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Board hears staff awards, foundation and Friends updates; trustees urged to support fundraising
Summary
The board learned that library staff and trustees won national recognition (Library Journal honors, Thomas Green award, ALA trustee citation), got updates on Friends revenue (about $4,111 reported) and foundation grant outreach for the archive project, and reviewed legislative committee briefings on two state bills affecting libraries.
The Worcester Public Library board heard a cluster of recognition and committee reports, including news that staff and trustees have received national honors and that foundation and Friends volunteers are actively fundraising for programming and archival projects.
Board materials reported that Caitlyn Duncan was named in Library Journal’s "Mover & Shaker" category and appeared on the magazine’s cover; Christina Connelly is scheduled to receive the Thomas Green public service award on the 11th, and the board will have a trustee citation presented by United for Libraries at the American Library Association conference in late June. The foundation representative said travel and event expenses are expected to be covered largely by the foundation and reimbursed through trust funds where appropriate.
The Friends of the Library reported roughly $4,111 in recent revenue and disclosed a one-time discovery of approximately $24,000 in cash recovered from service equipment; the group expects modest ongoing net proceeds from service contracts (an estimated $8,000 per year). The finance committee summarized an annual Bartholomew trust-fund review and approved a staff-development policy change to treat pass/fail coursework as eligible for 75% tuition reimbursement from trust funds.
The legislative committee briefed the board on two pending Senate bills: bill 2330 (digital-collections support for public libraries) and bill 2328 (provisions related to free expression in schools and libraries). The committee also discussed plans for a fall statewide legislative event previously known as the legislative breakfast.
At the meeting Liza French introduced herself to the board, saying, "My name is Liza French. I started in the role of projects and special events coordinator here in February." No board votes were held on these reports; members were encouraged to support the foundation and Friends philanthropically to bolster grant applications and community partnerships.
