Library circulation up; board delays vote after split over library holiday schedule

The Kansas City, Kansas Board of Education heard a quarterly report from Public Library Director Laura Hunt on April 22, and then declined to approve the librarypaid-holiday and scheduled closings calendar after a divided roll-call vote.

Hunt told the board that first-quarter 2025 circulation rose in both physical and digital checkouts compared with 2024, and that the library system is adjusting its e-content budget to increase availability on the Hoopla platform. "Our system that we're using Hoopla, has a limit of how many circs you can have," Hunt said, and staff are working with the e-content librarian to reallocate that budget so community demand can be met.

The presentation also reviewed other metrics and upcoming services. Hunt said website visits were affected by a Google Analytics reporting issue but that corrected data showed a 38% month-over-month increase in March after the fix. In-branch visits are "up 24%," she said, and program attendance was depressed earlier in the year after heavy snow forced more than 65 program cancellations. Hunt announced the librarysummer mobile routes (to begin May 6) will be called the Monet and Parker routes and that two buses will cover existing stops with rotation for maintenance; she said schedules would be placed on the district desk copies and staff would distribute stop information to board members on request.

The library calendar item touched off an extended board discussion about whether branches should be open or closed the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Several board members raised competing priorities: continuity of service to the public and summer-meal/feeding-site alignments versus giving library staff a paid holiday. Rachel Russell, the board vice president, pushed for more time and information before a final decision and asked staff to return with data about the community impact. "I'd be curious the financial, the employee piece of it, with our police department and the police department and staff, knowing that the schools are closed that Wednesday," Russell said, asking staff to factor fiscal and public-safety considerations into any recommendation.

Board members asked for two specific analyses before reconsideration: (1) the estimated fiscal impact of changing the November schedule (full day or half day) and (2) foot-traffic data showing how many patrons use library services on the Wednesday in question (including whether meal sites coincide with mobile stops). Superintendent Anna Stubblefield and Hunt agreed to provide the requested financial and foot-traffic information in time for the board to take up the calendar again at the next meeting.

When the board took the calendar to a roll-call vote, the motion to adopt the proposed paid holidays and scheduled closings did not carry after multiple members voted no. The board clerk recorded the roll call; the president declared the motion failed and directed staff to return with the analyses requested.

Board members praised the library for rising circulation and mobile-service planning but emphasized that changing holiday schedules for a public library requires specific fiscal and use data. The board asked Hunt to supply the requested figures and to follow up with a narrowly scoped recommendation for either a full-day closing, a half-day closing, or status quo.

The board then approved a separate consent motion to accept routine items after pulling the HR report line item (item 76) for separate consideration; the HR line and other consent votes were handled later in the meeting.

Hunt's report and the follow-up materials will be returned to the board for action after staff provide the fiscal implications and patron-use data the board requested.