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Newbury Library board hears HVAC, equipment and staffing updates; new director to start Aug. 4
Summary
At its regular meeting, the Newbury Library Board of Trustees heard that the HVAC replacement is complete, donated meeting-room AV equipment will be installed at no cost, the people counter will be replaced after the new fiscal year, and an agreement with a new director sets an August 4 start date.
Will Cotton, chair, opened the regular meeting of the Newbury Library Board of Trustees and confirmed a quorum before the board heard the assistant director’s report.
Catherine, the library’s assistant director, told trustees the HVAC system replacement "is done," and said staff tracked temperatures last week and did not see readings above 75°F, indicating the new system is functioning. She said the town IT staffer John has located donated meeting-room equipment — a projector with whiteboard, speakers and remote Wi‑Fi capability — from a local nonprofit and that the Department of Public Works has already dropped off the large whiteboard; installation will be scheduled and the equipment is free to the library.
Catherine said the library’s people counter stopped working shortly after Christmas and that John expects to order and install a replacement in August now that the new fiscal year has begun. She and trustees noted the counter’s absence has depressed recorded visitor totals (the board compared roughly 4,400 youth visits in the prior year to about 4,700 this fiscal year for live youth attendance, while overall visitor tallies appear lower because roughly half the year lacked counting data).
Catherine also reported the town’s fiscal year 2026 is closed and that ARIS reporting (the state library reporting interface) reopens mid‑August with a new interface; she said she is scheduled for training and has no planned time off through August. She described an extreme heat event in which a smell from nearby blacktop prompted staff to call Alex and the fire department; responders found nothing burning and attributed the odor to the heat.
Will Cotton said an agreement with the incoming director has been signed. "There should be a new director on board around August 4," he said; trustees confirmed staff may inform employees and begin orientation steps. The board scheduled its next meeting for Tuesday, Aug. 11, to allow the director a week to settle in. Alexander Burke moved to adjourn, Terry Woodris seconded, and the members present approved the motion.
The board’s next procedural step is the Aug. 11 meeting; no formal votes on policy or budget items were taken during this session.
