W Tali Hairston: Hello everyone. I am Tally Hairston. I'm the my pronouns are he him.
W Tali Hairston: I am the board president and it is now 11:06 and we have a quorum of the board
W Tali Hairston: and I'd like to call this regular meeting of the Seattle Public Library Board of
W Tali Hairston: Trustees to order.
W Tali Hairston: Order. If there are no changes to the agenda,
W Tali Hairston: may I hear A. motion to the to approve the agenda as
W Tali Hairston: published?
Faith Pettis: So moved.
Yeah.
W Tali Hairston: It's been moved and seconded. All in favor.
W Tali Hairston: Opposed the motion approves the agenda. We will continue with this published and
W Tali Hairston: as noted at the top of the agenda, the Library Board accepts public comment
W Tali Hairston: by e-mail in person at the Central Library and we also.
W Tali Hairston: Do it in this remote meeting. Are there any public comments today that
W Tali Hairston: we know of?
There is no one signed up in Q&A.
Nobody is present here at the Central Library and there are no public comments
via e-mail this month.
W Tali Hairston: Awesome. Thank you, Amy. We have A. consent agenda as well with minutes from
W Tali Hairston: our August meeting and the July Finance report that the board has received those
W Tali Hairston: in their board packet. If no one has changes, may I hear A.
W Tali Hairston: motion to approve the consent agenda as A. public.
Faith Pettis: So moved.
Bendixen, Carmen: Can't.
W Tali Hairston: It's been moved and seconded. All in favor.
W Tali Hairston: Everyone has their hands raised. OK, we have. Thank you.
W Tali Hairston: We have our consent agenda approved. Now let's move to our Chief Librarian
W Tali Hairston: report. Tom, I turn it over to you.
Tom Fay: Good morning, everyone, and welcome from **** Lake,
Tom Fay: WA over attending a the statewide Public Library Directors group today.
Tom Fay: **** Lake has a new library. It's run by the Stevens County Library
Tom Fay: System.
Tom Fay: For those who might not know where **** Lake is at,
Tom Fay: it's about an hour north of Spokane. So I'm here with about,
Tom Fay: I think about 40 folks from across the state. If you hear any disruptions,
Tom Fay: I also have a story time going on right outside my window. So a little bit of fun,
Tom Fay: some singing, some dancing.
Tom Fay: So it should be fairly joyous as we go through the meeting today.
Tom Fay: Just a couple things to to note from my my report is I did,
Tom Fay: I did attend the September 6th grand opening of the waterfront.
Tom Fay: And it was a really great event. Community came out in full force to
Tom Fay: support that the library tabled at the event as well. And in my report,
Tom Fay: I call out Jenny Ku and Marshall Bender, who staffed that table.
Tom Fay: Worked with them for a couple of hours. A lot of great library love.
Tom Fay: We pretty much gave everything we had away within two hours.
Tom Fay: People were very excited. Folks who were from out of town were
Tom Fay: stopping to tell us that, you know, they have their library card showing
Tom Fay: their library card. Just a lot of.
Tom Fay: A lot of fun to be in the booth that day and Many thanks to the the staff who did
Tom Fay: such a great job signing people up. I think we signed up 30 or 40 people in
Tom Fay: the first couple of hours. So really, really good to see and a fun place to be
Tom Fay: with a lot of activity.
Tom Fay: The other item I have of note today, and I know Amy's going to shift the
Tom Fay: camera on her end, I'm pleased to announce that we have
Tom Fay: hired and welcomed Devante Daniels to the library.
Tom Fay: He is our new Director of Inclusion and Belonging.
Tom Fay: Started last week, so very fresh to the library system.
Tom Fay: DeVante brings more than 11 years of experience working across state,
Tom Fay: local and county government, and for the last four years he has led
Tom Fay: countywide community engagement efforts efforts.
Tom Fay: Centering access, listening to communities that are often
Tom Fay: left out, and working towards building systems and
Tom Fay: services that better meet the needs of both government employees and the most
Tom Fay: vulnerable residents. And with that, I'd like to introduce you to Davante,
Tom Fay: and I know he has a few words of intro as well. So Davante,
Tom Fay: I'll turn it over to you.
Thank you, Tom. Good morning, everybody.
Nice to see you again, Tali.
I know we had some crossover there at King County. Devonte Daniels.
W Tali Hairston: Yeah.
So happy to be here. As Tom stated previously was with King
County doing community engagement work and equity work and really excited to be
here.
As he said, I've been doing this work for about 13 or
15 years. I've had such a warm welcome here with
the library staff, and I'm really looking forward to getting
to connect with you all.
More as the board.
And please don't hesitate to reach out.
I would love, I'm sure at some point an opportunity to
have deeper conversations with you all.
I'm available to you.
I'm excited about the the work just in Week 2,
so I'm still familiarizing myself with the organization and all the work that
needs to be.
Done, but I'm super excited and the team has
been extremely supportive and I'm looking forward to our partnership with you as
well.
Tom Fay: Great, thank you, Devonte.
W Tali Hairston: Thank you.
Tom Fay: Any questions or?
Ron Chew: Yeah, Tom, can I ask, I'm curious, is it is a new office,
Ron Chew: is the principal focus going to be on training of staff or what, you know,
Ron Chew: what do you see coming forward?
Tom Fay: Yeah, the some of the primary focus I would say
Tom Fay: in this first year is going to be on on the staff side of of things,
Tom Fay: but also looking at how that intersects with our public services and programs as
Tom Fay: well. Right now it's an office of one as we
Tom Fay: look at other opportunities potentially with the levy, we hope to grow.
Tom Fay: Of that this is not work of one, nor is it work of three.
Tom Fay: It will be work the work of the entire organization to make progress in these
Tom Fay: areas. So while Devante is the lead in that,
Tom Fay: he is has a committed.
Tom Fay: Group of leaders and me and the rest of the E team to move this work forward.
Ron Chew: Well, I'm looking forward to congratulations
Ron Chew: and look forward to meeting Devante in person.
Thank you.
Yeah. Thank you.
Faith Pettis: All right, this is Faith and I would just say
Faith Pettis: welcome aboard DeVante and I look forward to hearing reports from you.
Faith Pettis: I hope we can get you on the agenda for future meetings to hear how things are
Faith Pettis: going.
Absolutely. Thank you. Bye.
Bendixen, Carmen: Ditto.
Tom Fay: And.
Bendixen, Carmen: Nice to meet you, DeVante. Thanks for being here.
Tom Fay: Thank you all.
Yes, of course.
Thank you all for having me.
W Tali Hairston: And Tom has done a great job of keeping myself and Yasmin in our regular meetings
W Tali Hairston: updated on the progress of this position while at the same time thinking of the
W Tali Hairston: larger picture as he noted earlier, this role and it's and it's build out.
W Tali Hairston: So it's been really exciting to see its progress and so glad.
W Tali Hairston: to reach this point of the journey. So thank you, Tom.
Tom Fay: And I do also want to thank the Foundation and A.
Tom Fay: very generous donor to the Foundation who has helped fund and bridge this funding
Tom Fay: until the next levy to make sure we could secure this position faster than we
Tom Fay: normally would have been able to.
W Tali Hairston: Awesome. Tom, is there anything else on your board
W Tali Hairston: report you'd like to share with us?
Tom Fay: Oh, sorry about that. I cut out for A. minute. No,
Tom Fay: I think at this point the rest of the report can stand.
