Library Board of Trustees Meeting Agenda

Prepaid Checks #74748 - 75750

Warrant Checks #74751 - 74831

Income Report

Data and Relevant Calculations

Notes

Disbursements as of June 8, 2026: $154,219.71

Bank Balances:

• Money Market: $4,880,101.76
• Checking: $84,492.30
• Total: $4,810,374.35

Transaction Notes: (ACH: Automatic Clearing House)

• 5/1: SSCSD - ACH - $453,621.50 - Taxes
• 5/5: SALS - Check # 15681 - $134.81 - Love Your Library Fund
• 5/8: Friends - Check # 900773 - $750.00 - Rent
• 5/8: Friends - Check # 900774 - $20,000.00 - Donation for Nolan Family
• 5/12: Friends - Check # 900776 - $20,165.00 - Donation for Nolan Family

Budget Expense Report

Director’s Written Report

Building Improvements

In what may be a first in the history of construction projects, the recently-completed elevator replacement and upgrade project came in ahead of schedule and under budget. As a result, we have not yet met our pledged matching expenses for the grant amount approved for the project by DLD. Fortunately, we have learned that we are likely to be able to amend the scope of the project to include the planned upgrades to safety and security systems including upgraded hardware and software for proximity locks and the fire suppression system in order to qualify for the full amount of the grant.

Fiscal Year 2024-25 Audit

Representatives from MMB+O will attend the June 8, 2026 Board of Trustees meeting to present the results of the Fiscal Year 24-25 audit.

Personnel Update

After 12 years in the position, Operations Working Supervisor, Ric Taras, announced his retirement with very little notice, with his last working day on May 18, 2026. Recruitment for his successor is underway, and in the meantime reporting and scheduling responsibility for the three main functions within the Department have been distributed among its three full-time staff: Cleaning, Jessica Rogers; Building Monitoring, Rob Peck; and Maintenance, Dan Salmon. With the help of Dan and Tonya Faiola, I am monitoring and approving contracts and bills. Interviews for the position will be scheduled in short order.

We wish Ric a long, healthy, happy retirement of hunting, fishing, traveling, and ticking items off his “honey-do” list!

Signs of Hope

In recent months, I’ve had the great good fortune to meet and have conversations that make me optimistic for the future with young people mostly from the Saratoga Springs area, but also from across the state and globe. At a recent Rotary International district conference, I helped facilitate conversations that included high school exchange students from around the world who are studying in schools across New York state, and students from across the state who are outbound to live and study across the world. Their views about ways to be of service to others and promote cooperation were truly inspirational. Following that conference, I met a group of Teens who are currently being of service to the library and our community by serving on the Teen Advisory Board. They were full of curiosity, energy, and hope. I’m grateful to them for their service to the library, and to Teen Services Librarian Anna Rae Furlong for extending the invitation to the meeting. Most recently, I had the opportunity to review several dozen scholarship applications for the Rotary Club of Saratoga Springs, and interview about two dozen finalists along with other members of the club’s scholarship committee. The variety of lived experiences and hopeful outlooks on the future are heartening. The club, and its sister Saratoga Rotary Education Foundation, will distribute a total of $105,000 in scholarships to 18 college and trade-school-bound students at a banquet on June 17.

Programs, Events, and Meetings

In addition to the items mentioned above, I attended and/or participated in a number of programs, meetings, and events since the board last met, including attending the memorial event and plaque unveiling for Shawn Nolan on May 16, the SALS annual meeting on May 18, the monthly board meeting of the Friends of the Saratoga Springs Public Library on May 20, the annual board installation dinner of the Rotary Club of Saratoga Springs on May 21. Also on May 21, I facilitated a lively discussion of The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides at the monthly meeting of Books and Tea. On June 2 I was honored to once again serve as Pronouncer at the WSWHE BOCES Annual Regional Spelling Bee, joined by Judges Catherine Brenner, Jamie Chabot and Jen Ferriss.

Upcoming selections for the monthly Books and Tea group are inspired by the Summer Reading theme “Unearth a Story” and include:

• June 18: Lives in Ruins: Archeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble by Marilyn Johnson
• July 16: The Dig: A Novel Based on True Events by John Preston
• August 20: Come Tell Me How You Live by Agatha Christie.

