LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield Board of Library Trustees met on Tuesday to perform the required annual board reorganization, to hear a report from Lynnfield Public Library (LPL) Director Abigail Porter, and to discuss the drafting of the Fiscal Year 2027 action plan.
The Board reorganization was non-controversial. The Board’s incoming chair is Anne Malenfant, taking over for outgoing chair Joe Gallagher after her tenure as vice-chair. After a brief discussion amongst the Board on the duties of the vice chair, Darlene Kumar accepted the nomination, and the Board voted to appoint her for the role. After another brief discussion, Karin Round accepted nomination as secretary and was also confirmed. In the end, all votes were unanimous.
Porter reported that September was quiet, primarily focused on training and shifting to the new library catalog interface: Aspen. That shift was smooth overall, and feedback from users has been positive.
LPL usage statistics have gone down. However, Porter wondered if that was due to a change in counting measures rather than actual usage. Patrons of the library saved an estimated $171,707 by utilizing the library rather than buying materials themselves.
One issue that Porter discussed was the impact not having an assistant director has on the library’s social media presence. Previously, one of the assistant director’s main jobs was public relations, including managing social media.
Right now LPL posts on its own Facebook and Instagram pages, but concerns about staff time, where to share, and monitoring engagement have limited attempts to expand its reach. In particular, Porter is concerned about posting and sharing LPL content on unofficial community pages.
Porter said, “As soon as we start to get onto other community pages, then we have to monitor those pages, and who’s going to do that? Who’s going to respond?”
She also expressed concerns about whether the library directly posting and sharing on those pages would appear as “solicitation,” which is against the rules of many community pages.
LPL does not yet have an official social media policy, which would clarify these issues and ease the decision-making burden. Porter stated that she will examine other libraries’ social media policies and that this is the next policy she plans to draft in the ongoing policy review process.
Posting more on social media would have the obvious benefit of letting more people know about library events and services which, in turn, could help get more people attending those events or taking advantage of those services. Library usage has an impact on grant funding, so more people going to the library because of social media could make a big impact.
The Board also discussed the upcoming FY27 action plan (AP), which is being drafted by the director and library staff for review. A vote to approve the draft is scheduled for the Board’s Nov. 10 meeting, after which it will be submitted to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) on Dec. 1.
The AP is an annual plan that defines measurable goals, drafted by library staff as a way to track the library’s progress. The AP is based on the long-term strategic plan — or, as Porter puts it, “the vision for the library” over the next four years.
Having a strategic plan and an up-to-date AP is a requirement for certain grant funding from the MBLC, and the action plan metrics can impact other grant awards.
The LPL will be running a spice drive for the month of November, supporting the Citizens Inn food pantry. The food pantry tends to get many donations of staple foods but rarely gets seasonings or spices, according to Porter, who organized the drive. She went on to say that it’s “really depressing when you think about it. You’re going to have sad bland food. Especially for Thanksgiving, we thought it would be fun to do a spice drive.”