W Tali Hairston: Any questions for Tom or any other statements we'd like to provide him
W Tali Hairston: related to his board report?
W Tali Hairston: If there be them, we will just take a quick pause.
W Tali Hairston: Apparently there is a public comment that came in the room just after we got
W Tali Hairston: started with with Tom's report, so I'm going to allow them to make their
W Tali Hairston: statement at this time.
Thank you.
Hi, I'm Carol Iwamoto and I live next door to
you at the 5th and Madison condominiums and I just want to acknowledge the
efforts of Rob Gannon and Christopher Hogan and others for taking the time to
meet with the residents and we appreciate the response to our concern.
About.
The conditions of the 5th Ave. Plaza.
It is much cleaner now and we know there's more work to do to keep it clean.
And then we appreciate that you'll be addressing the issues of the late night
users on the Plaza, but I thank you very much for responding
to our concerns.
So that's all I wanted to say.
W Tali Hairston: Thank you very much for your comments and just just so you know as a board we we
W Tali Hairston: are very concerned as well and and have followed with the staff of they've as
W Tali Hairston: they've managed this issue with you and we look forward to more positive outcomes.
Yep and there.
Are a lot of people who just aren't able to make it to the meeting today,
but they would have said the same thing, that we appreciate the efforts that
you're making and the plan that you have.
So I appreciate it.
Thank you.
W Tali Hairston: Thank you.
Faith Pettis: Thank you. Can I just say I appreciate having the
Faith Pettis: feedback because so often we only hear one side of it and we don't hear the
Faith Pettis: thank you. So really appreciate you taking the time
Faith Pettis: to come and tell us.
Well, I live next door so it's easy, but thank you.
Faith Pettis: Good.
Yes.
W Tali Hairston: Yeah. And just to note, thank you Faith. Just another note on that we as a board
W Tali Hairston: and I know all of us are really human centered in our approach to the common
W Tali Hairston: good. It's and so this is caring for all who
W Tali Hairston: are.
W Tali Hairston: Of involved in that situation and not simply thinking of it as cleaning up
W Tali Hairston: anything, but rather how we can best support our
W Tali Hairston: humanity and whatever, wherever that finds itself on the street,
W Tali Hairston: in the building.
W Tali Hairston: And that's that's that's where we're centered in that work. So thank you, Tom.
W Tali Hairston: We can push to our system reports now.
Tom Fay: Yes, we can. And I'll also remind folks if they have
Tom Fay: haven't had a chance to read the reports, some great reports this month,
Tom Fay: the marketing report, the report on Ballard Coffee and
Tom Fay: Conversations. So please take some time when you get a
Tom Fay: chance to peruse.
Tom Fay: Use those. And at this point we'll have Helen
Tom Fay: Tapping come forward to give us an update on our one moment. I'm sorry,
Tom Fay: my screen is going a little crazy. Give us a report on the library app.
Tom Fay: Thank you, Helen. Sorry for that. I got a couple glitches here.
Helen Tapping: That's OK. Can everyone hear me OK? Hello, everyone. I think I know everyone,
Helen Tapping: but I'm Helen Tapping. I'm the head of Marketing and Online
Helen Tapping: Services. And as Tom mentioned, I did have a written report on our
Helen Tapping: library card campaign here for you, but also.
Helen Tapping: I included the app, but I believe at a previous meeting you
Helen Tapping: had requested a bit more information and I wanted to come along,
Helen Tapping: give a bit more detail and answer any questions you may have.
Helen Tapping: So I'll just start with just kind of like the high level.
Helen Tapping: So as outlined in the report and on our website because we believe in
Helen Tapping: transparency for pages.
Helen Tapping: Veterans, you know, we launched our app after A5 phased
Helen Tapping: approach in April of this year. To date we have about 20,
Helen Tapping: 000 downloads and some very active users on both Apple and Android devices.
Helen Tapping: And what we did for our process for creating this app was kind of modelled on
Helen Tapping: some of the things that we learned part of the website redesign project,
Helen Tapping: which some of you were here for back in 2018.
Helen Tapping: And so we really wanted to focus on the discovery and community engagement
Helen Tapping: because we really felt like.
Helen Tapping: Like as we brought people along, that was the most valuable thing.
Helen Tapping: So we started this this process in the first phase.
Helen Tapping: We hired a consultancy called Headwater People and they are a native owned and
Helen Tapping: LED consultancy that focuses on indigenous principles to kind of to make
Helen Tapping: change.
Helen Tapping: So they did our initial kind of focus groups, gathering of requirements.
Helen Tapping: We also did a survey and from that we created like a list of functionality that
Helen Tapping: were really important to folks that we heard from our various communities.
Helen Tapping: Once we did that, we released an RFP and we got 4 responses.
Helen Tapping: So we originally decided to just evaluate 3, but.
Helen Tapping: We had four, we thought we might as well evaluate four
Helen Tapping: of them and we narrowed it down to two using staff input and testing and the
Helen Tapping: core app team. So from that evaluation we shortlisted 2
Helen Tapping: apps and then we did some design and usability testing.
Helen Tapping: So again we hired some experts in this and we hired.
Helen Tapping: A local organization called Anthro Tech who is a human centered design
Helen Tapping: consultancy. They focus on government agencies,
Helen Tapping: nonprofits and enterprises with a social impact mission.
Helen Tapping: They've done all the work for the city and they did an expert accessibility
Helen Tapping: review, very thorough.
Helen Tapping: And they also did helped us conduct demo app testing in locations with patrons
Helen Tapping: that had signed up showing an interest in testing this app.
Helen Tapping: So we did that Douglas Truth in Lake City in over a couple of days and they
Helen Tapping: provided us very, very thorough.
Helen Tapping: Detailed reports that we could then look at and use that to make our final
Helen Tapping: decisions. And we went with an app developer called
Helen Tapping: Communico and early this year they actually built out our app.
Helen Tapping: We worked marketing and the core team worked with technology to make sure that
Helen Tapping: we had that up and running and we launched a beta.
Helen Tapping: Version, which is really a fully working version,
Helen Tapping: but we were calling it beta because we wanted to make sure that patrons had
Helen Tapping: another chance to review and give us feedback and we made some changes during
Helen Tapping: that period. So we also wanted to let folks know that
Helen Tapping: they were going to see things move around a little bit as we took on input and
Helen Tapping: change things.
Helen Tapping: And now we've we've about in the middle of July,
Helen Tapping: we took it out of beta and now it is a fully functioning app and we are still
Helen Tapping: obviously soliciting patron feedback as we do on everything and making changes.
Helen Tapping: We did create a road map from all that feedback for future development at the
Helen Tapping: moment.
Helen Tapping: We're going to leave it for a little while kind of as is.
Helen Tapping: We update it monthly with like marketing materials, new book lists,
Helen Tapping: promoting new services, but we will be looking at adding more
Helen Tapping: functionality, probably in conjunction with when the ILS,
Helen Tapping: the Integrated Library System project goes live.
Helen Tapping: There's definitely some more modules in the Communico app sphere where you can
Helen Tapping: add more functionality like incorporating the event calendar and scheduling tools
Helen Tapping: that we've also evaluated and very interested in doing post ILS
Helen Tapping: implementation. So I think that is the kind of the the
Helen Tapping: more detailed version of the report that I included written and I just.