Assistant Director’s Report to the Board

New York State (NYS) Annual Report

The NYS Annual Report was reviewed by the Division of Library Development. We had to add 2 notes to complete the report. One note was required us to list our partners for the Summer Reading and the other was in regards to our Capital expenditures explaining the large increase. The increase was due to the purchase of the elevator.

Space Usage Study

We conducted our 4th month of data collection.

Other

I was able to connect with Jeannie Dilger, CEO of Arranging Time. She is currently doing some work for Rob Cullin and Janet Nelson at ReThinking Libraries, the company that helped us with our Strategic Plan in 2020. The blog post from my interview was published on June 1st.

• Vermont Library Association (6/1/26)
  I introduced Jennie Rozycki (John McCullough Library, Bennington) and Christine Graham (CPG Fundraising) as they discussed the successful fundraising campaign for the library which resulted in hiring full time librarians at a living wage. The presentation was titled: Start with your Staff: Sustainable Thinking and Action.
• Southern Tier Library System (6/5/26)
  I will be speaking with Pauline Emery, director at Southeast Steuben County Library about Repair Cafés at STLS’ annual continuing education event in Corning, NY.
• Operationalizing Community Reslience: Creating a Training and Partnership Model for Libraries pilot
  I was asked and accepted the offer to be a trainer for a Mellon-funded project through the Sustainable Libraries Initiative. The 15-month grant term is January 2026-March 2027. I will support hands-on learning and project progression for a cohort. This will be virtual and should begin in the next week or two.

Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Ferriss

IT Group Update

Door Count – 22,808

Board Report

Will push one more month as Brendon finishes up the forms required for stitching together a web-based report. We will be able to test run with some training and redos with next months report in time to forget everything for the September double report.

Cookies

No new cookie revelations but (Joint Automation) JA and Clarivate are still looking into it. The item that has been resolved was a intermittent outage of the (Integrated Library System) ILS. It had been happening infrequently until a few weeks ago then it was just about every day for a short while.

JA in conjunction with the vendor, Clarivate, found it to be software bots scanning the website we use to access our ILS causing these outages. These bots were from different countries, and the best resolution
was determined to be to block those countries from access.

They did, and it has made a tremendous difference; the website has been fine since then without any glitches.

Microsoft Office

We ran the experiment and were soundly advised that patrons will only tolerate so much change. We had swapped a free Microsoft Office clone for the real thing, and there was some push-back. Jamie’s group,
which hears all of our patrons’ “suggestions”, sought out and secured a grant, allowing us to purchase the standard suite of MS Office… jokes on those picky patrons, it was still free. We could have purchased the software initially, but so far, most of the software on the computers they use every day is freeware and we pulled back on pushing the savings envelope.

Copiers

Endeavoring to find ways to reduce reuse recycle; our last Copier lease cycle for our 5 copiers was renewed with the same equipment for half the price. Working a few angles with the salespeople we were offered a similar opportunity this time, 5 years and we are getting 3–4-year-old refurbished devices for the same half price (2020 prices) keeping our service contract and lease pricing the same. We didn’t perceive having many more service issues in the first 5-year lease compared to our second, and they are fast to repair when we do have anything come-up.

Respectfully,
Don and Brendon

Access and Outreach Services

Circulation and Technical Services

Circulation for May 2026:

• Total circulation (physical items and Libby eBooks & eAudiobooks): 34,661
• Total physical item circulation: 28,974
• Total eBook circulation (Libby, Hoopla, Comics Plus): 3,524
• Total eAudiobook circulation (Libby, Hoopla): 4,134
• Streaming video downloads (Kanopy, Hoopla): 481
• Streaming music downloads (Hoopla): 51
• Digital magazine circulation (Libby): 2,599

In May 2026, Circulation and Technical Services:

• Processed 230 library card applications.
• Issued 204 parking permits.
• Received and processed 2,551 items from other libraries to fill holds.
• Pulled and transferred 2,010 items to fill holds at other libraries.
• Filled 4,136 total holds.
• Processed 1,000 withdrawn items.
• Received, processed, and added 1,394 physical items to library collections.

