Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Library Leadership topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Daly City trustees hold remembrance for former library director Carol Simmons
Summary
With no quorum present, the Daly City Library Board paused regular business to remember Carol Simmons, who led library projects including the Bayshore Library, helped found the Daly City Public Library Associates (DCPLA), retired in 2011 and died on Oct. 20, 2025.
The Daly City Library Board of Trustees met without a quorum and used the session to hold a public remembrance for Carol Simmons, a longtime library leader who helped steer the system’s expansion and community fundraising efforts.
Jane Chambers, introduced to read a statement, recalled meeting Simmons at the Bayshore Library groundbreaking and described her hands-on role in planning services, hours, staffing and furnishings to serve Bayshore residents. Chambers said Simmons worked on library construction and operations before retiring in 2011 and continued to support library causes afterward. "Carol passed away on Monday, 10/20/2025," Chambers said.
The tribute noted Simmons’s involvement in creating the Daly City Public Library Associates, the local library foundation established in 2012 to support services beyond city funding. Chambers and others said Simmons contributed personal time and money to the group.
Valerie Sommer, identified as library director at the South San Francisco Public Library, described Simmons as a close friend and colleague who participated in regional advocacy through the Peninsula Library System and often helped with fundraising and interview panels for new staff. "She is truly missed," Sommer said.
Board members and attendees shared anecdotes about Simmons’s efforts to develop trustees and connect libraries to the community, including hosting trustees at her Golden Gateway Project apartment during Fleet Week to watch the Blue Angels. One trustee said DCPLA has contributed "well over $100,000" to support library programs, though a precise total was not specified.
Because the board lacked a quorum, no formal business or votes were taken. Attendees were invited to contribute to DCPLA in Simmons’s name; DCPLA representatives are working on a formal memorial, the board was told. The meeting ended after the remembrances when the presiding speaker "called it an evening."
