MISSION STATEMENT

The Somerset County Library System promotes learning by providing materials, services, and access to information that enrich our community and excite the imagination.

The Heart of the Community

BOARD OF SOMERSET COUNTY LIBRARY TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING MINUTES

Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at 4:00pm

Crisfield Library

Present: Ann Smith, President; Beth Holmes-Mayson, Vice President; Board Members: Kristen Corbin, Karen Riggin, Janet Smith, Jennifer Timmons; Associate Members: Marie Billie; Ed Goyda, Library Director; Jaime Bradshaw, Assistant Director; Ashley Gilson, Crisfield Library Services Manager; Danielle Craige, Princess Anne Library Services Manager; Adrianna Warfield, Children's Services Coordinator; Nora Hoffman, Bookkeeper/Admin. Assistant

Absent: Lynn Lang, Treasurer; Erin Owens, Associate Member

CALL MEETING TO ORDER

President Smith called the meeting to order at 4:02pm.

CONSENT AGENDA

Approve minutes from the regular meeting of February 11, 2026
Approve financial report for the period from July 1, 2025 - February 28, 2026
Approve financial report for the period from July 1, 2025 - March 31, 2026

President Smith asked for a motion to approve the consent agenda. Motion was made by Janet Smith, seconded by Beth Holmes-Mayson, and unanimously approved.

BRANCH HIGHLIGHTS

Crisfield: Presented by Ashley Gilson, Library Services Manager

Branch Highlights: Since we always had so much fun participating in spirit weeks, we continued our tradition in February and March. In February, we had red day, favorite sports team, cupid’s day, comfy day, Library Lovers Day sweater day, accessories day, pajama day, and Valentine’s Day. In March, we had Read Across America, blue day (Colorectal Cancer Awareness), World Kidney Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Rock Your Socks (World Down Syndrome Day), MD Day, and purple day (Epilepsy Awareness). These were photographed daily and posted on the library’s socials. Gabe had been working on inventory and had already completed approximately 80% of the collection. Throughout the library, we had various decorations and displays for Romance, Black History, Library Lovers month, Women’s History, St. Patrick’s Day, National Reading month, and Irish American Heritage month.

Staff Development: In February & March, staff participated in various training courses on topics such as Management Fundamentals, Programming, Foundations of Sensory Play, Trama Informed Care, and new book previews. Almost all our staff attended the SLRC circulation conference at PRATT.

Community Partnerships: Staff visited the Developmental Center and Tawes Nursing Home. Social Services still visited weekly to assist the public with any government aid they may require. AARP Tax-Aide would continue through April 15th.

Future Happenings: Staff were excited to attend the MLA conference in May. We were also looking forward to Summer Reading 2026.

Princess Anne: Presented by Danielle Craige, Library Services Manager

Branch Highlights: In February and March, the library featured a variety of book displays including Black History Month and National Reading Month. We had several spirit days in February and March featuring pajama days, St. Patrick’s Day, Rock Your Socks, and Purple Day for epilepsy awareness. Staff enjoyed the SLRC Circulation conference in February. Our annual weeding process finished in February. Michele and Dani had begun the inventory process. A good portion of the children’s collection had been inventoried. Staff continued to do well with their daily responsibilities.

Community Partnerships: The Community Food Pantry continued to be frequently refilled by members of the community. The meeting room was still home to an art gallery hosted by the Somerset County Arts Council.

Future Happenings: In April, staff would be participating in a variety of spirit days! In May, most of our staff would be attending the annual Maryland Library Association Conference. We were also excitedly planning and preparing for Summer Reading!

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Presented by: Ed Goyda, Jaime Bradshaw, and Adriana Warfield

Collections

ESRL Digital Resources: The Shore libraries had coordinated to release the public relations material on April 6 about the termination of Hoopla and transition to Blackstone Unlimited and Kanopy. Hoopla services would end on May 31. Blackstone Unlimited for audiobooks would begin on June 1. We were still waiting on a start date for Kanopy for video content.

Inventory Underway: Inventory was underway at both mainland branches. We would had a group trip to Ewell in the near future to complete that and weeding on the island.

