Board of Library Trustees

Meeting Minutes

Documentation

• Meeting Minutes for Approval – September 9, 2025
• Friends Report
• Professional Staff Reports
• Director’s Report
• Financial Report
• Trust Report
• Miscellaneous – Public Comment Policy, Meeting Room Policy, Pod Use Policy,
• Correspondence

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 P.M. by P. Ivanovskis.

Public Comment

None.

Donation Vote:

Gretchen Sullivan, the artist who displayed their work in the Community Room
during the month of September, made a donation to the Library in the amount of $100 at the
conclusion of her exhibit. P. Ivanovskis made a motion to accept the donation. A. Clement
seconded the motion and it passed 5-0-0.

Approval of Meeting Minutes

J. Ooi requested that teen volume in the library be added to the first line of the Correspondence
section of the minutes, as well as adding correspondence under miscellaneous documentation.
The other Board members were in support of these changes. S. Halton made a motion to approve
the minutes as amended. J. Ooi seconded and the motion passed 5-0-0.

Correspondence:

L. O’Neill received an email from Kay Andberg questioning why the Library’s address hasn’t
been changed to Baker Street so that GPS will guide patrons to our parking lot. Having changed
the library’s address in a previous role, L. O’Neill advised that there’s no cost, but it is a lengthy
process and a lot of things need to be updated to reflect the change. This would be helpful to new
patrons and those visiting from out of town. The Board supports the general idea of changing the
Library’s address, and exploring the possibility of doing so. L. O’Neill will investigate further
and report back.

Friends’ Report

B. Buckland provided an update from the Friends. The Friends-sponsored hotspot has been lost
and the line subsequently cancelled. For the time being, the Library is set with the number of
hotspots circulating, but would reconsider closer to the summer when use spikes.

The annual taxes are done and Bernadette Thie is doing the annual audit.

For the month of November, reusable bags purchased at the Foxborough Stop & Shop will
benefit the Friends. November will also see the return of the Giving Tree to the Library.

L. O’Neill requested additional funds on behalf of Kim Ferguson’s paperwhite bulbs proposal at
the Friends October meeting. The Friends approved funding a bulb giveaway with $105 leftover
from the 2025 Community Reads in addition to another $145 for a total of $250.

The book drive on 9/27 was very successful. The next drive will be 10/25, 10am-12pm. The
book sale will be set up on 11/12/25 and take place November 13-15.

The Friends Social is being held on 10/22/25 at 6:30pm and will be bigger and better than ever.

Due to some family issues, B. Buckland will be stepping off the Friends Board for the next year
or so. She hopes to return in the future once everything is squared away.

The Board representatives attending Friends meetings will be as follows: S. Halton in January, J.
Ooi in February, K. Penders in March, A. Clement in April, and P. Ivanovskis in May. A June
rep will be selected at a later date, after the Board elections in the spring.

Professional Staff Reports

The kids’ coding program, Scratch Hackathon, was a huge success.

Interest in the Tinker Tank has been irregular. Open hours will continue on Tuesday and
Wednesday evenings, 6-7:30pm, which is well staffed by teen volunteers. Friday’s open hours
have been cancelled and replaced with a sign-up form. Patrons can fill out the form to request to
use the Tinker Tank on a specific day and time that works for them, subject to approval. This
should allow more flexibility and encourage use of the space. Additionally, demos will be
offered in January to help familiarize patrons with what’s available and how to use it.

Financial Reports

The Library is on track so far this year. The Network & Information Systems line item is fully
expended due to the SAILS network assessment and is typical at this time of year. L. O’Neill and
P. Ivanovskis will meet with Marie Almodovar and Brandon Roberts on 11/10/26 to begin the
FY27 budget process. The Financial Summit will be held on 12/2/25 at 5:30pm if anyone would
like to join.

The Library is no longer using Baker & Taylor, so their imminent closure is not of concern.

A quarterly trust report has been provided. Finance receives this on a quarterly basis and the
reports will be brought to the Board as they become available.

Director’s Report

Library Operations

There have been a few reoccurring roof leaks lately, for which Facilities is
bringing in a roofer to assess.

Programs & Services

The community baby shower was a success. A patron even donated items
to be given away at the event.

