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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes - 2025-09-10CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO September 10, 2025 Library Advisory Board Library 1 503.697.6583 706 Fourth Street PO BOX 369 Lake Oswego, OR 97034 www.ci.oswego.or.us Present: Patrick Walsh, Lilisa Hall, Mark Pontarelli, Pat Walls, Joy Fabos, Liberty Planck, Anna Lee, Jessie Pan, Jim Wolper, Councilor Rachel Verdick Staff Present: Melissa Kelly, Donna Harlan Absent: Seth Pauley 1. Call to Order The Library Advisory Board (LAB) meeting was called to order at the Lake Oswego Public Library (LOPL) on Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at 7:03 pm. 2. Minutes Motion to approve was made by Hall and seconded by Pontarelli. The August 13, 2025 minutes were unanimously approved with corrections by LAB. 3. Public Comment – None 4. City Council Update – Councilor Verdick • The city’s Emergency Preparedness Fair will be held September 18, 5:30 -7:30pm. This will be a good time to learn how to prepare for any disaster. • City Council received a presentation related to wildfires and disaster preparedness. • Councilor Verdick shared the fire department will come to homes and provide ideas on how to prepare your home if a fire comes this way. This is a free service. • The 20 is Plenty proposal passed, reducing the speed in residential neighborhoods to 20mph. The existing speed signs will be replaced neighborhood by neighborhood. • Funding was received for extra Farmer’s Markets to continue through October this year. • The Community Grant submission deadline is September 25. • The Mayor’s golf event will be held September 27. • The Cultural Xchange Festival will be held September 28, at Millennium Plaza Park. 5. Director’s Report Future Library Design Conference • Kelly attended an Executive Education program on the topic of Future Library Design: Enduring Principles, Contemporary Processes and Emerging Possibilities in August and shared a presentation she created highlighting big takeaways from the conference which included the following: o Space is service when it comes to library buildings. o Libraries should be designed to: ▪ Welcome all. ▪ Promote well-being . ▪ Include biophilic designs with nature in the buildings. ▪ Build community and a sense of belonging. ▪ Inspire creativity and collaboration. ▪ Serve intergenerational groups. ▪ Celebrate the local place and local community, including nature and history. o Strategy Recommendations: CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO September 10, 2025 Library Advisory Board Library 2 503.697.6583 706 Fourth Street PO BOX 369 Lake Oswego, OR 97034 www.ci.oswego.or.us Highlighting the needs of youth. Highlighting health benefits of increasing social connection and access to nature, for example. Using maps & other visuals to create fun ways to use data. Co-designing the library with community. Library District Task Force Recommendations update • Kelly explained 4 recommendations were formed over 4 meetings and have been sent to stakeholders for feedback. o Recommendation A: Direct staff to propose an amendment to the Intergovernmental Agreement to clarify the use of district funds for capital expenses and allocated costs. o Recommendation B: Direct staff to conduct analysis of the library district and make recommendations for core levels of service. o Recommendation C: Direct staff to conduct analysis of the funding formula and service boundaries, incorporated and unincorporated, and propose recommendations for changes to address funding disparities among the service areas. o Recommendation D: Direct staff to initial the creation of a strategic plan for the district that would prepare the district for its 20th year of service and beyond. • LAB members discussed the history of the Task Force. Respond to Racism Art Project RFP update • Kelly updated LAB as to the steps involved in selecting the artist and project for the Respond to Racism art installation that will be sited on the grounds of the library. • After several panel meetings and a viability review, which includes input from Kelly, the Respond to Racism board will make the final selection by September 23, with plans to go before City Council on October 7 for final approval as outlined in the City’s Public Art Guidelines. • This project has an expected installation date of June 2026. Library Communications Position update • Kelly shared there were 276 applications for the new position • After 3 rounds of interviews which included a design and writing exercise, the candidate has been selected and is now in the final steps where we hope to have a signed offer letter soon with a start date of mid-October. Overdue fines • Kelly informed LAB that the current LOPL policy is to waive all fines since 2021. • Recently, 2 LINCC libraries, soon to be 4, have gone “fine -free”, as in, fines are no longer accruing for items checked out at their libraries. • Kelly asked LAB if they had any concerns in LOPL adopting this policy too. Patro ns will still be billed for replacement costs if items are not returned and for overdue interlibrary loans. LAB had only positive responses of support. • Kelly will update LAB when an effective date has been determined. 