Helen Tapping: I wanted to see if anyone had any questions or anything they wanted to know
Helen Tapping: about the process or the or the app and I would like to know if everyone's
Helen Tapping: downloaded it is using it.
W Tali Hairston: It's a great A. Well done.
Helen Tapping: Great. Thank you, Charlie.
Bendixen, Carmen: Yeah, and I just wanted to say while you were
Bendixen, Carmen: talking, I went to go check because it for the
Bendixen, Carmen: most part of my usual functions using it are to check on holds and see when
Bendixen, Carmen: they're ready and where they are. But the other thing I was curious about
Bendixen, Carmen: was, and I confirmed it when I just opened it,
Bendixen, Carmen: a link to the blog which I enjoy.
Bendixen, Carmen: So that's on there. And I also realized it has the reserve a
Bendixen, Carmen: room at different branches. So there's a lot on there that, I mean,
Bendixen, Carmen: even for those of us who have it and use it for the same thing all the time,
Bendixen, Carmen: there's more.
Bendixen, Carmen: There's more so.
Helen Tapping: And actually Carmen, I'm glad you mentioned that just because
Helen Tapping: again, we want to make it. We don't need to tell patrons exactly
Helen Tapping: what the back end of different things are. But the meeting room booking is also a
Helen Tapping: communico module and you can see how seamless that is integrated into the app,
Helen Tapping: whereas currently our event calendar is a different vendor on our website.
Helen Tapping: So I think that as we go forward, this is a living breathing thing.
Helen Tapping: It's like the.
Helen Tapping: The website now we'll just continue to add functionality,
Helen Tapping: but those are things we've evaluated and I can see more integration of of
Helen Tapping: functionality like that to make it even more seamless for patrons and we'll use
Helen Tapping: that tool on both the web and on the on the app as well.
Helen Tapping: Thank you.
Bendixen, Carmen: Great job.
Helen Tapping: Any other questions? The only other thing I wanted to know and
Helen Tapping: I and I did put this in the in the the the project that once we went through the
Helen Tapping: beta we also then in translated the interface.
Helen Tapping: There's more work we're doing there to to further add functionality and also that's
Helen Tapping: one of the things that we're working on with Communico because what we realised
Helen Tapping: is a lot of library.
Helen Tapping: Apps do not use localized interfaces. So actually we're a bit of like we're
Helen Tapping: actually working as a partner with Communico to make sure that we really
Helen Tapping: gave them best practices and things that we would do and they're rolling that out
Helen Tapping: to their other clients. So I think that's another nice thing
Helen Tapping: where they didn't really have all of that functionality.
Helen Tapping: They really were responsive to any accessibility concerns.
Helen Tapping: Things that we'd flagged and made sure they fixed those and they also understood
Helen Tapping: the importance of localization and we're really working to partner it not only to
Helen Tapping: improve our app, to also offer that functionality to other
Helen Tapping: Communico library customers so that we can get that rolled out to further to
Helen Tapping: further folks.
Helen Tapping: Well, thank you very much. If there's no further questions,
Helen Tapping: I know that there's a lot to cover today, but really good to see you all.
W Tali Hairston: Thank you, Helen.
Helen Tapping: And thank you very much.
Faith Pettis: Thanks for all your good work on that.
Tom Fay: Thanks, Alan.
Helen Tapping: Thank you.
Helen Tapping: I got you, Tom.
Tom Fay: All right. All right. Thank you. And if we could tally bring Rob Gannon
Tom Fay: forward, we're going to, he's going to discuss some of the Central
Tom Fay: Library Plaza maintenance that's been occurring just to give you an update.
Tom Fay: Rob.
W Tali Hairston: Right.
W Tali Hairston: Calling Rob to the front desk.
W Tali Hairston: There you go.
Rob Gannon: Good morning, everyone. Can you hear me OK?
W Tali Hairston: Yes, we can. Thanks, Ron.
Rob Gannon: Thank you. Well, good morning, members of the Board. As Tom indicated,
Rob Gannon: I'm Rob Gannon, I'm the Director of Administrative
Rob Gannon: Services and I wanted to give you a brief update on some of the work that we've
Rob Gannon: been conducting on the 5th Ave. Plaza. This is consistent with what you heard
Rob Gannon: from the public comment, but providing some additional.
Rob Gannon: Additional detail in some of the work that has been undertaken in the last
Rob Gannon: several weeks. So first I want to acknowledge that our
Rob Gannon: Facilities team, our Security team and our Social Security
Rob Gannon: team has been carefully coordinating all of their work to address some of the.
Rob Gannon: Conditions that we have seen on the 5th Ave. Plaza for our Central Library,
Rob Gannon: of course not limited to just the 5th Ave. Plaza.
Rob Gannon: There are also some concerns and conditions that we need to improve on the
Rob Gannon: 4th Ave. side, but our first effort has been on that 5th
Rob Gannon: Ave. side.
Rob Gannon: So I want to list out some of the things that they are doing and then just give
Rob Gannon: you a sense of how some of our work will continue into the fall and winter months
Rob Gannon: and into next year. So first I I want to express great
Rob Gannon: gratitude to our facilities team who has been doing all of the really hard.
Rob Gannon: And just in plain terms, The Dirty work of maintaining the 5th Ave.
Rob Gannon: Plaza. So they have recently increased the
Rob Gannon: frequency of their pressure washering activities.
Rob Gannon: They had been doing it at least once a week, and now they're doing it.
Rob Gannon: At least twice a week. And so our facilities team is out there
Rob Gannon: actively cleaning and scrubbing the surfaces.
Rob Gannon: Our custodial team is also picking up trash at least every day and as.
Rob Gannon: Additional spot cleanings are necessary. Both groups are also looking at how do we
Rob Gannon: improve the appearance in the condition of the above grade features of the 5th
Rob Gannon: Ave. Plaza, so the cross beam work and also some of
Rob Gannon: the.
Rob Gannon: Above ground or above grade foundation has been power washed,
Rob Gannon: cleaned and it's it's condition is now exposed.
Rob Gannon: So it is cleaner and we can also see some of the areas where we need to do some
Rob Gannon: additional improvements. We're also working on the.
Rob Gannon: Drainage through that provides drainage to the Plaza area as well as the planting
Rob Gannon: beds. Those are areas that get misused all too
Rob Gannon: often and create challenging hygiene and odor conditions,
Rob Gannon: but we are actively trying to address that.
Rob Gannon: And then the last thing that our facilities team has been working on is to
Rob Gannon: improve the overhead lighting on the Plaza area.
Rob Gannon: So gradually they've been replacing out-of-date fixtures with modern LED
Rob Gannon: lights. They've also re-timed the lights so that
Rob Gannon: in the evening hours, sort of sunset to sunrise,
Rob Gannon: there's greater illumination.
Rob Gannon: On the Plaza, which improves the overall safety of that
Rob Gannon: area. We're looking as well as I mentioned to
Rob Gannon: do some of these very same things on the 4th Ave.
Rob Gannon: side of the building and so we will get there within the next several weeks.
Rob Gannon: But overall, these efforts have really improved the
Rob Gannon: general appearance of the 5th Ave. Plaza, and as the public commenter attested,
Rob Gannon: Ziwa Moto, it has made a difference both to our
Rob Gannon: patrons and to our neighbors in the community around Central.
Rob Gannon: Our social, excuse me, our social services and our security team
Rob Gannon: are also doing some coordinated work. So our security team has long been giving
Rob Gannon: attention to the 5th Ave. Plaza.
