Minutes
Library Board of Trustees - Minutes - Jun 24, 2026
Jun 24, 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 June 24, 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; and Anne Erickson.14 Absent: Mary Glassman, Secretary15 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, Kathleen Miklus, Dan Sommer.22 Absent: Jamie Sepa, Shawn McGlaughlin, Karen Cantelmo.23 24 II. ESTABLISH QUORUM OF TRUSTEES25 26 Quorum of Trustees was established.27 28 III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – MAY 27, 2026 SPECIAL MEETING29 30 May 27, 2026—Special Meeting31 32 Minutes to be amended to reflect that Dan Sommer was in attendance.33 34 MOTION: Co-Chair Heymann made a motion, seconded by Ms. Erickson, to approve35 the Minutes of the May 27, 2026, Special Meeting as amended. The motion carried36 unanimously.37 38 39 40 Library Board of Trustees’ Strategic Planning Subcommittee Special Meeting Minutes June 24, 2026 Page 2 of 3 IV. PUBLIC AUDIENCE41 42 No Public Audience43 44 V. STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-2026 REVIEW45 46 The committee reviewed the current 2021–2026 Strategic Plan and discussed its47 continued relevance in light of changing community needs.48 49 Members noted that the current vision and mission statements remain strongly50 aligned with community priorities, particularly regarding inclusivity, lifelong51 learning, and community building.52 53 VI. DISCUSSION: SURVEY ANALYSIS54 55 The committee reviewed the results of the community surveys and listening sessions56 represented by a slide show presentation created by Mr. and Mrs. Fogel using AI. The57 survey data was run through Claude for analysis. Mrs. Fogel revised the AI prompts58 numerous times to ensure accuracy of analysis. Mr. Fogel also did a meticulous59 independent human analysis of all of the surveys via spreadsheet to double check and60 confirm the findings.61 • 447 total survey respondents62 • 399 online responses (89%)63 • 48 paper responses (11%)64 • 7 listening sessions conducted65 66 Members discussed that residents increasingly view the library as a central67 community gathering place rather than solely a repository for books and materials.68 69 Committee members discussed financial limitations associated with digital collections70 and noted that demand often exceeds available resources due increasing costs.71 Members discussed expanding communication efforts and increasing visibility of72 available services.73 The library website was identified as the primary source of information for many74 residents, followed by email newsletters, online calendars, flyers, and social media.75 The committee discussed exploring additional communication strategies, including76 mailing a printed newsletter to all residents at least once annually, subject to available77 funding.78 79 VII. COMMITTEE QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, NEXT STEPS80 81 Members discussed priorities for developing the next strategic plan.82 Action items include:83 Library Board of Trustees’ Strategic Planning Subcommittee Special Meeting Minutes June 24, 2026 Page 3 of 3 • Revise and update existing strategic goals.84 • Develop new bullet points under Goals One through Three.85 • Rework Goal Four to better reflect affordability, partnerships, and community86 support.87 • Continue emphasizing in-person community connection opportunities.88 • Explore communication strategies to increase awareness of library services.89 • Collect and share additional language suggestions prior to the next meeting.90 91 Members agreed to collaborate using a shared Google document92 VIII. ADJOURNMENT93 94 MOTION: Co-Chair Heymann made a motion, seconded by Ms. Erickson, to adjourn.95 The motion carried unanimously.96 97 Madam Chair McGrath adjourned the meeting at 3:11 P.M.98 99 Respectfully Submitted,100 Cameron DiSanto101 Administrative Secretary102