Seaside board readies summer kickoff, expands family and adult programming

The Seaside library board on Thursday reviewed May program activity and outlined plans for a summer kickoff event and expanded programming for families and adults.

The chair said the library is "officially in June" and that staff are preparing a kickoff set for Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The season will feature gardening and reuse themes and a new adult summer reading component, which the board piloted this year. "We did have a single musical story time...we had 16 folks for this final one," the chair said, describing increasing attendance for the children's programs before the summer pause.

Board members discussed a pilot family story time run with a sister library and proposed rotating weekly program slots, including occasional bilingual sessions, to build regular attendance. The chair said staff scheduling can be tight: "the scheduling of it was a little, tight because of...dinner hour and also childcare swap," and noted the need to make calendars easy for patrons to add to their personal schedules.

The board also described outreach work. The chair reported attending the Growing Connections conference and called it "inspirational," noting multiple agencies and programs focused on children and families were in attendance to network and coordinate services. The chair added that library staff took part in a live KUN radio interview on May 7 to promote library programs and the "One Book, One Seaside" initiative.

Next steps: the board will proceed with the Saturday kickoff, continue the family story time pilot through the summer, and monitor participation in the adult reading program. No formal vote was recorded on program approvals in the transcript.