Rob Gannon: They are doing regular patrols, regular interaction with people on the
Rob Gannon: 5th Ave. Plaza, especially during the early morning hours,
Rob Gannon: assisting in making sure the Plaza is cleaned for the day and that there are no
Rob Gannon: overnight users.
Rob Gannon: Lingering and creating points of access issues.
Rob Gannon: So they have long developed relationships with folks that are using the 5th Ave.
Rob Gannon: Plaza overnight. Our social services team has also begun
Rob Gannon: another round of direct engagement with.
Rob Gannon: People using the Plaza as an overnight respite and they have been connecting
Rob Gannon: people from the Plaza with resources in the city,
Rob Gannon: specifically by working with the unified care team and finding opportunities to
Rob Gannon: make those.
Rob Gannon: Meets and connections and see if there are housing options available to
Rob Gannon: interested parties. So with a round of intensive effort that
Rob Gannon: has been recently occurring and we are trying to do that not only on an ongoing
Rob Gannon: basis, but recognizing some of the seasonality.
Rob Gannon: Of how the Plaza areas are being used. We anticipate that there will be more use
Rob Gannon: as the winter months descend upon us, the darker months, the wetter months,
Rob Gannon: and we're trying to bring as much resource to bear as possible. So all told,
Rob Gannon: our facilities, custodial, security and social services teams have
Rob Gannon: been working.
Rob Gannon: Very well and in a coordinated fashion to bring additional resource and support as
Rob Gannon: well as cleaning capacity to these areas. I'll just say generally that we know that
Rob Gannon: there are other branches that would benefit from this level of intensive
Rob Gannon: outreach and support and so we are looking at how we balance our resources.
Rob Gannon: And get to other locations that may be exhibiting some of these same needs.
Rob Gannon: And that was work that we will also undertake as the fall months descend and
Rob Gannon: turn to winter. So I'm happy to pause there.
Rob Gannon: I hope that was clear, but if there are any questions,
Rob Gannon: I'm happy to respond to them or.
Rob Gannon: Or hear any of your comments as well.
Ron Chew: Rob, I've got a question and and by the way,
Ron Chew: thank you for addressing that issue. I know it's been whenever,
Ron Chew: whenever I go down there, it's not a pretty site and the odors and
Ron Chew: so forth, but I'm just wondering beyond trolling
Ron Chew: and cleaning the area.
Ron Chew: And maybe there's a question for Tom as well.
Ron Chew: Are there any structural things that can be done?
Ron Chew: It's never been my favorite part of the structure, the way it's set up,
Ron Chew: whether it's, I'm just thinking the feng shui is awful
Ron Chew: there, but.
Ron Chew: Any thoughts on that? I'm mindful of budget and other concerns
Ron Chew: as well on that that would entail.
Rob Gannon: Yeah.
Tom Fay: Yeah, Ron, we we have looked at it even coming,
Tom Fay: I would say probably out of the pandemic. We were looking at some potential changes
Tom Fay: of how we could also incorporate the space with the inside, so an inside,
Tom Fay: outside type of situation.
Ron Chew: Yes.
Tom Fay: Make it more possible to do programming or other types of seating that you know
Tom Fay: that we could do during open hours. All of that unfortunately has been
Tom Fay: impacted by budget constraints. So that has been one of our bigger
Tom Fay: problems, but we continue to.
Tom Fay: Look at that and when opportunities present themselves,
Tom Fay: hopefully with some additional funding resource,
Tom Fay: it is one of the areas we'd like to to take a look at that includes even our 4th
Tom Fay: at Plaza. I think you know as we think about that
Tom Fay: in the Longview of things, there's a lot of opportunities that we
Tom Fay: could do.
Tom Fay: Additional programming out there, if it was maybe resource differently with
Tom Fay: power and data and all the things you might need to be able to do that.
Tom Fay: So those are things that have been on kind of the back burner with the budget
Tom Fay: constraints.
Ron Chew: Yeah, and I understand that. Just it just seems like such a dead,
Ron Chew: awful space. Maybe there's an opportunity foundation
Ron Chew: to, you know, a naming opportunity to kind of just
Ron Chew: transform that space because.
Ron Chew: As you said, it's sort of a trapped space that's
Ron Chew: neither inside or out, and maybe it can help provide some new
Ron Chew: programming space or space for public to gather.
Ron Chew: Thank you.
Tom Fay: You.
Carmen.
Bendixen, Carmen: I just wanted to reiterate Ron's comments. I feel like it's it's a and glad that Tom
Bendixen, Carmen: that that is on your mind because it's that part of downtown is such a there
Bendixen, Carmen: aren't a lot of public spaces for programming and people to gather.
Bendixen, Carmen: So it it.
Bendixen, Carmen: It's kind of wasted right now, so looking for any opportunity to
Bendixen, Carmen: activate it is would be wonderful. I originally raised my hand because I was
Bendixen, Carmen: going to ask Rob about these efforts and additional resources. I mean,
Bendixen, Carmen: how sustainable is that?
Bendixen, Carmen: I mean, we're essentially looking at, you know,
Bendixen, Carmen: kind of having to keep doing this for the foreseeable future. Am I right or?
Bendixen, Carmen: What's the outlook?
Rob Gannon: So you are right. Of course this is an ongoing effort and
Rob Gannon: we will have questions about sustainability.
Rob Gannon: How long can we persist in doing these intensive cleanings and what resource
Rob Gannon: does that draw down? But at the same time we are recognizing
Rob Gannon: that.
Rob Gannon: This, among all of our areas, is is worthy of that attention because we
Rob Gannon: want to keep it clean, we want to keep it accessible.
Rob Gannon: So financially there will be a resource draw in terms of the services and
Rob Gannon: outreach to the patrons using the Plaza areas overnight.
Rob Gannon: We are going to work to be as consistent as we can in providing those services,
Rob Gannon: especially as the winter months come. It will depend on, to a degree,
Rob Gannon: city resources, also the willingness of willingness and
Rob Gannon: readiness of patrons to take.
Rob Gannon: Up those offers. So right now I don't have any forecast
Rob Gannon: about how long it can be sustained, but we are getting very good partnership
Rob Gannon: from the unified care team in addressing these needs.
Rob Gannon: They're doing very good outreach and some of the preliminary indicators that are
Rob Gannon: that are a number of people have accepted offers.
Rob Gannon: Of interim shelter. And so it is making a difference and we
Rob Gannon: are making small amounts of incremental progress.
Rob Gannon: The larger questions of sustainability also speak to the other branches that are
Rob Gannon: experiencing some of these same challenges in the conditions and the way
Rob Gannon: in which people are using them overnight. So the.
Rob Gannon: There's much more work to be done, and no, we don't have the resources to call this
Rob Gannon: sustainable, but right now that's not stopping us from
Rob Gannon: doing this work.
W Tali Hairston: That's right.
Faith Pettis: Tali, if I might, so for both Rob and Tom, as you're looking into the options for
Faith Pettis: those spaces, could you just add to your list looking
Faith Pettis: into music as an item? You know that's something Benaroya Hall
Faith Pettis: uses and I know it's a little more associated with what they.
Faith Pettis: Do, but I think there are studies out there
Faith Pettis: that talk about music and specifically classical music playing in public places
Faith Pettis: and what it does to deter bad behavior. So it might be an interesting thing to
Faith Pettis: just check into. It might be a a more inexpensive option.
