2026_03_04_LAB_APPROVED_MINUTES.PDF

Minutes of the LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD hybrid meeting recorded at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, 
March 4, 2026, held in a hybrid format in-person at Tempe Public Library, and via Microsoft Teams.  
 
(MEMBERS) Present: 
Wendy Rosen (Chair)  
Jesse Shank (Vice-Chair) 
Jessica Brown (Late) 
Martha Carter  
Katie Boligitz  
Dianne Haws  
 
(MEMBERS) Absent: 
Sonia Sen 
City Staff Present: 
Jessica Jupitus, Deputy Community Services Director – Library 
McKay Wellikson, Librarian 
Erin Fillmore, Senior Management Assistant – Community Services Admin 
 
General Public Present: 
None 
Agenda Item 1 - Call to Order: 
Wendy Rosen, Library Advisory Board (Board) Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 
  
Agenda Item 2 - Call to the Audience: 
No public comments from the audience to report. 
 
Agenda Item 3 - Approval of the February 4, 2026, Board Meeting Minutes: APPROVED 
Wendy Rosen, Board Chair, asked the Board members to review the unapproved meeting minutes 
document dated February 4, 2026.  
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No edits noted or requested. 
 
MOTION:   
Jesse Shank moved to approve the February 4, 2026 Board meeting minutes as 
presented. 
SECOND:   
Katie Boligitz seconded. 
DECISION:  
Motion approved, 5-0.  
Ayes:  
Wendy Rosen (Chair), Jesse Shank (Vice Chair), Katie Boligitz, Martha Carter, and 
Dianne Haws  
Minutes 
LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD
Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Library Advisory Board 
March 4, 2026 
 
Nays:   
None 
Absent: 
Jessica Brown and Sonia Sen 
Abstained:  
None
Agenda Item 4– Staff Report: Jessica Jupitus, Deputy Community Services Director – Library  
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McKay Wellikson, Librarian, presented on the Library Collection and Purchasing Library Materials: 
 
M. Wellikson discussed the different vendors the Library uses to purchase library materials and 
noted that the Library has diversified approved vendors and is no longer using just one vendor for 
purchases. Vendor offerings range from digital materials to hard-copy materials and the vendor 
used to purchase materials depends on the type of material being purchased. 
 
The Board asked how the Library decides which vendor to use if an item is available at 
multiple vendors and M. Wellikson responded that Brodart is the Library’s main vendor and it 
will be purchased there if available.  
 
The Board asked if Brodart curates customized lists for the Library and M. Wellikson 
responded that Brodart does not have personalization with specialized lists. Jessica Jupitus, 
Deputy Community Services Directory – Library, noted that all libraries have access to 
Brodart and the Tempe Librarians submit information to M. Wellikson for purchase requests. 
 
The Board asked if the price among the vendors is comparable and J. Jupitus responded that 
Brodart is the least expensive for print materials (they do not offer digital materials). 
 
M. Wellikson discussed the digital library material options and cost models per vendor. 
 
Digital library purchases are expensive and are typically one copy per user, however, there 
are cost per circulation models that are used for book clubs.  
 
Libby offers a partner library resource option that is available to users, however, placing holds 
for other libraries is not available on this platform.  
o 
J. Jupitus told the Board that Libby’s cost model is once purchased, the Library owns the 
item forever, however, they are moving toward an expiration of use model where the item 
is purchased and in 12 to 24-months, or a certain number of circulations, the item is 
removed from the collection. 
 
Hoopla provides the same collection for every library and does not have an option for 
customization; the Library pays per circulation for materials on Hoopla. 
 
MAX Library Access is a physical resource sharing program provided through Maricopa 
County that includes all participating libraries resources when searching for materials. 
Currently, only books are available through this program.  
 
The Board asked if the different pricing models for digital materials are driven by publishers 
and J. Jupitus responded that they are. 
 
M. Wellikson noted that Library users can suggest a purchase, but it must match the Library’s 
Collection Development Policy. 
 
