Leesburg library commission hears director’s report; nominates member to endowment board

The Leesburg Library Commission on March 2025 heard a report from the library director on recent exhibits, programs and staffing, and unanimously approved a motion to nominate a commission member to serve on the library’s Endowment Foundation board.

Library Director reported that two continuing exhibits — a Black Loyalists exhibit and the Loudoun Sketch Club anniversary show — remained on display, and that the library piloted two pop-up exhibits for Black History Month at the Milunkas Community Center and at the Middleburg Library. The director said the pop-ups included oral-history video elements displayed on digital frames with closed captioning: “For the first time, we incorporated oral histories within the exhibit,” the director said.

The director summarized programs and outreach: a Dallas Heritage talk with an interactive map built from the library’s collections; a textiles conservation workshop attended by roughly 40 people (the director said the total would have been higher but many registrants canceled because of illness); school research visits from Foxcroft, Patrick Henry and George Mason University; and staff professional development visits to George Mason’s special collections. The director also noted a highly subscribed Revolutionary War walking tour that fills quickly and is capped at 75 participants for safety.

On staffing, the director announced that a new cataloger, Echo Roo, started Monday after returning from a role in the Loudoun County Public Library administrative offices. The director also said a flexible part-time staffer, identified in the meeting as Eliza Vegas, accepted a full‑time position elsewhere, prompting continued recruitment for part-time coverage. The director described continuing difficulty replacing flexible staff who move into full‑time jobs: “a lot of our flexible part time staff have gotten full time jobs,” the director said, and the library is hiring to maintain weekend and vacation coverage.

During the meeting the commission discussed the TVL (Endowment) Foundation. Members were told that all foundation board terms expire in June and that the commission must nominate one member to the foundation’s board; the commission also expects the Friends group to nominate a member at their next meeting. The commission received a Wells Fargo trust update described as “no update.” Staff explained the town attorney’s office backlog — caused by an unexpected staff death — has delayed progress on trust matters.

Commissioners discussed governance and safeguards for the foundation: annual conflict-of-interest disclosures for board members, the town’s role as fiscal agent for foundation disbursements, and work to secure director-and-officer/indemnity insurance for foundation board members. A motion to nominate a commission member to the Endowment Foundation board was moved and seconded and approved by unanimous voice vote; the meeting record did not provide a roll-call tally.

Commissioners also touched briefly on other items mentioned for future attention, including Oak Hill preservation, St. James Cemetery, and a prospective Friends book sale planned for the Flower and Garden weekend in April (the Friends’ sale plans remain subject to town procurement review).

The commission closed with scheduling notes: a board networking event at the end of March and the commission’s annual one‑page or slide submission due to the town on March 21 for the boards-and-commissions presentation cycle.

Ending: The commission’s reports and the nomination to the Endowment Foundation set follow-up tasks for staff and commissioners — recruiting foundation board nominees, continuing trust work with the town attorney, and filling flexible library staffing gaps.