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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Packet - 2026-02-11AGENDA LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD Wednesday, February 11, 2026 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Library 706 Fourth Street, Lake Oswego, OR 97034 The Library closes at 7pm, please arrive prior to 7pm Staff Contact: Donna Harlan, 503-697-6583, dharlan@lakeoswego.city 503-697-6583 706 4TH STREET PO BOX 369 LAKE OSWEGO, OR 97034 WWW.LAKEOSWEGO.CITY Virtual Access This meeting will be held in person. To participate remotely, please email the staff contact at least 24 hours before the meeting. ADA Accommodation Requests lakeoswego.city/accommodation 503-635-0282; Relay 711 Please allow four business days to process your request. Translation Services Traducción o interpretación 翻译或传译 통역혹은번역 503-534-5738 Patrick Walsh, Chair ∙ Seth Pauley, Vice Chair ∙ Mark Pontarelli ∙ Patricia Walls ∙ Joy Fabos ∙ Lilisa Hall ∙ Liberty Planck Melissa Kelly, Staff Liaison ∙ Anna Lee, Youth Liaison ∙ Jessie Pan, Youth Liaison ∙ Rachel Verdick, Council Liaison ∙ Jim Wolper, Alternate 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES January 14, 2026 3. PUBLIC COMMENT The purpose of Public Comment is to allow community members to present information or raise an issue regarding items not on the agenda or regarding agenda items that do not include a public hearing. A time limit of three minutes per individual shall apply. Public Comment will not exceed thirty minutes in total. If you are unable to attend the meeting and prefer to provide public comment in writing, please email the comment to the staff contact listed above at least 24 hours before the meeting. 4. CITY COUNCIL UPDATE Councilor Rachel Verdick 5. LAKE OSWEGO READS Nancy Niland, Volunteer and Special Events Coordinator 6. DIRECTOR’S REPORT 6.1 Debrief Council meeting 6.2 Fundraising update 6.3 Bookmobile update 6.4 Top accomplishments from 2025 6.5 Focus for 2026 6.6 Timeline for 2027 – 2029 Page 2 503-697-6583 706 4TH STREET PO BOX 369 LAKE OSWEGO, OR 97034 WWW.LAKEOSWEGO.CITY 7. OLD BUSINESS 7.1 Maker Day final plans 7.2 Maker Day data collection 7.3 LAB plans after Maker Day 8. CHAIR REMARKS 9. YOUTH LIAISON REMARKS 10. FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY REMARKS 11. ADJOURNMENT Next meeting April 8, 2026 CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO January 14, 2026 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, Pat Walls, Seth Pauley, Liberty Planck, Joy Fabos, Anna Lee, Jessie Pan, Jim Wolper, Councilor Rachel Verdick Staff Present: Melissa Kelly, Donna Harlan Absent: Mark Pontarelli 1. Call to Order The Library Advisory Board (LAB) meeting was called to order at the Lake Oswego Public Library (LOPL) on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 7:01 pm. 2. Minutes Motion to approve was made by Planck and seconded by Hall. The December 10, 2025, minutes were unanimously approved. 3. Public Comment – None 4. City Council Update – Councilor Verdick • The Foothills committee provided a great presentation of some of the big issues they are facing and what comes next. There is a lot of information on the city website. • Council received an economic development update, which helps lay the foundation of how the city and the chamber can better partner to meet the needs of businesses. • A stormwater update and the new changes to Lakeview as well as other areas within the city were also presented. • Councilor Verdick mentioned the upcoming MLK event. 5. Old Business Maker Day preparations • The library is preparing to promote the Maker Day event. It is on the calendar and will be in the HelloLO in February as well as the library press release and newsletter. • Additional planning: o Staff are working on a video station to capture testimonials. o Dave Arpin will record a timelapse video. o Kelly mentioned the library’s Footfall software will help capture visit duration, visitor counts, as well as a heat map for busy times. o The library will purchase swag items but could have bigger prizes if LAB members were able to obtain a few donations. o Volunteers, in addition to LAB members, are needed for the event. • Kelly shared that the library needs help with the survey questions, which can be linked via a QR code at each station, and a station near the front door that participants could interact with to give feedback. Does this consist of a whiteboard or something participants can physically interact with for those that do not want to use the QR code. • LAB members