The Board asked if there are multiple ways to request materials purchased and if searching 
for a title sends notification to the Library. J. Jupitus responded that searching for a title does 
not generate a notification to staff and there are different ways to request material purchases 
depending on the vendor and type of material. Libby has a “notify me” tag and is a demand 
driven collection. The Library has a “Suggest a Purchase” form online for physical materials. 
o 
Jessica Jupitus, Deputy Community Services Director – Library, gave the following report specific to 
Tempe Public Library (Library) operations: 
 
 
393 adults were engaged in 24 programs during February 2026; programs included: 
 
 
Book Clubs 
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Mystery Club 
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Friends of Dorothy

Library Advisory Board 
March 4, 2026 
 
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Great Books 
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Bite Size Book Club 
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Love and Fate 
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Coffee, Tea, and Books 
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Let’s Get Graphic 
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Weird Books for Weird People 
o 
Footnotes Walking Club 
 
Writing Programs  
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Writers’ Connection 
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My World Changed When I Got My First Bicycle 
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Get Ready, Get Set, Write (Writers in Residence “WiR”) 
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Creating Characters Readers Love (Or Love to Hate) (WiR) 
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13 WiR consultations 
 
Improv Club 
 
Library Stitch Club 
 
With A Twist: Latin and Love Notes 
 
Reel Deal Film Society 
 
Board Game Café 
 
Puzzle Swap 
 
Inter-City Puzzle Tournament: Final (Tempe didn’t win) 
 
Recycled Book Crafts: Iris Folding 
 
Improving Your Heart Health 
 
Gardening for Wildlife 
 
Winter Garden Abundance and Soil Health Through Composting 
 
 
The Library’s newest adult librarian started at the end of January and already has plans for a 
sourdough starter program, coming in April 2026. Another adult librarian was able to return from 
leave and has already caught up on nearly six months’ worth of email! Staff is glad to have them 
both and the Library is currently fully staffed.  
 
The Library is discontinuing the Great Books partnership as the attendees have dwindled to one 
or two people in the last year or so. Staff showed the host how to book a study room for free if 
they are still interested in meeting here, but the Library will no longer be promoting the program.  
 
o 
J. Jupitus reported the following information specific to operations of the Library’s Youth and Teen 
Services areas: 
 
 
1,588 participants were engaged in 49 youth programs during February 2026, J. Jupitus 
highlighted the following programs: 
 
 
Storytimes:  
o 
Baby Lapsit featuring books about love and bedtime 
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Family Evening 
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Preschool  
o 
Toddler 
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Cuentos Contigo 
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Happy Birthday AZ with Miss Elite Arizona  
 
Mini STEAMers – Winter Olympics and friction, how a button or felt will slide on ice 
 
Budding Builders – bridges for toy cars to go over and under with preposition practice 
 
LEGO Learning Lab  
 
Paws2Read with Finn and Roxy 
 
Sunday Funday  
 
Happily Ever Crafter – Mike The Magical Coughing Cat and popsicle stick cats

Library Advisory Board 
March 4, 2026 
 
 
Pokemon Hour  
 
Make Way For Books: Story School 
 
Sidewalk Chalk – prompts and a story 
 
 
Teen:  
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Maker Lab 
o 
Crochet Corner 
o 
Teen Art Gallery  
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Level Up LEGO 
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Super Gaming Tournaments 
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Teen Driving Safety with Phoenix Children’s Hospital 
 
 
Outreach: 
o 
Play Day – Wizard of Oz theme 
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Rover Elementary School Carnival 
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Aspire Academy Multicultural Night 
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Connolly 8th Grade Teen Center presentations 
 
 
The Library had 11 teen volunteers for the month providing 37 hours of service.  
 
