CONTRA COSTA COUNTY

Committee Meeting Minutes - Final

Library Commission

6:00 PM

Thursday, January 16, 2025

1025 Escobar St., Room 110

Martinez, CA

352 Shoreline Drive

Pittsburg, CA

Zoom Webinar Link:

https://zoom.us/j/92440499509?

pwd=MLUCLCJlFTt5cOb50QDbQLvytKEmq

A.1

Webinar ID: 924 4049 9509

Passcode: 135402

- Electronic agenda packet viewing is available at: https://ccclib.org/commission/

- Hard copy agenda packets are available for viewing at each Contra Costa County Library

- The Library Commission will provide reasonable accommodations for persons with

disabilities planning to attend Library Commission meetings who contact Library

Administration at least 72 hours before the meeting, at (925) 608-7730. After 72 hours prior,

accommodations will be on a best-efforts basis.

Any disclosable public records related to an open session item on a regular meeting agenda

and distributed by the Contra Costa County Library Commission to a majority of members of

the Library Commission less than 96 hours prior to that meeting are available for public

inspection at Contra Costa County Library Administration, 777 Arnold Drive, Suite 210,

Martinez, CA 94553.

Library Commissioners, please call Library Administration, at (925) 608-7700 by 5 p.m.

Wednesday, January 15, 2025, if you will NOT be at the meeting. A quorum must be

established in-person before a meeting can be held. A record is maintained of Commissioner’s

attendance.

Agenda Items: Items may be taken out of order based on the business of the day and

preference of the Committee.

This was approved.

CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER / ROLL CALL

The Library Commission Chair will call the meeting to order. Nina Braithwaite will do

a roll call to determine a quorum of attendees.

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m.

Roll call was done by Nina Braithwaite and we have a quorum.

Kevin Armonio, Matt DeFraga, Jim Dexter, Robin Eckert,

Michael Fischer, Shrikant Garde, Nicole Gemmer, Sue Hamill,

Mary Ann Hoisington, Marina Hsieh, John Huh, Amenda

Kung, Heather Lurvey, Lynn Mackey, Dennisha Marsh, Jasun

Molinelli, George Pursley, Donna Rennie, Rachel Rosekind,

Robert Sanguedolce, Tommy Smith, Michael Swernoff, and

Bethany Woods

Present

Julia Dozier, Susan Hildreth, Frederick Page, Amit Prayag,

Linda Sendig, and Bryan Thomas

Excused

Absent

Arnold Fitzpatrick, Stacie Hinton, Anne Kingsley, Zelda

LeFrak-Belleci, Jo Ellen Marcotte, Richard Means, Antonio

Medrano, and Dorothy Walker

Vivian Faye

Late

WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS

Visitors will have an opportunity to introduce themselves; self-introductions are

voluntary.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Speakers from the audience may address the Library Commission on any relevant issue

that is not scheduled for the agenda. Public comments can be made on agenda items

when the item is discussed. Public comment is limited to three (3) minutes per speaker.

Public comment on agenda items can also be e-mailed to the Library Commission at

nina.braithwaite@library.cccounty.us to be received one day prior to the Library

Commission meeting.

There were no Public Comments.

ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES

TMP-8045

Commissioners will approve or amend the minutes from the November

21, 2024, meeting.

Amended 11-21-24 Commission Meeting Minutes.pdf

Attachments:

Michael Fischer noted that at the 11/21/24 Library Commission meeting, during the vote to

accept the Minutes from the 9/16/24 Library Commission meeting, it was noted that

Bethany Woods abstained, but because she is the Alternate for El Cerrito and

Michael Fischer was present to vote, she could not eligible to vote.

Motion:

Second:

Ann Hoisington

Fischer

COUNTY LIBRARIAN REPORT

County Librarian Alison McKee will report on items of interest to Commissioners.

Alison McKee reported on the following items:

Self Service Sundays Update

Concord Library has been open for six consecutive Sundays and service has gone

smoothly with no incidents. This service will continue indefinitely, and the Library is

In the beginning stages of identifying potential additional sites.

Racial Equity Action Plan Update

The Library’s Antiracism Task Team with the help of the Office of Racial Equity and Social

Justice (ORESJ) has created a roadmap for developing a Racial Equity Action Plan (REAP)

which will be used to identify and address racial inequities within the scope of the Library’s

work. The four areas of strategic focus will be

·Normalizing Racial Equity

·Language Equity

·Community Engagement

·Strengthening Human Resources Practices (Hiring, Recruitment, Retention)

2024 Anti-Racism Assessment\

The Library Department annually assess our anti-racism work using an assessment tool

developed by the Urban Libraries Council Anti-Racism Working Group. The 2024 results

for the Contra Costa County Libraries are attached.

Questions from the Library Commissioner were answered.

Nina Braithwaite reported that Advisory Board members are required to take the following

trainings every two years.

Brown Act & Better Government Ordinance

Ethics

Implicit Bias

Each member will need to complete the training and send the Training Certificate form to

Nina Braithwaite. If a member has taken the training within the last two years, they can submit

their signed certificate.

Training information will be emailed to the Library Commission members following the

meeting.

AGENDA SETTING FOR NEXT MEETING and FUTURE TOPICS

Commissioners will suggest items for future meetings.

There were no suggestions for future topics.

