sorry.

Um, okay, board member comments. Kate, can we start with you so I don't forget you're up there? Thanks, Diane. Uh, first and foremost, Diane, wonderful job. Thank you.

Thank you for taking on this responsibility. Uh, we are very appreciative. So, um, you can only go up from here, and you did great. And, uh, another—. I always appreciate Pat.

Thank you for bringing, uh, Robert in tonight. Robert, if you're still there, thank you showing up and presenting. I really appreciate these presentations. It helps just understand more of the day-to-day of the work. It gives us a more well-rounded perspective of library isn't just books, even though we love the books, it's so much more.

So Robert, thank you, I really appreciate that. And thank you for the summer reading program. My kid is a voracious reader, and in large part because of the wonderful staff at the library. I had two little boys that I brought into the library who wanted to learn about traps because they're boys in Alaska and they wanted to learn about traps. And Marie, being the wonderful librarian that she is, just kept feeding these boys books.

And it was just such a beautiful, wonderful experience, the joy of the library. And just as a borough resident, I am someone who very much values that space. So Uh, those are my comments. Thank you. Um, thank you for this evening and the reports, uh, that were given.

And that is it. Thank you, Diane. Okay, Nina.

Um, all right, to touch on, uh, Kate's comment about the summer reading program, I just want to throw in my two cents, speaking for myself. Um, so the summer reading program component, one of the big components, is the free books that the kids get. And my kids surprised me the other day at the borough meeting. She got up and spoke and referenced all the free things at the library, and I'm like inside cringing because she has helped me carry those 48 boxes of books into the library on a Friday evening and set them up for a sale to get $500 and then have to load the unsold books back into our truck and put them in the storage unit. And she has given up all of her sunny Saturdays to sit in a parking lot to collect books to get a dollar in October.

And I felt like a parenting fail that she missed how not free these things are in terms of time and volunteers and all all of the behind-the-scenes efforts that people put into to get kids a book. And, um, I'm thankful for the IBEW who has been sponsoring the program. And I believe they were giving— correct me if I'm wrong— $600 checks, which is incredibly generous. But for math purposes, um, we need about 250 books, and that's about $3,500 to buy books. So 600 is just not cutting it.

Um, and I reached out to Silly Munchkins, who is another amazing partner, who ended up donating 100 books to the summer reading program so kids could have books. And then we as our family also donated, um, to make sure we had 250 books this summer so we could give them. And so, I mean, like, literally we paid for the books. My kid was saying it was free. So, but I mean, it's just, it's a, it's insane that, you know, we, we worked for hours in labor to get $500, which was great.

I appreciate everyone who came to the children's book sale and supported that. But that $500 isn't going to cover a program. It's not going to cover any one thing. It's so expensive to do these things. And I am constantly amazed how the the library makes a dime stretch into a dollar to keep the level of services that they have with the tiny percent of discretionary budget.

And you mentioned fuel for the fireplace, and I just started laughing because when I think of the library, I think of like rainy, dreary, gray days, and my kids are reading books in the children's, and I just escape for a moment to sit by the fireplace and, and read my own book in my own brain and have a moment of sanity in the darkness winter and how impactful that fireplace fuel is for our community. It just— I'm just amazed how much is done with so little. And yet it is because of all the behind the scenes that the staff is doing to pinch pennies and make things happen. And I just— okay, I'm going to wrap up. I'm sorry, I'm a talker.

I'm on my 148th book this year. And I just finished 50+ Library Services, which is not what I thought it was going to be. It is from 2015 and it's about— it's 800 pages about the change of the, of the 50+ demographic population and about how they were not old enough to be considered seniors, but also retiring and changing life. And, um, yes, I highly recommend this. It's on Libby.

I'll just keep her a friend. 50+ Library Services on Libby. And it just, it really articulates the change in society of population when the library was known as a repository of books to where it became a programming center for community gathering and for people who are not in their retirement communities, homes where they are isolated and need outreach services. But also not full-time working and have time. And it just beautifully explains how the library evolved and provided what communities, what population, the people needed.

And I'm, I'm very concerned because the comments I've seen have been, you know, I don't check out books, I don't read books. And, and there is growing numbers of people who are signing up for Libby and Hoopla and our online services even now after it's been out, when we did a little tester like 2 years ago to see if it'd be successful, we still have like 100 people signing up every month. So these online services are absolutely serving our community. And the library is so much more than just books. And I just, I don't highly recommend it.

It's 800 pages. But the library is not just books. That's all I can say. And every time Robert or someone from the library comes in and tells us what they do. It's one more insight into all the things the library is, and it just deserves funding because our community deserves the funding.

And, um, thank you. Okay, Kathy. Thank you. I really did, um, say everything I wanted to say, um, earlier. I do want to thank Robert, Matt, for your reports.

And Grant Echo Hawk, we miss you. Heal up. Um, and, and primary is August 18th. You can double-check that you are— your voter registration is still current, and voting is important. I have a couple little things.

First of all, I really, really appreciate all your reports, Pat. How many more meetings are you going to have with us? After this? Yeah. Two.

Two, okay. And the second thing is that when I was in Minnesota, I was Vice Chief of Staff and I ran the doctors meeting once and I was told at the end of it, you did a great job. And I was just feeling so wonderful. And then I said, so what is it that made it so good? And they said it was short.

So I have tried to aspire to that. And the third is I was getting some of the old documents off my computer today, and I found this 2-page sheet about how to take care of my son when he was 3 years old, and my parents had him and took care of him. And there's a whole paragraph on what he liked to do, and most of that was how he loved going to the library. And I didn't delete that. But, you know, libraries are just magic for kids, and I really want to see full library services, especially for kids, continue.

That's it. That's my 3 things.

I will also extend my gratitude to staff for their presentations and reports. And, well, thanks also for being at the helm there on the computer and help us out in that regard. Thank you, Diane, for running your first and one of my shortest lab meetings. You're on track. I do want to say, I don't know if because the public library is a topic of communal conversation right now, I don't know if viewership ticks upward on a library advisory board meeting or not.

I know the city will post this, uh, recorded meeting probably tomorrow. Taylor's pretty good about, you know, being on top of those. Um, I do hope that if there are members of the community who have questions about library, library services, library budgeting, that they don't just absorb the rumors and make assumptions, that they reach out to borough assembly members or city council members or library staff members to learn more about the actual procedures, the actual budgets. And I think we as Library Advisory Board members, we have an opportunity to engage with the public. If we hear these conversations coming up, we do have the advantage of this information at our fingertips.

And I know I don't need to encourage each of us to participate in those conversations, but I will remind members of the public that any of us who are members of this board are open to having those discussions. And if not us in person, then certainly reach out to borough or city staff, library staff, to learn more about what's at stake and what the library is up against right now. And as a consequence, make informed decisions when you go to the ballot box this October.

Here. Oh, me. Um, yeah, I just want to echo the sentiment of everybody else on the board and, uh, thank everybody for their presentations and their showing up and helping. Um, as a new member here, I do find these incredibly helpful to kind of catch me up to what everybody else is already a little bit aware of. Um, and then Also, I would love to echo showing up to the polls.

If anybody from the community is watching these, your vote really, really matters. So, yeah, just doing that. Great. So now, are there any future agenda items that members want to see?

Okay, um, so do I hear a move to adjourn? A motion to adjourn? Motion to adjourn. Second. Second.

Okay, any discussion? No.