6. Old Business Workgroup discussions/updates Future library workgroup, Meeting 3: CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO September 10, 2025 Library Advisory Board Library 3 503.697.6583 706 Fourth Street PO BOX 369 Lake Oswego, OR 97034 www.ci.oswego.or.us • The group talked about the prioritized list of contacts they created during meeting 2 . • The workgroup had discussions related to how to connect with the groups including checking in with LAB members to determine who has connections with these groups that we would like to get in contact with when the time is right. • In looking ahead, it would be good to get in touch with our contacts so we could get on track to provide a presentation in the future, as agendas tend to be full. • Additional contacts to add to the list included Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce , Business District Meetings within Chamber, and events with the collective youth organizations, as well as ASB & Class officers in high schools, to increase youth participation. • This group also suggested a write up in the Lake Oswego Review. • This work group had a few more suggestions in an effort to have the library be more visible to the community and more top of mind for people. For example, have the Bookmobile or Rover attend more Farmer’s Markets to bring more attention to the library, and consider parking at the high school football fields when there are games. Existing library workgroup, Meeting 3: • Meeting 3 involved streamlining their ideas and how the process to implement their ideas would work. • This group determined that the most feasible category to start would be in the Creative Outlets and they plan to present a more concrete plan to be considered by Kelly and staff at the October meeting. • This work group thinks the ideas they are coming up with would work for quarterly events involving the three categories that they have developed. Kelly commented that it is the plan for LAB to communicate these ideas at the Council presentation by LAB later this year. 7. New Business Walsh, Hall and Kelly met with DEI Advisory Board Representatives. • The DEI board has 4 goals o Diverse workforce o Youth engagement – opportunities for civic participation for younger kids o Housing initiatives o Welcoming community and educational opportunities to make the community more welcoming. • The DEI Advisory Board has asked Kelly if LAB has any other ideas on how we can support the DEI Advisory Board and how they can help support our goals. • The DEI Advisory Board is interested in data and how it can be used to show the needs and achieve goals. • Both groups are very interested in keeping the conversation going and continue to support the commonality between boards. 8. Chair Remarks CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO September 10, 2025 Library Advisory Board Library 4 503.697.6583 706 Fourth Street PO BOX 369 Lake Oswego, OR 97034 www.ci.oswego.or.us • Walsh attended the most recent Sustainability Board meeting to talk about the library’s needs, their board’s needs, and highlight cross over between the two groups. The group is currently working on a sustainable buildings policy. • While at the meeting, there were presentations by Alex Mihm, Senior Sustainability Analyst with Clackamas County, and by a representative from Oregon Electric. • Walsh thanked LAB for the work they have done through the workgroups. 9. Youth Liaison Remarks • Lee supports using social media to reach youth in our city and suggests having youth help run them while going through proper channels. She encouraged doing polls on social media stories to get an idea of what youth would like to do. • Pan suggested making social media posts more visually appealing to youth. 10. Friends of the Library Report • Watson stepped down from his role on the Friends board and Pat Walls is the new Friends liaison for LAB. • The Friends are getting ready for LO Reads. • They have applied for the City’s Community Grant to assist with the Lake Oswego Reads expenses. • The Friends and Library Management will be co -hosting a booth at the Farmer’s Market on the 13th. 11. Adjournment Motion to adjourn was made by Planck, seconded by Fabos. The meeting was adjourned at 8:48 pm. The next LAB meeting will be held October 8, 2025. Respectfully submitted, Donna Harlan