had also discussed the possibility of having a volunteer at each station to tally the number of people who engage with each station. • Kelly mentioned we need to determine who will help organize the data collection methods and make sure the data collection happens. CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO January 14, 2026 Library Advisory Board Library 2 503.697.6583 706 Fourth Street PO BOX 369 Lake Oswego, OR 97034 www.ci.oswego.or.us 6. Director’s Report – Melissa Kelly January 20, 2026 Council Presentation • Kelly reviewed the slides, an overview and talking points for the upcoming presentation to Council. • LAB had discussion and provided feedback for the presentation. • During this presentation, Kelly also updated LAB on the community survey results related to the library. • LAB is going to support Kelly through public comments and attending the meeting. Walsh will be presenting with Kelly. Voter History Analysis • Library staff finished compiling voter data from bond measures going back 20 years . • Kelly has reached out to Planck and Pontarelli to see if they may be willing and able to look at our information and possibly draw out good takeaways. • Initially, according to Kelly’s review, it looks as though the bond measure of 2012 was an outlier and Kelly shared her findings as to why. Fine Free • Effective January 1, 2026, Lake Oswego Public Library is fine free. • Not all LINCC libraries have been able to do this yet, but look forward to when all will be able to. Hold Lockers • LINCC has selected a hold locker company. • Kelly informed LAB that funds are budgeted for the hold lockers and will take on the project in the next fiscal year. • The locations of the hold lockers are still being determined. Bookmobile tour • LAB then went outside to get a tour of the new library bookmobile . Upcoming events • The MLK Celebration is this Sunday at Lakeridge Middle School. • The Lunar New Year festival will be February 28 at Lakeridge High School . • Boards and Commissions summit is Thursday, January 15. 7. Chair Remarks • Walsh shared his thanks for all that LAB is doing and for volunteering their time. He is appreciative of Kelly for keeping LAB informed and part of the process. 8. Youth Liaison Remarks • Lee shared with the group that she and Pan are the project managers for the social media takeover. o A shared drive will be created for video uploads, group emails and a content calendar. CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO January 14, 2026 Library Advisory Board Library 3 503.697.6583 706 Fourth Street PO BOX 369 Lake Oswego, OR 97034 www.ci.oswego.or.us 9. Adjournment Motion to adjourn was made by Walls, seconded by Planck. The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 pm. The next LAB meeting will be held on February 11, 2026. Respectfully submitted, Donna Harlan Annual Fundraising Campaign Report for 2025 Once again, for 2025 our annual year-end fundraising effort was in collaboration with the Friends of the Lake Oswego Public Library. Our approach involved asking for support of the library through donations to the Friends in either a one-time donation or by becoming a member of the Friends. This year’s year-end solicitation was sent to several lists: • Library eNewsletter subscribers (8,142 email addresses) • The current Library Giving mailing list (219 mailing addresses unique to the library’s list) • The current mailing and enewsletter lists of the Friends of the Lake Oswego Public Library The solicitation letter was written by the Friends, with a few adjustments made to make it applicable to be sent to the library’s mailing lists as well. In their letter, the Friends shared with recipients that many library programs are funded by the Friends and not tax dollars. The letter referenced multiple programs benefiting all ages in addition to their long-standing sponsorship of Lake Oswego Reads. As a result of the campaign, the Friends reported receiving $18,265 in November-December 2025. This is an increase from the reported $11,115 the Friends received in November-December 2024. The Lake Oswego Public Library received an additional $4,550 in November-December 2025. More information about donations made to LOPL are detailed in the following pages. It should be noted that our joint campaign approach with the Friends began in 2024. Year End Annual Campaign (November-December) Results Comparison: • 2020 $8,949 • 2021 $6,692 • 2022 $7,084 • 2023 $7,744.50 • 2024 $4,796 • 2025 $4,550 Year End Annual Campaign (November – December) Donor Stats: • 2020: 86 donors (62 made online donations) • 2021: 45 donors (19 made online donations) • 2022: 41 donors (14 made online donations) • 2023: 48 donors (14 made online donations) • 2024: 21 donors (7 made online donations) • 2025: 14 donors (6 made online donations) More details : • In 2025, 47.69% (3,868) of recipients opened the Giving Tuesday eNewsletter, compared to 53.7% (4,315) of the recipients in 2024. • 19 recipients of the Giving Tuesday eNewsletter clicked the link for the Friends website. • 31 emails bounced back as undeliverable, compared to 9 in 2024. • $650 of the donations received by the Library during our Year End Campaign were made online. • At the end of 2025 after updates to the mailing list were complete, we now have 247 confirmed addresses for households on our list – though some are also on the Friends list. Total Donations to the Library for Years 2020-2025: The Library also receives donations at other times of year. The following 2 figures show the total amount received for each year, including gifts directed to the endowment fund. Lake Oswego Fiscal Year to date ending June 2026 General Information Number of new borrowers/patrons added 259 1,982 Number of registered borrowers 25,800 25,800 Books and other print items Number of physical units owned 121,654 121,654 Number of physical units added 1,433 6,643 Audio Materials Number of physical units owned 16,075 16,075 Number of physical units added 40 368 Video Materials Number of physical units owned 17,737 17,737 Number of physical units added 58 504 Other library materials Number of physical units owned 959 959 Number of physical units added 1 12 Total physical items owned 156,425 156,425 Total physical items added 1,532 7,527 Magazine Issues Number of physical units owned 1,829 1,829 Number of physical units added 92 823 Holds Placed 14,606 96,590 Holds Filled 12,252 79,099 Holds Expired 23 183 Holds Expired on shelf 1,608 11,052 Circulation of library materials at all facilities for the fiscal year Library2Go & Advantage Circulation Combined 16,352 108,701 E-book Reader Circulation with material type of CHILD 7 25 E-book Reader Circulation with material type of YA 3 7 Number of Circulation of Electronic Materials 16,362 108,733 Adult Checkouts 18,855 125,154 Adult Renewals (via WorkFlows and PAC)10,247 73,851 No Longer Used -- Adult Renewals (via Shoutbomb)372 2,970 January 2026 Lake Oswego Fiscal Year to date ending June 2026January 2026 Adult Renewals (via TeleCirc)47 573 Adult Renewals (TOTAL)10,666 77,394 YA Checkouts 874 6,721 YA Renewals (via WorkFlows and PAC)611 5,622 No Longer Used -- YA Renewals (via Shoutbomb)32 199 YA Renewals (via TeleCirc)0 1 YA Renewals (TOTAL)643 5,822 Child 1st-time circ excluding E-book Reader uses 11,316 81,428 YA 1st-time circ excluding E-book Reader uses 871 6,714 Child Checkouts 11,323 81,453 Child Renewals (via WorkFlows and PAC)6,317 51,386 No Longer Used -- Child Renewals (via Shoutbomb)414 3,762 Child Renewals (via TeleCirc)0 47 Child Renewals (TOTAL)6,731 55,195 Total 1st-time circulation 47,404 322,029 Total renewals 18,040 138,411 Total circ of Adult materials 29,521 202,548 Total circ of YA & Childrens materials 19,571 149,191 Total circ of YA materials 1,514 12,536 Total circ of Childrens materials 18,054 136,648 Total circ 65,451 460,465 Self-Check Circulation Self-check checkouts 26,271 180,647 % of physical item checkouts at self-checks 84.6%84.7% Check Ins items CHECKED IN via book drop or circ desk return 32,143 226,604 items CHECKED IN from "in transit" status 24,415 163,907 TOTAL items checked in 56,558 390,511 Lake Oswego Fiscal Year to date ending June 2026January 2026 Items loaned to other libraries Items loaned to other libraries within resource-sharing network (LINCC)17,058 113,233 Interlibrary Loans - Items Loaned to All Other Libraries (OCLC)249 1,410 Total loans to other libraries 17,307 114,643 Items borrowed from other libraries Items borrowed from libraries within resource-sharing network (LINCC)15,054 104,712 Interlibrary Loans - Items Borrowed from All Other Libraries (OCLC)80 633 Total loans from other libraries 15,134 105,345 NET ILL using a shared catalog of automation system (LINCC)2,004 8,521 Adult Services January 2026 Monthly Report Adult Services Librarians ushered in the new year with our first bookmobile stops, Winter Reading Bingo, the City’s MLK Community Celebration, two new book groups, and a host of other events. Here’s a closer look back at our work during this very busy mon th: • The stairwell gallery featured impressive artwork by students at Riverdale High School. • We