Tom Fay: Well, interesting you mentioned that because
Tom Fay: it's we have had a variety of folks come in for even live productions.
Tom Fay: And so even thinking about how some of those might be out on those plazas,
Tom Fay: I understand you're talking about more during the.
Tom Fay: The overnights, but we actually have been engaged just
Tom Fay: recently with the Symphony and the foundation because we have some funding
Tom Fay: over there that is very specifically purposed for classical music for children.
Tom Fay: So it's opened up some other dialogue about other types of programming as well.
Tom Fay: So I think we'll be able to really kind of forge a new partnership with the
Tom Fay: Symphony as well. So just kind of an interesting
Tom Fay: combination of things coming together.
Faith Pettis: Yeah, definitely. That's that's really fun to hear.
Faith Pettis: They if you go into the light rail station under Benaroya Hall,
Faith Pettis: they have music playing there all the time.
Faith Pettis: It's just piped in and it I think it does create a different ambiance.
W Tali Hairston: All right. If there be no Rob. Thank you, Faith, Carmen, Ron.
W Tali Hairston: Okay, I think we're good.
W Tali Hairston: Oh.
W Tali Hairston: We do not have any old business. So Tom, if you're ready to move from the systems
W Tali Hairston: report, we don't have any old business and we can
W Tali Hairston: begin our new business starting with the library budget development process.
Tom Fay: Pretty much the Rob show today, so I'll turn it back over to Rob.
Tom Fay: I don't know Rob, is Nick coming or is it just you today?
Rob Gannon: Nick is available and so if he could be promoted,
Rob Gannon: he can be in the background should any detail level questions come up.
Rob Gannon: So while we're waiting for Nick to be promoted, I will just jump in. So again,
Tom Fay: Thank you.
Rob Gannon: good morning members of the board. I have a two pronged report or
Rob Gannon: presentation to give to you, both by way of just general updates.
Rob Gannon: The first is the status of our budget, as the Mayor has just announced his
Rob Gannon: intentions, and then also the budget development
Rob Gannon: process update, just making you all aware of how we'll
Rob Gannon: engage that annual process. So inevitably, I think these two topics will be
Rob Gannon: commingled in my presentation, but I'm happy to pause at any point.
Rob Gannon: Answer questions or give you additional detail.
Rob Gannon: So I'll I'll jump in. Nick is here and he can add detail where
Rob Gannon: necessary. So I think most everyone is generally
Rob Gannon: aware that earlier this week Mayor Harrell announced his citywide budget and.
Rob Gannon: Kicks off the now public and formal components of the budget development
Rob Gannon: process. There are no notable changes in the
Rob Gannon: process this year, so we will be as part of the library
Rob Gannon: proceeding with the budget development process alongside the city.
Rob Gannon: We have submitted our budget adjustments.
Rob Gannon: Into the Mayor's plan and that will now be in the hands of the City Council as it
Rob Gannon: engages its deliberations. I want to point out just a couple of
Rob Gannon: important dates that all of you should be aware of or signal. Excuse me, not signal,
Rob Gannon: but will indicate when we'll head.
Rob Gannon: Deeper engagement on these topics. The 1st is Thursday,
Rob Gannon: October 30th and that is when we will come back before the board and present to
Rob Gannon: you the general outline of our 2026 operations plan.
Rob Gannon: This stands as the budget presentation to all of you.
Rob Gannon: And so we will indicate where we believe we are heading and get early feedback
Rob Gannon: from you. At the November 13th meeting, excuse me, on November 13th,
Rob Gannon: we'll submit a full detailed draft of our operations plan to you as the Board for
Rob Gannon: your consideration and discussion.
Rob Gannon: In your November meeting and then this process will culminate on December 11th
Rob Gannon: when we come back and request that you take formal action on the operations plan,
Rob Gannon: setting the stage for the 2026.
Rob Gannon: Budget and execution of what's in the operations plan.
Rob Gannon: The important mid-range date there is November 21st,
Rob Gannon: where if all goes as planned, the City Council will have reviewed,
Rob Gannon: modified and put into place the budget proposal for the city.
Rob Gannon: So that comprises largely the procedural update.
Rob Gannon: But before I go into a current budget update,
Rob Gannon: let me maybe pause here and see if there are any questions.
W Tali Hairston: There are, there are no questions, but we Yasmin and myself do have it a
W Tali Hairston: schedule with the mayor's office to meet about the budget in at a high level,
W Tali Hairston: very high level and that is scheduled for I believe October 21st.
W Tali Hairston: Or 20 somewhere in there.
W Tali Hairston: So we'll bring that. And so I may be coming back to each of
W Tali Hairston: you as board members and discussing what we discussed with the mayor's office as
W Tali Hairston: well in that timeline.
Faith Pettis: Thank you for doing that, Tali.
Rob Gannon: So maybe I'll just proceed with a general update on the status of our budget as we
Rob Gannon: head into this budget season, so.
Rob Gannon: The city's 2026 general fund support for the library is in place and it is notable
Rob Gannon: in a important component of our overall operations plan, the 2026 budget.
Rob Gannon: Includes 102 million in operating budget authority for the library,
Rob Gannon: with about a little over 35 million provided by the 2019 levy. However, the.
Rob Gannon: City's general fund situation is generally known to be in unstable
Rob Gannon: condition, and as a result of that, the library was asked to consider ways in
Rob Gannon: which it could reduce its reliance on the general fund for.
Rob Gannon: The budget year 2026, we submitted our budget proposal by
Rob Gannon: reducing our general fund allocation by $5,000,
Rob Gannon: 000 and transitioning those dollars.
Rob Gannon: Off of our general fund support and on to the levy,
Rob Gannon: the direct transaction that would allow that to happen is for us to potentially
Rob Gannon: delay the seismic retrofit project that was scheduled for Columbia within this
Rob Gannon: levy term.
Rob Gannon: And moving that potentially into a future year,
Rob Gannon: I'm saying potentially and possibly because one of the things that we will
Rob Gannon: bring forward formally in our operations plan for the board to consider is.
Rob Gannon: Do you all deem this an appropriate budget adjustment and are you prepared to
Rob Gannon: sort of put that into full effect for the 2026 year?
Rob Gannon: So the proposal to defer that funding and to do the general fund offload onto the
Rob Gannon: levy?
Rob Gannon: Is something that you will formally consider later this year.
Rob Gannon: The other element is that because we don't have a renewed levy or a levy to
Rob Gannon: carry us forward from 2026 and beyond.
Rob Gannon: The idea of placing the Columbia seismic retrofit project into that future levy is
Rob Gannon: still something that also has to be considered,
Rob Gannon: but that would be our proposal and our intention is to reduce the general fund
Rob Gannon: budget by this amount by deferring the Columbia project into.
Rob Gannon: The next levy and beginning work on that project as soon and as urgently as we
Rob Gannon: possibly can. The good news surrounding our budget
Rob Gannon: proposal, as submitted now by the Mayor to the City
Rob Gannon: Council, is that there are no notable other
Rob Gannon: changes to our budget.
Rob Gannon: And more specifically, we believe that we have all of the
Rob Gannon: resources necessary to carry forward with stable operating hours into 2026,
Rob Gannon: that we will be able to largely sustain the size of our collection and our
Rob Gannon: continued investment in it to grow and expand it.