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES OF THE 2025 WORK PLAN –

Tommy Smtih & Nicole Gemmer

TMP-8046

2025 Work Plan.pdf

Implementing the Library Commission 2025 Work Plan.pptx.pd

Attachments:

The three main goals for implementing the Library Commission’s 2025 Work Plan are:

Goal 1: Help Establish Sustainable funding and support for library programs and

services to better serve all segments of our patrons.

Exploring ways of ensuring stable, equitable, and adequate public and private

funding for the county library and its various branches

Advocating for additional funding for branch libraries for increased resources to

better serve their local communities

Providing input to the county and county librarian on budgetary issues and items.

Proposed ways to implement this goal:

Have a one-on-one conversation with your appointing body letting them

know about the funding issues.

Get on the agenda for a city council meeting and present the Advocacy

Ad Hoc group findings or use the Public Comments time.

Share the information with a Library Friends or Foundation group

Send the information via email or by mail. Do a letter writing campaign

Goal 2: Collaborate with elected officials, community groups and residents to

engender broad support for the library

Conducting legislative outreach at the local, state, and federal levels to advocate

for libraries, the services they provide, and the allocation of resources to them.

When possible, meet with legislative leaders in conjunction with other library

districts.

· Taking an active role in the American Library Association and California Library

Association lobbying efforts.

Briefing appointing authorities (city/town council, Supervisor, board or agency)

periodically on Commission activities, initiatives, and library needs and seeking

their advocacy or endorsement.

Collaborating with library staff to promote library activities and services with public

officials at the federal, state and local level.

Educating organization and individuals at the local, county, state and national level

about the value and services offered by the library.

Involving the local communities in Library Commission meetings.

Encouraging collaboration between the Library Foundation of Contra Costa,

community library friends and foundation groups, and commissioners by

convening the Friends and Foundation and holding the annual Friend and

Foundations Forum.

Proposed ways to implement this goal:

If it’s easier, plan to do this with a partner, like the alternate Library

Commissioner or someone you are comfortable working with.

Invite Friends or Foundation groups or others to attend the Library

Commission meeting so they are aware of what is being done.

Goal 3: Advise the County on library issues

Understanding the needs, resources, and organization of the local community.

Providing thoughtful, consistent, sound and prompt advice and counsel to the

County Librarian regarding the Library’s budget, the strategic plan, changes

in policy impacting service and programs, and any other matters raised.

REPORT OUTS & PLANS FOR MEETING WITH APPOINTING BODY

Nicole Gemmer & Bob Sanguedolce shared the presentation they gave to the Danville Town

Council and the group discussed ways they can reach out to the cities and towns they

represent.

WORKING COMMITTEE REPORTS

A. Commissioner Dozier will report to the Commission on legislative matters.

B. Commissioner Rosekind will update the commissioners on the Library

Foundation of Contra Costa.

Susan Hildreth reported:

The California State Budget has been released and includes $6.8 million in one-time funds for

the California State Library Parks Pass program and $332,00 in one-time funds for fiscal year

25-26 and $282,000 ongoing thereafter for cybersecurity infrastructure support for the state

library.

Rachel Rosekind reported:

· New slate of officers appointed in January 2025

o Susan Hildreth: Chair

o Rachel Rosekind: Vice-Chair

o Nicole Gemmer: Treasurer

o Bob Sanguedolce: Assistant Treasurer

o Katherine Bracken: Secretary

· Last month we concluded our strategic planning process. We have converged on the

following focus areas, which will drive our work over the next three years: fund

development, impact, community engagement, and governance & operations.

· We have several ongoing and prospective priority funding projects for 2025: continued

initiatives include Programming Equity, Collections Enhancement, and Career Online High

School graduation. We are discussing other initiatives aligned with our mission and focus

areas.

· We have received the final disbursement of Measure X funds ($4,268.18) from the 2022

county allocation. All funds were used per the Board of Supervisors’ guidance: namely,

costs to file our form 1023, fundraising and strategic plan consulting, insurance and

accounting costs, and specified operations expenses (such as software costs and filing

fees).

· We are still recruiting for open Board positions. If you know of interested candidates or

people who are passionate about equity, please reach out to me.

10.

11.

CORRESPONDENCE

Commissioners will review commission correspondence.

No correspondence was received

COMMISSIONER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Commissioners can use this time to share upcoming events, book sales and any other

library-related information.

El Cerrito - Saturday, February 1st is a Black History Month event with Lavira Wilson &

Tuesday, February 11th at 6:00 at Care Ohlone there will be a discussion of culture, past and

present and the role that Ohlone food plays in today’s East Bay culture

Kensington - Tuesday, January 28th at 6:30 p.m. is the Bats at the Library program, and

Tuesday, February 18th at 6:00 p.m. is a program on funding sources for fire preparedness.

Pinole - Saturday, January 18th at 10:00 a.m. is a Tibetan storytime.

San Pablo - Wednesday, January 29th at 3:00 p.m. is the Lunar New Year Crafternoon and

on Wednesday & Thursday each week the Wellness Team is at the Library, from 10:00 a.m.

to 4:00 p.m.

Lafayette - On February 12th at 2:00 p.m.is a talk by the Asian Art Museum and a show of

luxurious lacquer wear.

Walnut Creek - There is now a Walnut Creek Teenage Advisory Board looking for

volunteers between the age of 13 & 18.

Concord - They are accepting donations of prom dresses, suits, tuxedos, accessories for

the Pop-Up Prom Shop to provide teens with free Prom attire.

12.

ADJOURNMENT TO THE MARCH 20, 2025, LIBRARY COMMISSION MEETING.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:42 p.m.