LOTE4Kids: Due to lack of usage, the subscription to LOTE4Kids would not be renewed and was expiring May 1.

Marina ShareIT: Setup for the new statewide interlibrary loan system was taking place at the State Library Resource Center. We were anticipating training sessions later in the spring for a transition to the new system in July.

Newspapers Database: Scanning of the Crisfield/County Times was complete.

Community Outreach

Delmarva Shorebirds: A Fan Advantage Page designed by Lorna with Somerset, Worcester & Wicomico County Libraries would be issued in the Shorebirds Fan Advantage coupon booklet. In addition to 25,000 printed books being handed out FREE each Friday and Saturday night home game, the Fan Advantage would be hosted on their website. We had also been invited to host a table at the Hit the Books game for Somerset County in May.

Hawk Con: Jenna attended this event at UMES on March 7th. The event highlighted and showcased comic books and the creators behind them. She hosted a library info table with library materials and information along with free swag.

Lou Gehrig Day/ALS Awareness: We would again be working with I AM ALS to promote Lou Gehrig Day at the end of April and ALS Awareness month in May.

Smith Island Cultural Center: Laura Marsh, working under a MD 250 internship alongside the Cultural Center and Smith Island United, was given copies of the archival scans for the Jennings Evans collection. She specifically requested them for a tie-in to a project on Eastern Shore baseball, as well as general purposes.

Somerset Village: Jaime had been communicating with the Resident Services Coordinator for the Somerset Village in Crisfield. Gabe & Jaime would be doing a site visit at the end of April, providing senior residents with basic computer skills assistance such as basic keyboard & mouse, basic internet searching and scam prevention.

Children Services

Current Programs: Mother Goose, STEAM, Family Paint Night, and Toddler Art were doing well with attendance in Crisfield. Wehad low to no attendance for MGOL and STEAM in Princess Anne. Lego Club had little to no attendance for both branches.

Butterfly Garden: In March, we bought a butterfly kit to grow Pink Lady Butterflies for STEAM. Each week, the kids were able to see and learn about a different part of the butterfly’s life cycle and make a themed craft.

Take Your Child to the Library Day: We participated in this annual event encouraging families to visit their local library with a few fun crafts and activities. We offered a scavenger hunt in the children’s rooms with a prize of a new book, as well as color-your-own bookmarks, coloring pages, and stickers. We had a few families stop by and participate.

Summer Reading: Planning for Summer Reading 2026 continued as summer approaches. The program would start June 1, with our Kickoff Party at both branches Saturday, June 6 at 11 a.m. It would run for 9 weeks until August 1 when we would have our Finale Party to announce the grand prize winners. We had booked eight performers, including one sponsored by ESRL, that range from magicians to live animals to fossil digs.

Outreach: Adrianna and Meagen attended the Judy Center’s Community Baby Shower on March 4 and discussed the library’s resources for new and expecting mothers.

Upcoming Events: We had a few outreach events scheduled at some schools in April where we would share our swag and information, as well as push Summer Reading.

Facilities

Princess Anne HVAC: Princess Anne HVAC issues had been resolved, with new units in the Children’s Room and the working unit from the Children’s Room moved to the office.

Financial

E-Rate: Our E-Rate paperwork for the Ewell Library’s Internet connection had been filed for FY27.

Check Signatories: Lynn Lang had been added to the signatories list with PNC Bank (and Tim Spillane removed). The current roster was Ann Smith, Beth Holmes-Mayson, Lynn Lang, and Ed Goyda.

Staffing

MLA/DLA Annual Conference: We had completed early bird signup for the MLA/DLA Annual Conference in Cambridge on May 6 - 8.

Professional Development: A list of professional development was provided.

Technology

Ewell Internet: Ed and Jim from ESRL installed the new Starlink dish on March 26. We were fully operational on the island.

Princess Anne Front Desk: PCs on the Princess Anne front desk had been replaced due to Windows 11 compatibility issues.

Website Accessibility: Work on compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) mandated by the federal government continues, with PDFs being removed and the content integrated with the website.

President Smith asked for a motion to accept the Administrative Report. Motion was made by Jennifer Timmons, seconded by Kristen Corbin, and unanimously approved.