created book displays in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and our new Bring Your Own Mystery Book Group. We also curated a Tropical Locations Armchair Travel display and poetry display for William Stafford’s birthday. • Together with Circulation staff, we brought our new bookmobile to The Springs Senior Living, Hunger Fighters food pantry, and Greenridge Estates assisted living facility. So that seniors would not have to brave the cold weather, we wheeled carts of materials from the bookmobile inside the senior living facilities, which was dramatically more efficient than carrying bins of materials, as we did with our old Rover van. Hunger Fighters was the first stop at which we invited patrons onto our bookmobile, and patrons loved it! • Thanks to the generosity of the Friends of the Library, we hosted the following additional events: o Two Ancestry Answers sessions, in which volunteers and staff assisted patrons with their genealogy research. o We kicked off a new season of weekly ukulele lessons! o A First Tuesday Music concert featuring JET Trio, talented young jazz musicians who have performed with the PDX Jazz Festival and the Oregon All State Jazz Band. o A Bookish Affair met virtually to discuss Make Room for Love by Darcy Liao. o A new Natural History Book Group, facilitated by the Oswego Lake Watershed Council, met at the library to discuss the book Where We Call Home: Lands, Seas, and Skies of the Pacific Northwest by Josephine Woolington. This group will meet on a bi-monthly basis. o The Oswego Heritage Council’s Executive Director Kathryn Sinor presented on the topic of “The Stories Behind our Streets” at the Pints from the Past event at the Lake Theater & Cafe. Sixty people attended the event to learn the stories behind certain street names in Lake Oswego. o The Genealogy Interest Group met in-person at the ACC and online. o Our Poetry Group met and was inspired by the poetry writing prompts on our book display for William Stafford’s birthday. o Our quarterly LOPL Trivia program met virtually and had 28 participants. o Our annual MLK Community Celebration, which took place at Lakeridge Middle School, received high praise on patron surveys. One patron commented, “The main event was very moving. Every aspect! Bravo.” Another patron wrote, “This was an exceptional happening!!! Well organized, inspiring, the ‘flow’ kept us engaged.” o Librarian April’s Digital Dive series returned to the ACC due to popular demand. This month’s talk was Can You Trust Online Influencers? Fact- Checking Like a Librarian. o Veteran journalist Anne Jaeger gave a Third Tuesday Author presentation at the Lake Theater and Cafe on her new book The Rule of Crime and Me, in which she opens the door to her extraordinary 31-year friendship with iconic true crime author Ann Rule. o The World Cinema Series returned with a screening of the Korean film Little Forest at the Lake Theater & Cafe. o Our new Bring Your Own (BYO) Mystery Book Group premiered after staff fielded patron requests for a mystery book group. This group is meeting on the last Thursdays of every month. o Building Bridges Book Group met in-person and online to discuss Closer by Miriam Gershow. Stats Reference & Readers’ Advisory Interactions: 1,162 Programs for Adults: 19 Adult Program Attendance: 306* Programs for All Ages: 4 All-Ages Program Attendance: 244 *Does not include attendance for recorded events The Brown Sisters giving a moving performance at the MLK Community Celebration Librarian Jamie at our first bookmobile stop at Hunger Fighters food pantry Youth Services January 2026 Monthly Report It is always exciting to start a new year, and to be looking towards the months ahead. Also, to look back on the year and it’s highlights. In 2025 the Youth Services department added sensory rich pop-up dance programs for the community, increased our outreach and programming for tweens, and recruited over 30 teens for the Teen Advisory Board. Our efforts to support our community with OBOB practice questions has been recognized and celebrated around the state. School tours and library card distribution became more streamlined as we developed ways to use our limited space to maximum advantage. We collaborated with teens to present robotics and STEM programs for young kids. The TAB has taken to heart the suggestions of over 350 teens to make renovations to the teen section of the library and looks forward to seeing that come to fruition. Programming: We began the new year with an addition to our cultural programming: Korean storytime for families