Outreach Services

Senior Services, Persons-at-Home (Sarah Derven)

During May Sarah:

• Visited 13 Outreach Sites
• Lead 8 Memory Care Writing Groups
• Visited and Delivered Materials to 13 Individuals
• Served 238 Patrons
• Loaned 681 items
• Made 70 Phone Calls
• Placed 322 items on Hold
• Renewed 225 Items

Community Events, Partnerships, Mobile Library (Jennifer Ogrodowski)

Programs/Outreach:

• Shelters of Saratoga Book Group and Game Night
• Saratoga Farmers Market
• Greenfield Senior Center
• Her Story Book Group
• Wesley Craft Day
• Mexican Consulate Visit
• Wilton Wildlife Festival

Statistics:

• Attendance: 157
• Items Loaned: 9
• Cards Issued & Renewed: 2

Highlights:

• Wilton Wildlife Festival
  Laura Clark and Jen O represented the library at the Wilton Wildlife Festival held over the last weekend in May, bringing along the Mobile Library, hands-on crafts, and plenty of activities for young visitors. Despite a few weather hiccups, the community turned out in force to celebrate, making for a lively and successful weekend.

What We’re Looking Forward to Next Month:

• Juneteenth Celebration at the YMCA
• Pride Festival
• Belmont Family Fun Day at the Racing Museum

Adult Literacy and English Language Learning (Mary Ann Rockwell)

In addition to our regularly scheduled English Language Learning (ELL) and adult literacy classes, Mary Ann has expanded our ELL offerings by introducing a new book discussion group, Learn English: Read a Book. In May, participants read and discussed Charlotte’s Web, and in July, they will read To Kill a Mockingbird. Reading full-length books is an effective language-learning tool, helping participants build vocabulary, develop a more intuitive understanding of grammar, and strengthen reading and listening comprehension through exposure to natural language patterns. This new program provides learners with an engaging way to practice English while fostering conversation and community.

Youth Services Department

Programming and Outreach

• Teen programs: 9
• Teen attendance: 137
• Teen room attendance: 248
• Teen Volunteer hours: 48.25
• Children’s programs: 63
• Children’s Attendance: 1387

• Laura’s Llamas in the Library were back with new llamas! Laura forged a new relationship with Dakota Ridge Farm to bring in 3 llamas for the program. They were decorated with traditional Peruvian headgear.
• Laura and Jen O. visited the Wilton Wildlife Karner Blue festival. They had a record turn out and circulated books while offering a craft.
• Teen Dungeons and Dragons wrapped up for the year. The presenter generally takes summers off, so too does the group. There were new players this year and we hope to see them again in the fall.
• AnnaRae and Alex headed over to Maple Ave Middle School to take part in a special day of presentations. They were able to talk about the library, teen room, teen advisory board, summer reading and volunteering to some teens and teachers.
• AnnaRae was focused on sustainably using craft supplies that the library already owned. She even managed to use some jars that had been in a cabinet since before the pandemic! Alex, too has been focused on using up materials and making sure every last craft gets taken by a happy family.
• Kate is continuing to offer different programs with the neurodiverse family in mind. While they do not all have a large attendance, the families who attend really appreciate them. She and Katie are working on their Grown-Up Story Time and have plans to relaunch in the fall.
• The additional baby story time was definitely worth adding- new families seem to come every week looking for a place to bring their littles.
• Kristine had a turkey vulture for bookmark bunch this month- it was quite ominous. Arthur the armadillo also made a repeat appearance to the delight of families and staff.
• Other after school programming will continue through mid-June. Paws for Reading, Minecraft, Drop in Crafts all continue to bring in happy visitors.
• School visits to promote summer reading have begun! Librarians are visiting Dorothy Nolan, Geyser, Lake Ave, Caroline and Maple Ave in May and June with almost 100 classes scheduled.

Updates and Projects

AnnaRae reported that the Teen Advisory Board had a special guest for May - Mr. Ike Pulver. The teens really appreciated getting to meet him and learn about his life and career. They have one more official meeting in June, and are hosting their teen Lock-In to end the year.

The Teen LibGuides were highlighted in the SSHS Counseling Dept. Newsletter. Its great to see that they are aware of the library’s resources and are sharing them out.

The statistics on the Teen Services Guide were way up in 2026 compared to 2025- which may be attributed to this nice advertising.

Kristine reports in that the next phase of her work on the Science of Reading and decodables is to infuse story times with more phonics. She created some nice training materials to share with her colleagues and is continuing to work on helping Saratoga families create lifelong readers.

Collections and Display

Teen displays included “Take It Outside,” “It’s Okay Not to Be Okay” for Mental Health Awareness Month and the Teen Advisory Board display “From Classic to Contemporary.”

