BOARD OF SOMERSET COUNTY LIBRARY TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING MINUTES

Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at 4:00pm

Princess Anne Library

Present: Ann Smith, President; Beth Holmes-Mayson, Vice President; Lynn Lang, Treasurer; Board Members: Kristen Corbin, Janet Smith, Jennifer Timmons; Associate Members: Marie Billie, Erin Owens; 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: Karen Riggin, Board Member

CALL MEETING TO ORDER

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

CONSENT AGENDA

Approve minutes from the regular meeting of April 8, 2026
Approve financial report for the period from July 1, 2025 - April 30, 2026
Approve financial report for the period from July 1, 2025 - May 31, 2026

President Smith asked for a motion to approve the consent agenda. Motion was made by Janet Smith, seconded by Lynn Lang, and unanimously approved.

BRANCH HIGHLIGHTS

Crisfield: Presented by Ashley Gilson, Library Services Manager

Branch Highlights: In April, we celebrated National Library Week “Find Your Joy” with posts on all our socials. Various decorations and in-house displays went up for Earth Day, Poetry Month, National Gardening Month, Star Wars Day, Mother’s Day, National Pet Month, Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, National Inventors Month, Mental Health Awareness Month, BBQ Ideas, and National Fishing & Boating Week. We also have a special display for America’s 250 celebration. Currently, we were displaying books about the American Revolution. The end of May had been all about decorating for Summer Reading. We were really excited about this year’s theme, “Unearth A Story”.

Staff Development: In April and May, staff participated in a range of professional development such as Community Approach to Marketing, Empowering Library Staff, Leadership and Supervisory Wellness, Facing Angry Patrons, Leading from the Middle, and Improving Your Email Newsletters. In May, all staff members attended the Annual 2026 MLA Conference in Cambridge.

Community Partnerships: Staff had our monthly visits to the Developmental Center and Tawes Nursing Home. Gabe and Jaime had a tech visit at the Senior Living apartments. Social Services still visits weekly to assist the public with any government aid they may require.

Future Happenings: We were excited that Summer Reading had started! Staff were looking forward to our yearly snake photo.

Princess Anne: Presented by Danielle Craige, Library Services Manager

Branch Highlights: In April and May, the library featured book displays on Poetry, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage, and ALS. We currently have a display on the American Revolution; we would have a series of displays up throughout the summer in celebration of America’s 250th birthday. Many of our staff attended the Maryland Library Association Conference on May 7th. Staff members have said that they enjoyed their sessions and feel as though they all learned something valuable from the classes they attended. We have been busy decorating for Summer Reading! Many of the windows in our branch were now painted with leaves, dinosaurs, and fossils! Our meeting room continues to be requested frequently, and the Maryland Room still serves as a secondary meeting space when needed.

Community Partnerships: The Community Food Pantry was frequently visited by people in need and members of the community donate regularly. The Somerset County Arts Council continues to host an art gallery in our meeting room.

Future Happenings: Summer Reading was here! Our kickoff party was on June 6th at 11:00 a.m. at both branches. Staff were looking forward to a fun-filled summer!

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

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

Collections

ESRL Digital Resources: Hoopla service ended on May 31. Blackstone Unlimited and Kanopy both started service on June 1. The transition was smooth with few complaints.

Marina ShareIT: Setup for the new statewide interlibrary loan system had been delayed. Training had been pushed back to late summer, with a transition to the new system on August 31.

Programs

Chronic Kidney Disease Workshops: This free class was designed to educate the community about kidney health, early detection, and practical steps to help prevent and manage chronic kidney disease and was offered by TidalHealth. The Crisfield session was hosted in April with 16 attendees and Princess Anne’s session was scheduled for June 11.

Local Author Chat: Iris Wright-Hart was a local author to Princess Anne and advocate for research and education in sickle cell disease. She had recently published "Nobody's Listening to Me—If Only They Could C Me: A Daughter's Battle with Sickle Cell". On Saturday, May 9th she was on site at the Crisfield branch and had copies available for purchase and signing.

Maker Carts: We had placed "maker carts" in the teen spaces. We planned to keep regular supplies on the cart and switch out passive crafts/items in hopes that they would clear up table space and keep teens engaged throughout the summer.

Physical Activity Classes: In May, TidalHealth’s Community Health Educator, Bobbi McDonald led chair yoga at the Princess Anne branch, and she would be leading two sessions in Crisfield in June. She had asked us to continue sessions, so we were excited to rebook with her. These classes were held in the morning. We would also be hosting evening Chair Aerobics with our Zumba instructor, Dee, in July & August.