in the community and surrounding areas. The Baby Sign Language and Pop-up Dance Labs tripled in size this month, and all our other programming for 0–5-year-olds is thriving. The robotics team “Proxima Nova” presented their competition robot which is designed to launch whiffle balls into the air. Despite some difficulty with operations, families were thrilled to see the robot moving around the floor. They were even more excited to be given a chance to drive the robot around for a minute. Bulletin Board This month the Art Literacy Boards featured some amazing feats of engineering by the 5th graders at Palisades Elementary as they were inspired by the artwork of Ruth Asawa who is well known for her wire sculptures. They also explored the traditions of quilting made famous by the quilters of Gee’s Bend. Outreach Youth Services staff participated in the Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration by providing a community art project for families to contribute to. The project was modeled after the art work of Charles McGee, who will also be the inspiration for our February Art Bar. Bookmobile: Youth Librarian, Amy, participated in one of the first public Bookmobile events visiting the Indoor Playground at the LORAC. Families were unsure of what to do but once they were inside the vehicle they were delighted and some didn’t want to leave. Teens & Tweens We had a busy Teen Activity Table this month and received over 70 painted popsicle sticks from tweens and teens for our collaborative popsicle stick quilt. There was a round, celestial 500-piece puzzle for the second half of January, and patrons managed to finish it just in time for the next activity to be installed. Teen Advisory Board members staffed a weekend- long study room for high school students studying for finals, and Jackie handed out snacks and beverages to studying teens on the 2nd floor during finals week. We hosted a Cake Decorating Contest for tweens at the end of the month, and all eight spots were filled. The program was lively and well received, with delightful results and a winning cake that was fit for a bakery window. Stats Reader’s Advisory/reference – 578 (includes 1000BBK and New Parent Gift bags) Program attendance – 24/560 (includes storytime, special programs, outreach and LEGO club) HIGHLIGHTS • 2026 started off with a bang! In addition to several other LINCC libraries, LOPL was able to waive all existing overdue fines for our patrons on January 1, 2026, and go “fine-free” on checkouts moving forward. “We feel this is a very positive change to remove a barrier to library use and makes the library more accessible for everyone, aligned with our strategic direction to improve access for all. However, there are still consequences if items are not returned, and replacement fees will continue to be charged for materials that reach 30 days overdue. It’s important for library materials to be returned on time so they can be enjoyed by others.” – Director Melissa Kelly, interviewed by the LO Review • We launched our new Rover Bookmobile, taking it to several stops around Lake Oswego, including senior living facilities and the Hunger Fighters Food Pantry. Staff are being trained to drive and operate the vehicle, while continuing to add new community partners and events to the Rover calendar. The official Bookmobile kickoff party will be held the evening of June 13. CIRCULATION SERVICES NOTABLE STATISTICS *The Circulation Services statistics will now include total circulation of materials, checkout of materials at outreach events (public and residents-only), and library cards issued at outreach events (public and residents-only). **The Library was closed Monday, January 1 for New Years’ Day and Monday January 19 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Total Circulation Outreach checkouts Items checked in Items sorted by AMH Items renewed Items borrowed from outside the County Items loaned outside the County Items borrowed from LINCC libraries Items loaned to LINCC libraries Holds filled Held items not checked out Total library cards issued to new members Library cards issued at Outreach eCards issued Home Deliveries Carts shelved Average daily carts shelved Cultural Pass reservations Seed Library Checkouts Indoor Visitors Curbside Visitors Self-checkout 65,391* 60* 56,558 44,292 18,040 80 249 14,996 17,058 12,252 1,608 259 1* 43 57 883 28 97 129 13,580** 5 84.8% Volunteering and Events JANUARY 2026 Report Total Volunteers Serving 134 Total Volunteer Hours 899 Worked with the MLK Day Celebration committee to execute our