Rob Gannon: As well as keep pace with all of the many programming and outreach opportunities
Rob Gannon: that are intertwined into all of our library services.
Rob Gannon: So we are very pleased to have submitted this budget for the Mayor's consideration
Rob Gannon: and carrying forward to the Council.
Rob Gannon: Without any notable reductions to services, to hours,
Rob Gannon: to opportunities for the public to access the library branches.
Rob Gannon: As a subpoint to that, of course, because we anticipate that everything
Rob Gannon: will be as stable as possible in 2026. There are also no calls for reduction on
Rob Gannon: our levels of staffing. There are no planned layoffs.
Rob Gannon: There are no intended layoffs. We are moving into the coming budget year.
Rob Gannon: With as much stability as we could hope, given the overall challenges of the
Rob Gannon: city's budget and the general fan impact that we have to plan for. So pause there.
Rob Gannon: I hope that is somewhat straightforward. There's obviously a lot of detail that
Rob Gannon: sits underneath that and some of that will come forward in the details of our.
Rob Gannon: Operations plan later this year, but I I wanted to give everyone a general
Rob Gannon: status about the Mayor's budget and its impact on the library as it was announced
Rob Gannon: this week and as we carry it forward into the formal process of the 2026 budget
Rob Gannon: review, approval and adoption.
Faith Pettis: Go ahead, Carmen.
Bendixen, Carmen: OK. I feel like I ask this every year because
Bendixen, Carmen: we get asked the same question every year. Draw down from the general fund,
Bendixen, Carmen: rely more on the levy. And I know you don't have a crystal ball,
Bendixen, Carmen: but I guess I'm, I have to say.
Bendixen, Carmen: Do we anticipate that as the budget moves through council, there could be even more?
Bendixen, Carmen: Questions like that about drawing, drawing down from the less from the
Bendixen, Carmen: general fund, relying more on the levy. Could there potentially be more changes
Bendixen, Carmen: like that?
Rob Gannon: So I'll give my non crystal ball answer, but it nonetheless involves a bit of
Rob Gannon: speculation. So everything that we understand right
Rob Gannon: now is that the library's budget as submitted appears to be in.
Rob Gannon: It's it's clearly consistent with what the Mayor's office is presenting now to
Rob Gannon: the council for consideration. And the council of course will do its
Rob Gannon: process, but we do not anticipate an additional
Rob Gannon: adjustment on the current year budget. Anything of is of course possible and
Rob Gannon: that's the purview of the council.
Rob Gannon: But there are no indications that that could occur right now.
Rob Gannon: The amount of shift from the general fund to the levy for the 2026 year is
Rob Gannon: significant and and it also has its impact on the overall library budget.
Rob Gannon: So for them to do for the council to.
Rob Gannon: Suggest that we do more would require us to actually go back in and really figure
Rob Gannon: out.
Rob Gannon: What more would look like, what additional adjustments could be,
Rob Gannon: and while it's possible.
Rob Gannon: Seems unlikely given the magnitude of what we've done already.
Rob Gannon: As we look out to future years, then that is a different,
Rob Gannon: a different analysis, but is also sort of part and parceled or
Rob Gannon: the core of what we're doing and trying to develop.
Rob Gannon: For the Board's direction at your last meeting,
Rob Gannon: a levy proposal to carry us forward for the next seven years.
Rob Gannon: So the 2728 budget development process will begin in the early quarter of next
Rob Gannon: year and we do not have any indication what that might hold.
Rob Gannon: Or what role the levy will play. So those are the variables we're taking
Rob Gannon: into next year's development process. But as of right now,
Rob Gannon: I would say things appear to be very stable and we do not anticipate a lot of
Rob Gannon: general fund.
Rob Gannon: Levy interplay in the council's deliberation.
Faith Pettis: I ask Rob, and this is just my own lack of knowledge,
Faith Pettis: was the Columbia Library seismic retrofit part of the last levy promise to voters?
Rob Gannon: So the simple answer is yes. So in the 2019 levy,
Rob Gannon: we had conceived of doing 3 seismic retrofit projects. Green Lake is complete,
Rob Gannon: obviously university is underway and we had anticipated getting to Columbia.
Rob Gannon: We realized that for a number of reasons, including the status of our budget,
Rob Gannon: that starting Columbia would likely be impractical.
Rob Gannon: Concluding Columbia within this levy period was would have been very difficult.
Faith Pettis: Right.
Rob Gannon: But the short answer is yes, it was contemplated for this levy and it
Rob Gannon: is something that we are working to build into a levy renewal package and give it
Rob Gannon: its appropriate priority given that it is such an important next.
Rob Gannon: Seismic retrofit roject.
Faith Pettis: Yeah. And and that's where I was going with the
Faith Pettis: question. And my comment would be that, you know,
Faith Pettis: we've made this apparently relatively painless for the city in that, you know,
Faith Pettis: we've been able to shift that project out and free up $5,000,
Faith Pettis: 000 to help plug the hole, right. And I I.
Faith Pettis: That's great work on our part and kudos to you and the staff for being able to
Faith Pettis: come up with that. I I hesitate wanting to make it too easy
Faith Pettis: for the city though, and at the expense of our potential.
Faith Pettis: Potentially having to explain this to voters about how we didn't get everything
Faith Pettis: done that we had said that we would get done in the last Monday.
Faith Pettis: And I just want the city to own some of that and and understand the implications
Faith Pettis: of it that the more they dig into these budget issues and require us to transfer
Faith Pettis: and move monies around, you know.
Faith Pettis: We risk voters confidence in our promising and in our promises.
Faith Pettis: So just something to think about. I I am not,
Faith Pettis: I don't object to any of what you've got in this budget proposal,
Faith Pettis: but we have made it easy for the city to do this.
Tom Fay: Yeah. And I know I can appreciate that concern
Tom Fay: and sentiment. I think it was the balancing act that we
Tom Fay: looked at in this, having had the public bear the brunt of
Tom Fay: some of this over the last couple of years where we've had such unstable hours.
Tom Fay: Obviously that is something we were trying to avoid.
Faith Pettis: Right.
Tom Fay: It just makes our services too problematic in people's minds.
Faith Pettis: Yeah.
Tom Fay: It's also it's also hard on staff to have ever shifting schedules and that
Tom Fay: uncertainty as to.
Tom Fay: To how you plan your life. So all of those things came into play.
Tom Fay: But yes, I I definitely understand the sentiment
Tom Fay: and I think it's, you know that some of the concerns that
Tom Fay: Tali and Yasmin may express is that this intersection between what is an operating
Tom Fay: levy.
Tom Fay: But also has some of those major capital components in it that really are going to
Faith Pettis: OK.
Tom Fay: be a betterment of preserving these buildings for the future. It's it is,
Tom Fay: it is a tough one to to just you know walk away and say well.
Faith Pettis: Mhm.
Tom Fay: We're going to have to wait. It is. It was not the easiest decision by far,
Tom Fay: at least on our part, and I think it's something that I I hope
Faith Pettis: M.
Tom Fay: is comes to light in their meeting.
Faith Pettis: Yeah. Thank you.
Rob Gannon: So I had one more point that I realized in my notes that I wanted to make and I'm
Rob Gannon: in no way trying to pile on to what Faith identified.
Rob Gannon: But I do want to make clear that the $5 million reduction in the general fund
Rob Gannon: that we're taking in 2026.