Kids book displays Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Gardens/Flowers/Pollinators, Cinco de Mayo, AAPHI (Asian American, Pacific/Hawaiian Islander) and author display on Britta Tecken Trup.

Laura and Jamie completed the overhaul of the parenting collection. Parenting was brough back down to the children’s floor with a more narrow focus on topics. Other topics are already being circulated in the adult non-fiction so they will continue to work on those.

Continuing Education

• Several YS staffers were able to attend May staff day- we appreciate the opportunity for the training.
• Catherine attended the WSHWE BOCES Communication Coordinators meeting- this is a full day conference on topics for school librarians. It was a very positive experience, both for the topics on discussion as well as the opportunity to engage with school librarians.
• Kate continues to be on the YSS CE committee and is running for YSS secretary.
• Alex is participating in the RA for All series and looking for ways to adapt their methods to youth services.
• AnnaRae continues to be on the YSS Scholarship committee.
• Kristine has agreed to present on literacy hubs at a Brodart webinar later in the summer.

What We’re Reading

• AnnaRae is reading And Now, Back to You by B.K Borison.
• Pat is reading Ward D by Freida McFadden.
• Kate is reading Life on the Moon by Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr.
• Laura is reading Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell.
• Kristine is reading Real Friends by Shannon Hale.
• Alex is reading Dragonborn by Struan Murray.

Respectfully submitted by Catherine Brenner, Head of Youth Services

Adult Services Department

Service Statistics

• Service Desks (Reference, Computer Clerk and Information): 2,561 interactions
• Notary Appointments: 18
• Interlibrary Loans: 21

Digital Resource Usage

• Electronic Databases:
  • ABC Mouse :222
  • Ancestry: 655
  • Book Browse: 67
  • Consumer Reports: 273
  • EBSCO,: 90
  • Heritage Quest: 54
  • Mango Languages: 96
  • Little Pim: 0
  • Morningstar: 3
  • NOVEL: 52
  • ProQuest NYT: 113
  • Tech-Talk: 60
  • Value Line: TBD
• Electronic Periodicals:
  • NYT All Access
    • Page Views: 68,867
    • Games Played: 37,091
  • NewsBank: 5698 page views
    The Times Union and the Daily Gazette are the most view papers.
  • Wallstreet Journal Digital: 488 page views
  • Heritage Hub: 4 page views
• LibGuides:
  • During the month of May our 150 LibGuides were viewed a total of 4,187 times.
  • The top guides were:
    1. Teen Services guide with 592 views.
    2. Check Out a Champion: Pulitzer Prize Winners in literature guide with 429 views.
    3. Jasmine’s Crafting at Home: Creative Recycling guide with 337 views.

Offered Programs

Interesting Additions

• After Michelle’s presentation at the local history fair about preserving family documents, she had patrons call during the following week to follow up on more detailed questions, and to talk about software and tool options for the care of their family records. She is working on individual media presentations to have hands on mini sessions in the Saratoga Room for patrons to preserve their collections.
• Susan T. has joined the greeting team! She will be with us on Mondays from 2-4 p.m., and she is already hoping to do a second day in the near future. We are so excited to have her as part of the team.
• Mah Jongg has become a national craze. As a result, we now have both a daytime Mah Jongg class series and evening Mah Jongg class series, both starting in May and going into the end of June. These classes fill up quickly, sometimes within an hour of posting the classes on the library’s website. We take 12 people per class series. The waitlist for the May daytime class series is 13 people deep, and the waitlist for the evening class series is 14 people deep. People are constantly calling the library and reaching out via chat to see if we offer Mah Jongg, and they are thrilled when they hear that we consistently offer classes and practice sessions. As Ike said in the 2026 Budget Vote and Trustee Election Questions and Answers, “While our collection continues to expand into less traditional areas … we anticipate that the Library will continue to be a hub of community activity, and program attendance will continue to grow.” Our Mah Jongg classes are an exact example of this. Every class, we see people having fun and making connections. People are finding their communities through this game, and they’re forming their own Mah Jongg groups. Library as Place is one of our four strategic pillars, and these programs prove that we are more than a place to get books. We are a space for the community. Also, a big thank you to Jen F who buys our Mah Jongg card early so that we can get it in time for these classes!
• Farm2Library (F2L) – The food continues to go very quickly! We have had some issues with people leaving expired foods in the fridge. Gina and Rebecca are trying to monitor it, and Gina is working with the F2L folks to create stronger signage about not leaving food.