city-wide celebration on January 18, 2026. The event featured music by the Brown Sisters and poetry by Emmett Wheatfall. We enjoyed poignant remarks by Mayor Joe Buck and an incredible tribute to Corretta Scott King and Septima Poinsette Clark. We had 10 community tables offering crafts for children and a photography booth and exhibition by Lakewood Center for the Arts with the focus on Frederick Douglass. The event was held at Lakeridge Middle School from 2-4pm with a crowd of 160. Our survey results from attendees were universally glowing and appreciative! Key details about Septima Poinsette Clark (related to Bruce Poinsette) • "Mother of the Movement": Martin Luther King Jr. famously gave her this title for her pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement. • Citizenship Schools: She developed educational workshops at the Highlander Folk School, training leaders like Rosa Parks in literacy and civic rights. • Activism Focus: Clark focused on voter registration, fighting for the right of Black teachers to work in public schools, and promoting literacy as a form of liberation. • Early Life & Family: Daughter of Peter Poinsette (born into slavery) and Victoria Anderson (never enslaved), she grew up in a segregated Charleston, which fueled her fight against racism. • Awards: In 1979, President Jimmy Carter honored her with a Living Legacy Award. Collaborated with Library Communications & Public Relations Coordinator and other library staff to complete the Lake Oswego Reads 2026 brochure. We have an incredible variety of events for April 2026. The month has more events than days and we are collaborating with many city departments and community groups. There will be a presentation to City Council on Tuesday, March 3rd. Collaborated with Community groups to coordinate large-scale librarian-led book discussions during April. Books will be delivered to group members for their February meetings. Coordinated Home Delivery volunteers for all assisted living communities and other patrons who can’t come to the library on a regular basis. This program continues to grow and evolve! We have more than doubled the number of patrons using the program and continue to bring on new volunteers to accommodate the increase. Provided Setup for January 2026 Library events. New volunteers have been recruited and trained to setup for all First Tuesday and Poetry Group events to offer continuity to lead event staff. Building on the volunteer damaged puzzles project, we had EIGHT additional puzzles returned after the Holidays with one or more missing pieces. Volunteers are working on these puzzles from Liberty and Art & Fable Puzzle Companies and will send photos of the completed puzzles. Our wonderful Tech Services crew order replacement pieces and the puzzles are then returned to circulation! This is a great service to the community and savings to our Library budget. Yay for our library volunteers! Prepared 800 copies of Tilt and Be 2 Weeks Ready brochures in preparation for the Friends of the Library book and ticket giveaway on February 9-11. These events will take place on the main floor of the library to increase visibility of the group and their incredible support for the library. Worked with PREP LO and the City of LO to offer Be 2 Weeks Ready materials in Simplified Chinese and Spanish. Those copies will be available to pick up at the library or on demand. Technical Services Department January 2026 Monthly Report 2025 Was a Productive Year in Tech Services With the departures of two long-term employees, 2025 was a challenging year for the Technical Services Department. The year’s statistics show that even in the midst of many changes and adjustments, the Department still managed to put up some impressive numbers: • The Department ordered, processed and added nearly 12,000 new items to Library collections over the course of the year. The busiest month for new items was December, when 1,408 were added. • The total items withdrawn was even more impressive: 17,305 for the year. The high number is partly accounted for by the implementation of a new annual weeding schedule for most of the Library’s collections. • Nearly 2,500 items were withdrawn in August—about 1,000 more than in an average month—which was when (and why!) we held our well-received Sidewalk Sale. (For context, the highest number of items ever withdrawn in a single month was an astonishing 7,418 in February of 2016—this was just ahead the conversion to RFID tags, when every item in the collection would need to be tagged.) Here’s to continued efficiency in 2026!