Rob Gannon: 2026 is in addition to A. $2. 8 million reduction in the general fund
Rob Gannon: that we had already proposed taking in the approved biennial budget.
Rob Gannon: So our 2026 impact is more than just the $5 million. It totals nearly $8 million 7.
Rob Gannon: 8.
Rob Gannon: $4 million of adjustments that we've had to make,
Rob Gannon: the bulk of it being covered by the shift of the Columbia project into A.
Rob Gannon: future levy. But we have also been as prudent as we
Rob Gannon: possibly can with our budget dollars and resources.
Rob Gannon: And we're able to cover A. $7. 84 million reduction for budget year 2026.
Rob Gannon: So the pain that the Library - is absorbing is is very significant and it's
Rob Gannon: both.
Rob Gannon: Hard on the library. We're pleased, of course,
Rob Gannon: to be contributing as we can to the city's situation,
Rob Gannon: but we're in straightforward terms, also reaching the end of any flexibility
Rob Gannon: that we would have and any future cuts.
Rob Gannon: Would be very problematic.
Ron Chew: Can I just make a comment for the record as well that you know these retrofits are
Ron Chew: being done for a reason and this is really more just directed I guess at the
Ron Chew: City Council and.
Ron Chew: And the city decision-making, you know, we don't know what might happen in terms
Ron Chew: of earthquakes and other things, you know, that are pretty unpredictable and so.
Ron Chew: When we delay these retrofits, you know, there's a bit of a hazard and you know,
Ron Chew: everything's in life is a hazard, but you know,
Ron Chew: we are taking a bit of a hit in terms of just.
Ron Chew: You know that on that security front, so just not the big Quakers and half
Ron Chew: around the corner, but that's on my mind as well as the you
Ron Chew: know the the whole safety issue. So just just.
Ron Chew: Just for the record.
Tom Fay: Yeah. And it's a, it's a good point, Ron. And I think you know the other thing that
Tom Fay: comes into it, if you know just if people want to say
Tom Fay: think of it even from a business decision only, it also the the longer these go,
Tom Fay: obviously construction gets more expensive, right.
Tom Fay: So it's all of those things.
Tom Fay: Things are in play. The safety, you know, issues are most certainly of concern.
Tom Fay: I think the one thing that at least is promising for Columbia,
Tom Fay: even if we do have postponement delay, is that we do have funding for air
Tom Fay: conditioning.
Tom Fay: For those modifications and I think that's a a positive so that the space
Tom Fay: will be fully air-conditioned with modern, more modern equipment than it currently
Tom Fay: has. So we should be able to continue that
Tom Fay: regardless and that is at least one positive out of this.
Ron Chew: Yeah, I would love some air conditioning in
Ron Chew: there. So yeah, particularly certain months would be feel
Ron Chew: a lot better.
W Tali Hairston: All right. Thank you, Rob. And is that it or you got more for us?
Rob Gannon: That's all I have for you today. Though we'll be back again just to
W Tali Hairston: Yeah.
Rob Gannon: reiterate with the operations plan outline in the October meeting,
Rob Gannon: a substantive draft in the November meeting and seeking your final review and
Rob Gannon: approval at the December meeting, so.
Rob Gannon: More to come on the budget front and hopefully it will be stable from here out.
W Tali Hairston: Thank you, Rob. Yes, and we are in budget season.
W Tali Hairston: That's for the city, that's for us. And just a a board that approves budget,
W Tali Hairston: we are hands on. So thanks, Rob.
W Tali Hairston: Next we have our union report.
Tom Fay: All right. Jessica isn't here today, but Katherine Hernandez is,
W Tali Hairston: And.
Tom Fay: and I think Amy is promoting Cat as we speak.
W Tali Hairston: Hello.
Katherine Hernandez: Hello, can you hear me?
Tom Fay: We can.
W Tali Hairston: Yeah.
Katherine Hernandez: Awesome.
Katherine Hernandez: Um, so I am new to these board meetings, so I'm not really sure what I need to be
Katherine Hernandez: doing in this case. I'm sorry.
Tom Fay: This is an opportunity, Cat, if there's anything in addition that you
Tom Fay: wanted to bring forward or mention or highlight from the report to the board
Tom Fay: members. So that's your opportunity to do so.
Katherine Hernandez: I don't think I have anything to add in addition to what is written in the Union
Katherine Hernandez: Board report, but I am here if anyone has questions on
Katherine Hernandez: any of the content of the report.
W Tali Hairston: Any questions from the board?
W Tali Hairston: I do think and we are aware and discussing much of what is in your in the
W Tali Hairston: union report, the monthly union report staying abreast
W Tali Hairston: as a board of progress.
W Tali Hairston: And we're grateful for the relationship and the way in which we can work together
W Tali Hairston: to accomplish a thriving work environment. And so just want you to know that it is a
W Tali Hairston: top, top of mind for us.
Katherine Hernandez: I appreciate that. And also any of us in union leadership
Katherine Hernandez: are always willing to meet with people in the board at any time to discuss any
Katherine Hernandez: questions or concerns or anything you may have. We're always here for that.
W Tali Hairston: Awesome. Thank you.
Tom Fay: Cat.
Katherine Hernandez: I don't don't think I have anything more to add. Thank you all for having me.
W Tali Hairston: Oh.
W Tali Hairston: OK, good to have you. Thank you. Next Library Foundation and Friends
W Tali Hairston: Library updates. And Yasmin, as you see, is absent today,
W Tali Hairston: so Tom will be filling in for the Friends.
Tom Fay: All right, let's see here. Let me pull this up.
Tom Fay: This is from the Friends September Board meeting.
Tom Fay: They have 4 potential new Friends board members that attended and are in the
Tom Fay: interviewing process in preparation for their annual meeting in November where
Tom Fay: those members would.
Tom Fay: To be approved. The friends also took part in the
Tom Fay: waterfront opening at Overlook Park. They were above the aquarium on August
Tom Fay: 31st. Huge success. Over 300 books sold and 200 tri-branded
Tom Fay: totes given away in just three hours.
Tom Fay: So I think you see the volume that occurs. As I indicated earlier,
Tom Fay: when you're down there, there's a lot of folks down there year to
Tom Fay: date. The Friends have given away more than 41,
Tom Fay: 000 books to nonprofits in the community, far exceeding the annual goal of 35,000.
Tom Fay: New nonprofit partners include the Port of Seattle,
Tom Fay: which is stocking 4 little free libraries inside the airport.
Tom Fay: And that is their report for the month.
W Tali Hairston: Wow, 6000 overestimate. That's wonderful.
Tom Fay: And still going.
W Tali Hairston: That's great.
W Tali Hairston: And Carmen, do you have anything with the foundation?
Bendixen, Carmen: Yeah, the foundation had their board meeting a
Bendixen, Carmen: couple weeks ago, so I have a few updates for you from that.
Bendixen, Carmen: In terms of fundraising, they're doing pretty well.
Bendixen, Carmen: We're at about 2.9 million for the year, which is about 87% of their total.
Bendixen, Carmen: Goal They're having a fall campaign will actually officially kick off with Banned
Bendixen, Carmen: Books Week, which is October 6th through 10th.
Bendixen, Carmen: So mark your calendars. They're also doing a special event at at
Bendixen, Carmen: Central on October 3rd.