The community food cupboard kicked off on 10/6/25. It has been advertised on social media, in
the newsletter, and flyers sent to local organizations. The Board suggested sending flyers to the
schools and local pediatricians.

The two-seater pod is here and ready to be used, it’s just waiting for approval of the updated pod
policy, to be discussed later in the meeting. L. O’Neill found a better price on Amazon and Nook
was able to match it. The final cost was $7,173, which included assembly.

Children’s is looking at using Google Safe Search as a means of filtering on their public
computers to eliminate the need for permission slips. The only drawback is that it only works for
searches, it will not block websites if they are accessed directly by entering the URL. With this
change, the children’s computers will be available for those 12 and under, and the reference
computers will be 13+. If this solution doesn’t work out as anticipated, the potential for paid
filtering software will be revisited.

L. O’Neill is working on a plan for a bookmobile. The lowest quote so far has been $195k for a
pop-up truck. A full bookmobile would run $200-280k. L. O’Neill is envisioning using $100k
from Beyond Books, $100k from the capital fund, and fundraising and grants for the remaining
financial needs. Annual operations costs are part of the planning process and will be included in
the business proposal requested by P. Ivanovskis.

Station One started a boozy book club, the first of which had low attendance. As a result, they
are now partnering with the Library. The ticket to attend is free, attendees just have to purchase
food and drink, and copies of the books will be available at the Library.

.

Personnel Updates

None

Correspondence:

L. O’Neill distributed correspondence that was received from a patron, a copy of which can be
found at the end of the minutes. The correspondence is in reference to the incident discussed
under the director’s report. The Board discussed how the library is a community space where
social connections can be made, and that they are no longer the quiet spaces they used to be.
Given the architecture of the Library, a truly quiet space is difficult to achieve. P. Ivanovskis
complimented the tone and solutions offered in L. O’Neill’s response.

New Business

Food for Fines:

L. O’Neill is seeking Board support to waive patron fines in exchange for donations of
nonperishable items for the Food Cupboard at a rate of $1 per item. This will not apply to
lost/damaged materials charges, only old fines or Library of Things late fines. P. Ivanovskis
made a motion to approve the implementation of food for fines for the months of November and
December. A. Clement seconded the motion and it passed 5-0-0.

Public Comment Policy:

P. Ivanovskis thought it would be wise to implement a public comment policy as most Town
committees have one. The proposed policy lays out expectations for anyone coming for public
comment ahead of time, would keep the public comment time at three minutes per person, and
restrict comment to Foxborough residents only. J. Ooi inquired about the second sentence of item
one on the policy. Given a lack of clarity and minor redundancy, this line was struck from the
policy. A. Clement made a motion to approve the public comment policy as amended. J.
Parlapiano seconded and the motion passed 5-0-0.

Old Business

2026 Community Reads Author:

Michael Finkel, author of The Art Thief, will be the 2026 Community Reads author. Finkel lives
in Utah and charges $8,000 plus travel and accommodations. L. O’Neill offered $10,000 all-in
and Finkel accepted. The author has a projected presentation for his talk, so the event may be
reorganized this year to have the welcome reception/food in the Reading Room and the talk in
the Community Room. Unlikely Story will be coming to sell books. Program planning is
beginning, and J. Parlapiano has graciously agreed to do the food for the event again this year.

Meeting Room Policy:

No changes were made to the policy from the last revision. When the Teen Program Room is
built in 2026, it will be available on a first come, first serve, drop-in basis Monday through
Friday, 10am-2pm, with the exception of weekends, when school isn’t in session, and when
programs are being held.

Pod Use Policy:

The Pod Use Policy has been updated to include the new two-seater pod. It will be located on the
first floor, away from the administrative offices, so it will only be available on a walk-in basis,
reservations will not be accepted. Additionally, the pod must be used by two people, not
individuals or groups larger than two. J. Ooi felt that a reservation system would make more
sense for a two-person pod, but understands the logistical difficulties regarding monitoring and
enforcing reservations given its location and staff capabilities. A. Clement made a motion to
approve the Pod Use Policy as amended. J. Ooi seconded the motion and it passed 5-0-0.

Adjournment

Respectfully submitted,
Renee Spinner