What We’re Reading

• Katie
  • The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
    A woman shares her life journey in a series of letters that show how she’s shaped others and how others have shaped her. An extremely moving way to present a full narrative.
• Kali
  • The Botanist’s Assistant, by Peggy Townsend
    Protagonist, Margaret Finch, is stuck in a most predictable routine. So predictable is her routine that when she decides to apply the scientific method to solve a murder at the university where she works, she becomes a target.
• Jamie
  • The Entanglement of Rival Wizards, by Sara Raasch
    An enemies-to-lovers fantasy academia romcom where rival grad student wizards are forced to work together without killing—or falling for—each other. This book was cute and made me want to check out more of the author’s stories.
• Caitlin
  • The Wager, by David Grann
    I found it very exciting to read overall, and I would suggest it to anyone who likes nonfiction adventure, or is a fan of books like In the Heart of the Sea, In the Kingdom of Ice, etc.
• Rebecca
  • The Future Saints, by Ashley Winstead
    A new manager pays a visit to a band that is floundering after the loss of their previous manager, only to help them find great success and maybe fall in love with the lead singer. Total Almost Famous vibes.
• Emily
  • The Stars Look Like Home, by TJ Klune
    I recently got my hands on an advance reader copy of The Stars Look Like Home by TJ Klune. It’s told from the perspective of a dog named Burke (10/10 good boy) and potentially the most heartwarming book I’ve ever read.

Respectfully submitted by:
Jamie Chabot, Head of Adult Services

Human Resources Summary

Staffing

• Resignation
  • Richard Taras, Working Supervisor, Operations (F/T), effective May 18, 2026.
• Request to Appoint
  • Madison Scirocco, Cleaner, Operations (P/T), $18.51/hr, effective May 26, 2026.
  • Ronald Pedrick, Building Monitor, Operations (P/T), $24.00/hr, effective May 27, 2026.
• Hiring
  • Working Supervisor, Operations (F/T) – currently collection applications.

Recruitment Efforts

In early May, I implemented a Recruitment Tracking Spreadsheet to better monitor applicant activity, communication, interview scheduling, and hiring outcomes. The data collected has already provided valuable insight into recruitment trends and challenges.

Cleaner Vacancy

• Received 22 applications since implementation of tracking.
• Contacted candidates for interviews; 5 applicants did not return calls requesting interview scheduling.
• Scheduled interviews with 5 additional candidates.
• Of those scheduled, 3 candidates were no-call/no-shows.
• Successfully interviewed 2 candidates and hired 1 candidate.

Building Monitor Vacancy

• Received 26 applications since implementation of tracking.
• Contacted 6 applicants to schedule interviews; 4 did not return calls.
• Scheduled interviews with 2 candidates.
• Both candidates were no-call/no-shows for their interviews.

Due to the lack of successful candidates from the recruitment process for the Building Monitor position, the Library hired Ron Pedrick, a former Building Monitor who previously worked at the Library before relocating to Florida in 2020.

The above stats are just from May. Although we received a good number of applications for both positions, getting applicants to follow through has been challenging. Several candidates did not return calls to schedule interviews, and others did not attend interviews after they were scheduled. This pattern is very similar to previous month’s recruitment efforts. The recruitment tracking spreadsheet is helping me better
understand these patterns and will allow me to track hiring activity and outcomes more effectively going forward.

Staff Development Update

Staff continue to take advantage of professional development opportunities that support their work and help them stay current in a constantly changing field. Through May 2026, 15 employees have submitted Staff Development Requests and participated in 26 training and development activities across a variety of topics.

Training opportunities have included conferences, webinars, workshops, online courses, and in-house learning. Topics have ranged from library services and technology to leadership, accessibility, community engagement, and customer service. Several staff members have also pursued certification-related training and other specialized professional development opportunities.

Conference attendance and other training opportunities have allowed staff to bring back new ideas, resources, and best practices that can be shared throughout the organization. Staff have also made good use of free webinars and virtual learning opportunities, helping them continue to grow professionally throughout the year.

As always, thank you to Ike and the Board for its continued support of staff development. Your willingness to invest in professional growth opportunities helps our staff expand their knowledge, strengthen their skills, and ultimately provide better service to our patrons and community.

Respectfully submitted by:
Kelly McCombs, Human Resources Manager