St. Johns County Public Library System Library Advisory Board Meeting

January 2026 Minutes

Staff Present

• Debra Rhodes Gibson, Library Director
• Jae Bass, Assistant Library Director
• Heather Sostrom, Public Services Manager
• Amy Ackerman, Support Services Manager
• Amy Delgado, Tech Associate-Resource Trainer
• Alex Barr, Community Engagement Coordinator
• Todd Booth, Southeast Branch Manager
• Niki Johnson, Admin Coordinator

Others Preset: Jalisa Ferguson, Sr. Asst. County Attorney

1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:02 AM.
2. Pledge of Allegiance
3. Approval of Minutes: Ms. Hayes moved that the Minutes from the November 12, 2025 and December 10, 2025 meetings; seconded by Ms. Meikle; approved unanimously.
4. Public Comment (Non-Agenda Items Only): None
5. Florida Sunshine Law Presentation: Ms. Gibson introduced Ms. Jalisa Ferguson from the County Attorney’s office who gave a presentation on the Florida Sunshine Law. After the presentation, Ms. Ferguson answered questions from the LAB members.
6. Southeast FOL: Since Southeast FOL members could not attend, Todd Booth, Southeast Branch Manager spoke on their behalf. He talked about the upcoming February lobby book sale, explaining how purchases are handled. They have a small Board and are actively recruiting new members. The challenge is finding members to serve on the Board. Discussion ensued about recruiting and on line meetings. Ms. Meikle mentioned the system FOL groups are meeting next week and one of the topics will be on membership. She would love the Southeast FOL to participate.
7. Commissioner Comments: N/A
8. Board reports:
   1. Mr. Cellucci reported that after attending the Ponte Vedra FOL Monday annual budget meeting, they had donated $325,000 to the library in 2025, will donate another $325,000 this year and hope to use the balance $250,000 to benefit the library. They hope to have 400 members by the end of their membership drive. Later in the meeting Mr. Cellucci asked about the progress of the Children’s renovation and Ms. Gibson said that bids are out for the project and that they are cutting the timeline close as they need to vacate the meeting room by July for elections.
   2. Ms. Stillman said that Anastasia Library had many activities for December which included wellness Wednesday, Tai Chi, Yoga, meditation and Pilates classes. The Anastasia Library Staff have participated in various parades and set up a table at the Amphitheater Saturday market. The Astronomy Club had a date with the Geminid meteor shower, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s office had a Women against Violence presentation and the field trip to the Historical Society was well attended. The staff has given several school tours of the library and are learning to use the new people counter that was installed last month.
   3. Ms. Hayes said the Bookmobile instituted a new stop off State Road 210 this month, but the Mill Creek location is not doing as well as expected. The FOB elected their new Board, and they are anxious to get going. They are planning to increase their social media presence and will be working closer with staff to keep up with time sensitive items. She announced that the Bookmobile staff will be moving to the old PAL building in West Augustine. Ms. Gibson confirmed the plans but did not have a set date yet. Discussion about the facility and its uses ensued.
   4. Ms. Meikle said that she visited Southeast Library and, while she was happy to meet with Mr. Booth and some of the staff, getting a Lucky Day book that she has been waiting for was the highlight of her visit. Southeast has seen an increase in volunteers and had very festive story time. The adult gnome craft class, harp concert and a Downton Abbey tea were all well attended. Mr. Booth said the adult participants use these classes as social get-togethers, so staff have been trying to add as many craft classes as possible.
   5. Mr. Greco said the Hastings Christmas parade was attended by the Bookmobile with members from all (6) libraries participating. The FOL have been using Zeffy, a site for fund raising accounts, for their membership payments which has been very helpful in sign-ups at events. He said that the FOL try to have a table every time there is an event in town. The FOL will be advertising a 1 ½ year membership on line to encourage people to sign up early and Feb 21st is the date for the Paella Fund-raising dinner at Olive Land Farms. Discussion ensued on the new interest in Hastings and Ms. Gibson said that it is worth a look to see what the school board has been working on at the old library.
   6. Mr. Andrews announced Julie Bartley has become the new Branch Manager at Bartram Trail. The St. Johns Cares Giving Tree did well this year and they had a record-breaking Christmas Book Sale. Bartram Trail had 159 children turn out for Santa, an ASL program for teens and the Teen Advisory Board met to plan out 2026. He said that since February and March will be renovation time at Bartram Trail, they will using the front meeting room for hold pick-ups, and programs will be held at the annex while the library is closed.
   7. Mr. Longo said that the Cultural Council’s Art in Public Spaces at Main Library is up and a private reception for the art gallery will be held on January 30, 2026. He added that the Main FOL paid for the framing of the artwork included in the show. They have moved the bike racks, and the new garden area is almost completed. They shifted the children’s craft section to the front resulting in an increase in participation.
9. Friends of the Library Liaison Report: Ms. Shaw-Stillman reported that their next meeting will be January 20, 2026 at 10:00 am in the Ponte Vedra Beach Library meeting room. She asked everyone to urge their FOL representatives to attend this meeting as everyone’s input is needed. She reminded everyone that it is not necessary to be an FOL Board member to attend and participate.
10. Library System Director Report:
    1. Monthly Statistics and Expenditure Reports: Ms. Gibson discussed the financial reports and the stats, pointing out that there was not a lot of activity on the financial side due to the changeover to new system. Mr. Greco asked about the Overtime line and Ms. Gibson explained that and the addition of comp time instituted at the County. Ms. Shaw-Stillman asked about the Books by Mail program and discussion ensued. There was a separate discussion on how library cards are assigned to patron’s home library. 
11. Unfinished Business –
    1. Update on new library projects: Ms. Gibson updated the board on the progress of the park project and there are delays in permitting due to the extended government shut down. The delay at Hastings has been resolved, but due to the new restrictions from the St. Johns Water Management District, they are going back to the original plans of a retention pond which will bring the parking lot down to (17) spaces. Ms. Gibson said the parking on Main Street is a problem for everyone. The next walk-through for the Hastings Library will be on January 16, 2026 at 8:30 am. She presented a slide show detailing how the library system has evolved, how it is funded, current locations and future locations.
12. New Business:
    1. Review and Update Annual Board Report to BCC: Ms. Gibson spoke about the annual report for the BCC which needs to be in the BCC office in April and pointed to the inclusion of the completed FY24 report and draft of FY25 report in the LAB packet. Discussion ensued on what should be included in the Board goals, and it was decided to review for discussion February’s LAB meeting.
    2. Review and Approve Revised Library Notary Policy: Ms. Gibson presented the revised policy; discussion ensued. Mr. Longo made a motion to give the library autonomy to clarify policy and send to BCC; was seconded by Mr. Greco and passed unanimously.
    3. Tech Demos:
       1. Library Calendar: Ms. Barr, Community Engagement Coordinator, gave a presentation on the Library Calendar program for event management and room reservations. The new program is the opportunity to have a centralized way to make room reservations. Ms. Gibson said that the LAB meetings will be added on the calendar aswell.
       2. Gale Health and Wellness Database: Ms. Delgado, Tech Associate and Resource trainer, gave presentation on how to access health information in the Gale database.
13. Final Comments: None
14. Adjournment: A motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Andrews; seconded by Ms. Hayes and approved unanimously to adjourn at 11:00 am.

Next LAB Meeting: February 11, 2026 at Main Library, Waterworks Building