Governance

Advisory - Legislative: Bills relevant to libraries in the current session include:

HB 586 / SB 535 - County Boards of Library Trustees – Membership – Student Member: This bill would allow Library Boards to appoint a student member to vote on policy matters, with an additional option to vote on other matters. It had passed through both the House and the Senate, with a small modification in the House version to include homeschool students.
HB 660 / SB 410 - Public Libraries – State Library Resource Center – Funding: This bill would resume 5% annual increases for the State Library Resource Center, which had been flat funded since FY 2025. It had passed both the House and the Senate, although the Senate version cut the funding increases to 2%.
HB 1592 / SB 378 - Education – Regional Resource Centers and County Libraries – Funding: This bill would extend the 3% annual increases in funding per capita for both the county libraries and regional resource centers through FY 2032. The crossfile in the House was late and still in committee. Meanwhile, the Senate version cut the funding increase back to 2% per year.

Confirmation of Online Vote - Appointment of Lynn Lang as Treasurer: We needed a motion to confirm the online vote of March 16 appointing Lynn Lang as Treasurer.

Vice President Holmes-Mayson asked for a motion to accept the Appointment of Lynn Lang as Treasurer. Motion was made by Janet Smith, seconded by Beth Holmes-Mayson, and unanimously approved.

Auditor Approval: Approval of our auditor for FY26 was due to the State Library by May 1. As usual, and because our audit was integrated into the County’s audit, we recommended UHY.

President Smith asked for a motion to accept the UHY as the auditor for FY26. Motion was made by Kristen Corbin, seconded by Beth Holmes-Mayson, and unanimously approved.

Harassment/Sexual Harassment Policy: At the LGIT (Local Government Insurance Trust)’s annual meeting on March 17, they were insistent that an insured’s anti-harassment policies specifically include "zero tolerance" phrasing. The existing policy already provides for the possibility of termination for a first offense, but boilerplate had been added to include their requested terminology.

President Smith asked for a motion to accept the policy update. Motion was made by Beth Holmes-Mayson, seconded by Karen Riggin, and unanimously approved.

Library Card & Borrowing Policy: An employee raised a question on the policy regarding parents registering their children for library cards, which was already covered by a previous update to the policy (parents having library cards in good standing vs. parents not having library cards in bad standing).

However, while reviewing the policy, there were some minor changes to make: moving the non-resident fee up to $50 to keep pace with the tax-based funding from residents, changing "fines" to "fees," and three technical corrections about auto-renewals (or the lack thereof), which policy prevails if a Somerset card was used in another Eastern Shore county, and the process on the book suggestion form (specifically, that non-local authors/publishers suggesting their own material was also a reason to decline the suggestion).

President Smith made a motion to accept the policy updates, seconded by Janet Smith, and unanimously approved.

Executive Session

President Smith asked for a motion to enter executive session at 4:30pm. Motion was made by Beth Holmes-Mayson, seconded by Jennifer Timmons, unanimously approved, and roll call was taken.

Resignations of Jo Strouse and Scott Timko, Library Assistants: Jo and Scott had resigned from Library Assistant positions at the Crisfield Library. Scott had given us more than two months notice - his last day would be May 23 and he would be heading for an internship in Ireland.

President Smith asked for a motion to accept the resignations. Motion was made by Janet Smith, seconded by Beth Holmes-Mayson, and unanimously approved.

Appointment of Rachel Mitchell, Library Assistant: We appointed Rachel Mitchell to a part-time library assistant position in Crisfield.

President Smith asked for a motion to accept the appointment. Motion was made by Karen Riggin, seconded by Beth Holmes-Mayson, and unanimously approved

President Smith asked for a motion to exit executive session at 4:32pm. Motion was made by Kristen Corbin, seconded by Janet Smith, unanimously approved, and roll call was taken.

Adjournment

President Smith asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion was made by Karen Riggin, seconded by Beth Holmes-Mayson, and unanimously approved. The meeting adjourned at 4:33pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Nora Hoffman
Somerset County Library
Bookkeeper/Admin. Assistant