155 Youth Activity Kits and 75 teen STEAM kits circulated as well as 218 scavenger 
hunters. 
 
McKemy Academy’s 8th graders used the teen conference room for their class project 
presentations and provided talks on a variety of topics including anti-bullying, AI, wild animals 
in Arizona, period poverty, the Humane Society, and Missing and Murdered Indigenous 
Women. Library staff are looking forward to working with the teachers next year to set this up 
in a more structured way so other teens can plan to attend. 
 
o 
J. Jupitus reported the following information specific to the Library’s Infrastructure: 
 
 
Physical circulation of materials for February 2026: 
 
Physical circulation of materials in February 2026 totaled 32,942 uses; 
 
 
Virtual/eResource circulation for February 2026:  
 
eResource circulation in February 2026 totaled 39,722 uses; 
 
 
Views (use of database resources without downloading content) for February 2026: 
 
Views in February 2026 totaled 31,015; 
 
 
Library staff added 1,276 new users and renewed 1,876 cards in February 2026.  
 
 
Public access computers saw 3,107 total sessions in February 2026. 
 
 
Gate Count: 26,174 
 
 
The Library had 239 App downloads (168 Apple; 71 Android) in February 2026. 
 
 
The Library had a significant drop in the gate count for February 2026 and are still working out 
whether that was a gate error as they still aren’t working properly or whether it was just due to a 
short month.  
 
The Library is still figuring out timing on how new book shipments will be working from the various 
vendors in addition to the unexpected wrinkle of not having identical fonts on spine labels; fine for 
the public, alarming to Library staff who are the type to be alarmed by this sort of thing.

Library Advisory Board 
March 4, 2026 
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J. Jupitus updated the Board on the following topics:
To get Library staff more familiar with both navigating the website and talking with colleagues
they may not encounter as often due to working in different departments, the Library has started a
monthly challenge: Anyone who can answer a set of questions about a particular program will get
some treats. The first month was about book clubs – how many, who runs them, what are they
reading in the upcoming month. The second was about storytimes – how many, who runs them,
what is a favorite storytime book.
Library staff are looking at refreshing some of the physical aspects of the Library including
working with City Facilities on replacing the carpet in the building and replacing public computer
tables and chairs. The carpet being considered meets all the criteria for a public library: moisture-
tolerant, stain-resistant, odor-resistant, slip-resistant, sound dampening, minimizing air
particulates, and made of recycled bottles! Staff tested samples by grinding in crayons, mini-
OREOs, and milky tea. Everything was able to be steam cleaned out so the Library looks forward
to the chance to get this project going.
The Board asked if there is a logistical plan for carpet replacement and J. Jupitus said carpet
replacement will start on the first floor, then lower level, and finally the second floor. The
vendor will use jacks so they can lift the shelves.
The City is working on parking lot repaving as well, likely running over the summer months since
outdoor programming is not planned on the complex during that time.
April is when the renewal of the Friends of the Tempe Public Library (Friends) agreement for the
café will be signed and the City Attorney’s Office is working on the Memorandum of
Understanding. The priority is to establish Friends’ access to the bookstore, which is not currently
in the agreement, and renew their café lease. Additionally, the Library is asking to codify the
return of Library workroom space by moving out their backstock. Library staff met with the Friends
executive board last month for a very productive conversation on how to move forward.
J. Jupitus shared the Library’s response to the recent Statement of Concern, sent February 18,
2026.
Agenda Item 5– Member Announcements/Future Agenda Items 
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Wendy Rosen (Chair) invited the Friends of Tempe Public Library to provide an update at the April
2026 meeting.
Agenda Item 6 - Adjournments 
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Motion made by Katie Boligitz to adjourn the meeting.
Second by Martha Carter.
Meeting Adjourned at 6:56 p.m.
The next meeting of the Library Advisory Board is scheduled to occur at 6 p.m. on Wednesday,
April 1, 2026;
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This public meeting will be held in a hybrid format in-person and virtually via Microsoft Teams.
Prepared by:  Erin Fillmore; Reviewed by: Jessica Jupitus 
04/0 /2026 
Approval Signature: Library Advisory Chair