Minutes
Library Board of Trustees - Minutes - May 27, 2026
May 27, 2026
A public record published by the Town of Simsbury (simsbury-ct.gov). mySimsbury indexes it and makes it readable; it is not the official copy. View the original file.
Page 1 of 3 Library Board of Trustees’ Strategic Planning Subcommittee1 Town of Simsbury, CT2 Special Meeting3 May 27, 2026 – 2:00 P.M.4 Simsbury Public Library – Weatogue Room5 725 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, CT 060706 7 MINUTES8 9 I. CALL TO ORDER – Madam Chair McGrath called the meeting to order at 2:00 P.M.10 11 Present:12 Library Board of Trustees Members13 Present: Holly McGrath, Chair; Don Heymann, Co-Chair; Mary Glassman, Secretary; and14 Anne Erickson.15 16 Simsbury Public Library Staff17 Present: Lisa Miceli, Library Director; Stephanie Prato, Head of Children’s Services.18 19 Other Attendees20 Present: President of the Friends of the Library, Greg Golinski, Davina Fogel, Jennifer21 Kirkland, Karen Cantelmo, Kathleen Miklus,22 Absent: Jamie Sepa and Shawn McGlaughlin, Dan Sommer23 24 II. PUBLIC AUDIENCE25 26 No Public Audience27 28 III. ESTABLISH QUORUM OF TRUSTEES29 30 Quorum of Trustees was established.31 32 IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – MARCH 25, 2026 SPECIAL MEETING33 34 March 25, 2026—Special Meeting35 36 MOTION: Co-Chair Heymann made a motion, seconded by Ms. Erickson, to approve37 the Minutes of the March 25, 2026, Special Meeting. The motion carried unanimously.38 39 Library Board of Trustees’ Strategic Planning Subcommittee Special Meeting Minutes May 27, 2026 Page 2 of 3 V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – APRIL 22, 2026 SPECIAL MEETING40 41 April 22, 2026—Special Meeting42 43 MOTION: Co-Chair Heymann made a motion, seconded by Ms. Erickson, to approve44 the Minutes of the April 22, 2026, Special Meeting. The motion carried unanimously.45 46 VI. LISTENING SESSION UPDATES47 48 St. Mary’s Listening Session49 Members reported strong attendance, estimated at approximately 30 participants,50 representing a broad cross-section of the community. The discussion generated51 substantial feedback, and members noted that participants were highly engaged.52 53 Belden Court Listening Session54 Committee members reported approximately 15 participants attended. The session55 included small group discussions. Feedback emphasized appreciation for library56 services, accessibility concerns, and optimism regarding improved sidewalk access to57 the library. Members noted participants valued reassurance that their opinions58 mattered and benefited from encouragement during the survey process.59 60 Cinco de Mayo “Snacks and Surveys” Session61 Although attendance was smaller than anticipated, participants were engaged and62 forthcoming with ideas and feedback.63 Committee members discussed assigning listening session notes for thematic analysis64 and aligning findings with themes emerging from survey responses.65 66 VII. SURVEY TALLIES, FINAL OBSERVATIONS67 68 The committee reviewed preliminary manual tallies of survey responses completed by69 committee members. Members discussed recurring themes and compared70 observations from individual survey packet reviews.71 72 Committee members noted differing viewpoints within the survey data, particularly73 regarding growth, development, housing, technology versus print materials, and74 community priorities.75 76 The discussion included how best to interpret and present survey data, including77 whether to analyze responses question-by-question, and/or analyze responses78 holistically to identify overarching community themes. The committee agreed that79 using both approaches would provide valuable comparison and validation.80 81 Committee members also discussed the use of technology tools, including Excel82 analysis and AI, to supplement manual review and validate findings.83 Library Board of Trustees’ Strategic Planning Subcommittee Special Meeting Minutes May 27, 2026 Page 3 of 3 84 VIII. DISCUSSION: SURVEY ANALYSIS PROCESS, ASSIGNMENTS, TIMING85 86 The committee agreed to pursue multiple forms of analysis of survey responses.87 88 Assignments:89 90 • Ms. Fogel will conduct an AI-based analysis of survey responses, including91 response frequencies, themes, concerns, percentages, and question-by-92 question analysis.93 • Ms. Prato will assist Mr. Fogel with an Excel-based analysis of survey data.94 • Ms. Miceli will provide committee members with the current strategic plan for95 review and confirm committee email distribution.96 97 The committee agreed that listening session data would be analyzed separately from98 survey responses due to the conversational nature of the sessions.99 100 Committee members discussed eventually preparing a summary document outlining101 survey findings for internal review and sharing with town leadership.102 103 IX. ADJOURNMENT104 105 MOTION: Co-Chair Heymann made a motion, seconded by Ms. Erickson, to adjourn.106 The motion carried unanimously.107 108 Madam Chair McGrath adjourned the meeting at 3:14 P.M.109 110 Respectfully Submitted,111 Cameron DiSanto112 Administrative Secretary113