Community Outreach

Nanticoke Daughters of the American Revolution: DAR was placing patriotic pencil trees at both the Crisfield and Princess Anne libraries for America 250 celebrations.

National Library Week: We celebrated National Library Week via our social media April 19-25, announcing the theme/history, explaining Right to Read Day, and highlighting National Library Workers Day, National Library Outreach Day, Take Action for Libraries Day, and this year’s Honorary Chair, Mychal Threets.

Somerset Village: In April, Gabe & Jaime did a site visit, providing senior residents with basic computer skills assistance. There were four in attendance. Our next visit was scheduled for the end of June.

State Library: Crisfield’s 10th anniversary was featured on the State Library’s Facebook on June 4.

Children Services

Current Programs: Mother Goose, STEAM, Family Paint Night, and Toddler Art were doing well with attendance in Crisfield. We were still experiencing low to no attendance for MGOL and STEAM in Princess Anne. Lego Club had picked up in attendance with many masterpieces on display.

Summer Reading: We began decorating our branches for the Summer Reading program - all things dinosaur! Dani and Adrianna visited local businesses for donations and received a bag of potting soil and 12 gift cards to local businesses for the adult prizes.

Outreach: In April, Noah and Adrianna attended the School Readiness Fair at SIS where they shared swag and library services information. Adrianna also attended local school events at PAES and DIS in May to share information on our Summer Reading program.

In May, Dani B., Yakelin and Adrianna set up a table at the Shorebirds Hit the Books event and shared Summer Reading information to over 100 families. The Fan Advantage was published with a Summer Reading ad designed by Lorna and was hosted on their website 24/7.

Upcoming Events: Our Summer Reading Kickoff Parties were on June 6th at 11am at both branches with lots of fun activities planned. Our first performer would be Extreme Balloons on June 23rd at both branches.

Financial

Amazon American Express, Part 1: For the fiscal year to date, we’ve received $2,679.22 in cashback rewards from the Amazon-branded American Express.

Amazon American Express, Part 2: Amazon was switching the affiliation over in late summer, but the rewards system would remain the same.

eRate: Our FY 27 funding reimbursement for Ewell’s OrbitLink connection had been approved.

Insurance Policy: Our renewal paperwork with the Local Government Insurance Trust had been completed for our FY 27 renewal.

State Funding: The state funding formula had been finalized, and our FY 27 funding would be $351,998 (a 2.2% increase). We were awaiting final figures from the County.

Staffing

Professional Development: A list of professional development was provided.

Technology

Website Accessibility: The federal mandate on Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) had been pushed back to 2027, but we were essentially complete other than the more complex PDFs.

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

Governance

Advisory - Auditor Selection: The selection of UHY had been approved by the State Library.

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

HB 586 / SB 535 - County Boards of Library Trustees - Membership - Student Member: Signed by the governor, this bill allowed Library Boards to appoint a student member to vote on policy matters, with an additional option to vote on other matters.
HB 660 / SB 410 - Public Libraries - State Library Resource Center - Funding: The House version, resuming 5% annual increases for the State Library Resource Center, had been signed by the governor.
HB 1592 / SB 378 - Education - Regional Resource Centers and County Libraries - Funding: The Senate version, with 2% annual increases, had been signed by the governor.

Confirmation of Online Vote – Alcohol in Meeting Room: We needed a confirmation of the online vote of May 8 approving the Crisfield High Class of 1976 to serve alcohol at their 50th reunion on Saturday, September 19, 2026.

President Smith asked for a motion to accept the online vote. Motion was made by Janet Smith, seconded by Jennifer Timmons, and unanimously approved.

Direct Deposit: After reviewing the relevant code regarding direct deposit (specifically, MD Local Government Code § 1-205, which allows local governments to require direct deposit if it was a requirement at the time of employment despite this not being an option for commercial entities), Nora and I were requesting an addition to Section 5 (Compensation) of the Employee Handbook stating that “All employees hired on or after June 10, 2026 were required to receive wages via direct deposit. Upon hire, employees must provide valid bank account information to facilitate direct deposit enrollment. Employees requiring an exemption must submit a written request to the Director for review and approval.”

President Smith asked for a motion to accept the financial policy update regarding direct deposit. Motion was made by Beth Holmes-Mayson, seconded by Lynn Lang, and unanimously approved.

Adjournment

President Smith made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion was seconded by Beth Holmes-Mayson and unanimously approved. The meeting adjourned at 4:27pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Nora Hoffman
Somerset County Library
Bookkeeper/Admin. Assistant