Bendixen, Carmen: It's they're calling it History Unveiled and it's not strictly A fundraising event,
Bendixen, Carmen: but it's kind of more of a spreading information kind of event where people
Bendixen, Carmen: will get kind of a behind the scenes with a special Collections and then hear from
Bendixen, Carmen: special from guests on who uses special Collections a lot.
Bendixen, Carmen: So folks like Knut Berger, who you might know from Cascade PBS,
Bendixen, Carmen: and just kind of get a whole, you know, special. I don't want to say tour,
Bendixen, Carmen: but a showcase from SPL Special Collections folks.
Bendixen, Carmen: Actually, at the board meeting, there was also a training from the DEI
Bendixen, Carmen: committee on implicit bias. So they did some small group discussions.
Bendixen, Carmen: I actually participated in that. It was really interesting.
Bendixen, Carmen: It would have been nice to have a little more time.
Bendixen, Carmen: They really try to pack the meetings full.
Bendixen, Carmen: So hopefully that will, we'll have more of that in the future.
Bendixen, Carmen: And then they wrapped up the meeting with a strategic planning session.
Bendixen, Carmen: They did a an exercise and they kind of worked off of the input that they
Bendixen, Carmen: received during the community listening sessions.
Bendixen, Carmen: I think we've all kind of done those like one-on-one.
Bendixen, Carmen: With their consultant, Laura Pierce. And so they use that those comments and
Bendixen, Carmen: input to kind of jump into, you know, values and where,
Bendixen, Carmen: how do they want to state those and how do they want to act on them?
Bendixen, Carmen: They're going to have future, they're going to have a day long retreat
Bendixen, Carmen: actually next month to continue their focus on the strategic plan,
Bendixen, Carmen: which remember they want to have done this year.
Bendixen, Carmen: I think November was their their finish date.
Bendixen, Carmen: So there's still more work to do and.
Bendixen, Carmen: Yeah, that was that was the meeting. That was all one meeting.
W Tali Hairston: Wow.
W Tali Hairston: Well, the friends and foundation and library
W Tali Hairston: are partners and collaborators, as you all know.
W Tali Hairston: And so their success is our success and our success is their success.
W Tali Hairston: Good to to have that thriving relationship together.
W Tali Hairston: All right. Any updates from you all? Yes.
Faith Pettis: Holly, I would just mention along the foundation
Faith Pettis: report line is that last month and I I missed the last board meeting.
Faith Pettis: Apologies for that. But just prior to that board meeting,
Faith Pettis: I attended a foundation fundraiser Gratta Tuesday at a brewery in Ballard and saw a
Faith Pettis: number of library and foundation folks there. It was a packed.
Faith Pettis: And a lot of fun.
Faith Pettis: So it's happy to do that.
W Tali Hairston: It's awesome.
W Tali Hairston: And we do have a plan for some of us. I don't know which ones of us are at the
W Tali Hairston: History Link fundraiser events.
W Tali Hairston: Or did we go already?
Tom Fay: Well, the yeah, the history we did.
Bendixen, Carmen: We went already.
Bendixen, Carmen: Um, yeah, uh, I joined.
Bendixen, Carmen: Oh, shoot. Am I frozen?
W Tali Hairston: No, yeah.
Tom Fay: No, you're on.
Bendixen, Carmen: OK.
Bendixen, Carmen: Yes, I joined along with a couple of
Bendixen, Carmen: foundation board members. Tom was there and then a couple of SPL
Bendixen, Carmen: staff. Kay was there, Anne from the Seattle room.
Bendixen, Carmen: And then there's a new Seattle room Librarian. So yeah, it was great.
Bendixen, Carmen: If you don't know historylink.org, go there. It's amazing.
Bendixen, Carmen: It's my favorite thing on the Internet, I think.
Bendixen, Carmen: So thank you for thanks to the foundation and thanks Tom for letting me.
Bendixen, Carmen: Letting me crash the party, I guess.
Tom Fay: Always welcome at the party.
Tom Fay: I wanted to highlight something today and I think it's important because in the
Tom Fay: board you often work through policies and that you see in front of you and and
Tom Fay: often don't know the impact that they might have obviously.
Tom Fay: Even internally, but even nationally, I want to point out our in a little
Tom Fay: intellectual freedom policy and really our stance in making sure that we're in
Tom Fay: the fight for against book bans and censorship.
Tom Fay: I I will not name the library, but some colleagues in a in a state that
Tom Fay: have more challenges than we when it comes to all of this.
Tom Fay: Everything from the usage of DEI terms or inclusion and belonging terms to book
Tom Fay: bans and censorship.
Tom Fay: Asked to use our policy.
Tom Fay: Because they found it to be well crafted, well thought out.
Tom Fay: They know they can't use every word that we have,
Tom Fay: but they can focus it in a way that is provides them what they need in their
Tom Fay: communities. So know that the work that you all do in
Tom Fay: supporting that thinking through those things.
Tom Fay: With us don't only help here locally, but also have potentially national impact
Tom Fay: in cases like this. So thank you for your work in that.
Tom Fay: None of these are easy as we go through policy, but people are watching.
W Tali Hairston: Thanks, Tom. Ron, anything to share?
Ron Chew: Maybe just one passing of note local interest. Ken Mochizuki,
Ron Chew: a prominent children's author, best known for the book Baseball Saved Us,
Ron Chew: wrote very.
Ron Chew: Very often about the Japanese American incarceration.
Ron Chew: Native Seattleite Beacon Hill person. Kind of just a year separating us.
Ron Chew: He passed away last week. I spent a lot of time with him.
Ron Chew: At the tail end of his life, he we had a lot of conversation and so
Ron Chew: forth. And by the way, Baseball Saved us. The children's book is, I believe,
Ron Chew: the fifth. Last year was the fifth most banned.
Ron Chew: Book in America. And again, he's a local guy.
Ron Chew: The book has sold over half a million copies, something to put on your radar.
Ron Chew: Anyway, he passed away. You know, I thought a lot about his work and.
Ron Chew: Again, the issue of banned books, and he was right in the center of it.
Ron Chew: He's going to be honored at the International Examiner Community Voices
Ron Chew: Award on October 23rd, if any of you are interested.
Ron Chew: He was trying to hang, he was hanging on, trying to see if he could still be around
Ron Chew: for the dinner, but his body failed. But anyway, in the course of that,
Ron Chew: you know, he's got a lot of stuff, which is the body of a lot of Seattle
Ron Chew: history in the 60s.
Ron Chew: 70s and 80s and I think he, I'm not sure in his will he he was
Ron Chew: juggling back and forth. He probably ended up donating to the
Ron Chew: Wayne Loop Museum, but there was some, you know,
Ron Chew: he had an unfinished manuscript which never completed.
Ron Chew: so forth. But it's something I think about that
Ron Chew: there's, you know, there's probably a lot of folks, you know,
Ron Chew: perhaps should be thinking about some of their materials.
Ron Chew: And then with Seattle Public Library's gathering.
Ron Chew: So just wanted to note that it's it's kind of hit me because he was very,
Ron Chew: very close to me. But check out his book if you haven't
Ron Chew: haven't read it. It's a fabulous children's book.
W Tali Hairston: Thanks for that, Ron.
W Tali Hairston: Well, we are. We do not have an executive session in
W Tali Hairston: our next board meetings October 30th, 2025.
W Tali Hairston: So we look forward to that. We are adjourned.
Tom Fay: Thank you all.
Ron Chew: Thanks all.
Ron Chew: Thank you.
W Tali Hairston: Thank you.