St. Johns County Public Library System Library Advisory Board Meeting

March 2026 Minutes

Staff Present

• Debra Rhodes Gibson, Library Director
• Jae Bass, Assistant Library Director
• Heather Sostrom, Public Services Manager
• Amy Ackerman, Support Services Manager
• Niki Johnson, Admin Coordinator

Others Preset:

Cathie Doyle, Friends of the Bookmobile Member

Linda Mundy, Friends of the Bookmobile Member

Meena Viswanathan, Friends of the Bookmobile Member

Dana Kolbfleisch, Friends of the Bookmobile Member

1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:02 AM.
2. Pledge of Allegiance
3. Approval of Minutes: Ms. Meikle made a motion approve the minutes after they were amended to include Main Library at the FOL Liaison meeting; seconded by Ms. Hayes; approved unanimously.
4. Public Comment (Non-Agenda Items Only): None
5. Conversation with FOL: Cathie Doyle, a member of the Friends of the Bookmobile, let the Board know that they have cleared up all issues with IRS and returned their group back to 503 status. Their Spring Newsletter was sent out and the Membership and Marketing Committees created an exit survey to better assess their membership goals and needs. They are currently working with Parks and Rec to install their Little Free Libraries. After the Nominating Committee found new volunteers for their Board of Directors, they decided to investigate other meeting locations near other Bookmobile stops to make their group more accessible to others in the community. The Marketing Chair set up a social media calendar and is working with Kris Mangus, Circulation Services Coordinator, for new ideas for projects and fund raising
6. Commissioner Comments: N/A
7. Board reports:
   1. Mr. Greco said that Hastings had very successful fundraising paella dinner at the Olive Land Farm. They sold 85 tickets, raised $1000. February 15, 2026 was the Mayday Ice Cream event and Emily Fox, a Hastings Library Programmer, attended with a member from the FOL. Jane Weaver is the new Youth Services Program Coordinator. Mr. Jackson, a local resident, has donated Hastings High School memorabilia for the new library and they received a $2500.00 from a business on Main Street. New Hastings Library grand opening events are still being planned. There was a discussion on how the Hastings area is growing.
   2. Ms. Hayes helped promote the Northeast Construction grant asking Nocatee residents to advocate with their State Representative. Many people sent emails, and she did receive some mean responses, mostly from Duval County residents who did not want to pay the fee for a St. Johns County library card. Ms. Gibson explained that they tried to have reciprocal borrowing, but 2 Duval County declined. In answer to a board question, Ms. Hayes let the group know that 15% of Nocatee was part of Duval County. There was later discussion about what it takes to be a reciprocal borrowing library and why there is not a library in the World Golf Village area.
   3. Ms. Meikle said that Southeast Library recently had a successful “Blind Date with a Book” program with (21) items checked out. This is a program in which a wrapped book with a tag with the words “If you liked this “book”, then try this one”. They had a wonderful Black History display in February and their Women’s History Month book display is up for March. They are currently interviewing for a new Reference Librarian and Darby Pay starts next week as a part-time Library Assistant. The security cameras are in process of installation at the patron and staff entrances and the AARP tax help is still going strong. The FOL is adding a new scholarship for students in post-secondary education and volunteer at the library. AARP is still doing tax help. Last month’s annual FOL member meeting had 50 people in attendance and added two new board members. Discussion ensued about different ways of recruiting members.
   4. Mr. Andrews said that even though Bartram Trail has limited services due to building refurbishing, circulations are still running steady and some of the programs are still being held at other locations. He said that he would be stopping by that day to see the renovations and they will be reopening next week. They are also currently looking a Youth Services Librarian.
   5. Mr. Cellucci said that Ponte Vedra Library is busy moving books to the meeting room in preparation for the construction that is scheduled to start March 16,2026. The FOL had their annual meeting and Seymour’s bookstore took in $103,000.00 last year. He added that he recently became hooked on audiobooks and that the Martin County reciprocal borrowing through Overdrive comes through with lots of titles.
   6. Ms. Shaw-Stillman reported that the Anastasia Library Pop Up Book Sale of rare books took in $1300.00, the Semi-Annual Book sale raised $3300.00, and the Silent Spring Basket Auction is ongoing until March 20, 2026. Harold George is now at Anastasia Island as the Reference Librarian. Black History Month went well with historian David Nolan giving a presentation on St. Augustine Black History and Chef Eric Israel leading a cooking program. On February 6th, Chris Grando from the Jacksonville Iceman hockey team visited the Library, and the Reading with Therapy Dogs program had a visit from Chris Smith, a student from Flagler College who is producing a short film on therapy dogs.
   7. Mr. Longo said that Main Library has been busy with the new door count system which is showing the average patron stays 50 minutes. The FOL had their meeting and are currently gearing up to work on their budget for the coming year. There is another mural of historic figures going on the windows in the Children’s Library and the new seed library is becoming very popular. Mayday Ice Cream threw an ice cream party for the staff in honor of them winning the Library Lover’s Month Ice Cream Flavor Contest based on “Where the Wild Things Are”
8. Friends of the Library Liaison Report: n/a
9. Library System Director Report:
   1. Monthly Statistics and Expenditure Reports: Ms. Gibson explained the changes to the expenditure sheets due to the new Workday program. When asked about the future budget meeting schedules, Ms. Gibson explained that they did not have any information on guidelines or meeting dates at this time. She reminded them that the week of April 7,2026 is National Library Week and there will be a proclamation issued at the next BCC meeting to 3 which all are invited. Ms. Gibson said that the St. Johns Reads statistics and after-action report are also included in this packet.
10. Unfinished Business –
    1. Update on new library projects: Ms. Gibson thanked those who came to the groundbreaking for the new Greenbriar Library. Due to hold ups with permitting and the discovery of (16) gopher turtle burrows, Northeast does not have a groundbreaking scheduled yet. The move to the new Hastings Library will be scheduled by June. She said that the furniture is going into place and that the delay is work to the exterior of the building and the need for a retention pond. Metal framing is up at Shearwater, and they will be starting the roof next week with an anticipated opening date in December of this year. Mr. Longo asked about staffing and Ms. Gibson said they will start recruiting for Hastings and Shearwater staff this Summer. Discussion ensued on the availability of qualified librarians due to housing issues and today’s job stresses. The subject of book banning was also brought up which led to a discussion of how the books are curated.
11. New Business:
    1. Tech Demo:
       1. Library Calendar: Ms. Delgado from Support Services gave a demonstration of Biblioboard and Pressbooks, both self-publishing databases
       2. Other Business: Ms. Gibson invited the Board to the annual Staff Development Day and a brief discussion ensued after Mr. Greco asked about the event
12. Final Comments: None
13. Adjournment: A motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Andrews; seconded by Mr. Greco and approved unanimously to adjourn at 11:27 am.

Next LAB Meeting: April 8, 2026 at Hastings Library