Library Board Minutes 5.21.2024

Meeting Minutes 
Library Board Regular Meeting 
 
 
May 21, 2024| 6:30 p.m. 
Basha Library  
5990 S. Val Vista Dr. Chandler, AZ 85249 
 
Call to Order 
The meeting was called to order by Board President Beth Brizel at 6:30p.m. 
 
Roll Call 
Commission Attendance  
 
 
 
Staff Attendance 
Board President Beth Brizel – Virtually Present 
Rachelle Kuzyk, Library Manager 
Board member Bob Lowry – Present 
 
 
Courtney Allen, Management Analyst 
Board member Michael McElhany – Not Present 
Sue Van Horne, Assistant Library Manager 
Board member Arman Sidhu – Present 
 
Chris McGinley, Basha Branch Manager 
Board member Alexis Merritt – Present 
 
Caryn Nall, Hamilton Branch Manager 
Board member Jennifer Pawlik – Present 
Board member Parker McCarthy – Present 
 
Unscheduled Public Appearances 
None 
 
Information Items 
1. Please welcome our two new Library Board Members; Jennifer Pawlik and Parker 
McCarthy. Board Member Palafox has resigned, and Board Member Munoz's term 
has expired. 
The Board held a round table of introductions to introduce themselves to the new board 
members. 
Board member Pawlik has lived in Chandler since 2008, is an avid reader, and feels honored to be 
part of the board.  
Board member McCarthy has lived in Chandler for about eight years, in Arizona for 17, and is 
originally from the Chicago area. Board member McCarthy has a young son who goes to Chandler 
schools and he loves what the library does for his son and wanted to get involved to see how he 
can help.

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Consent Agenda 
1. 
March 19, 2024 Library Board Meeting Minutes 
Motion to approve the minutes was made by Board member Lowry, Board member Sidhu 
seconded. Motion passed 6-0. 
 
Briefing 
1. 
Library Manager’s Report – Rachelle Kuzyk 
The Library Manager’s Report was provided to the Library Board in advance of the meeting for 
Board member’s review.  
 
Board President Brizel inquired what school the first grade Read to Succeed program came from. 
Sue Van Horne informed the board that the students were from Chandler elementary schools 
closest to the downtown library; Galveston, Frye, and San Marcos. 
Board President Brizel commented on how great it is that all four libraries will be cooling centers 
as part of the City’s Heat Relief Station program.  
Board member Brizel also thanked Hamilton staff for the partnership between Hamilton Library 
and the Hamilton Astronomy Club to provide telescopes for students and faculty to experience 
the eclipse.  
Board member Brizel inquired on which schools held the Ready, Set, Kindergarten (RSK) program. 
Rachelle informed the Board that the program is held at the library, as they children are only four- 
and five-year-olds, not quite school age yet.  
Board President Brizel is very thankful to library outreach staff for all they do with the west side 
high school Corona Del Sol, and for always attending all the outreach events to be there for the 
community. 
Board President Brizel inquired on the breakdown of the tax assistance statistics per library. 
Rachelle responded that she will get those results from the Library Programming Manager and 
report back to the board at the September meeting. 
 
Rachelle Kuzyk expanded on a couple of items from the Managers Report.  
The Summer Reading Challenge registration opened May 1, and the actual challenge starts on 
June 1. We have already exceeded 2,000 registrants before the program has started, which is a 
fantastic number. Rachelle suggested to the board to follow the library on social media; Instagram 
and Facebook. In the last eight months our Community Services Department has a brand-new 
marketing team, and along with our Outreach Manager Jo-el Miller they are doing phenomenal 
work. The reels, posts, and the engagement going on right now is unlike anything in the four years 
that Rachelle has been with the library, it is top notch. If you haven’t seen see the Texas Hold'em 
video featuring Sue, you need to seek that out. Staff have received kudos on that from the City 
Communications and Public Affairs Department (CAPA). Board member McCarthy inquired which 
social media platforms the library uses. Rachelle responded that we are on Facebook, Instagram, 
and X. We do not do Tik Tok.

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Board member Sidhu inquired on the book vending machine at Sunset. Rachelle informed the 
board that the machine was sent back to the vendor. The machine did not integrate with our 
circulation software. We are still actively looking for something that would allow a grab and go 
type book nook corner or machine, even if it's a little free library that does not require staff. This 
may be the direction we go until we find a good product that dispenses and allows holds pickup. 
Rachelle informed the board that the outreach team, along with our library courier, will be 
responsible for the distribution of materials to fill the machine or potential book nooks in the 
community.  
Rachelle informed the board of the successful garden party at Sunset Library. Sunset Library is 
next to Sunset Park, with a connecting path. Along the path are musical instruments in one 
direction and the permanent storywalk in the other. Board member Sidhu inquired how often the 
storywalks are rotated. Rachelle and Sue responded that staff rotate the stories every three 
months, or if there’s an upcoming holiday, theme, or program they may switch it out to align with 
that. We also have temporary storywalks for staff to put out at special events or for schools to 
borrow.  
Board member Pawlik inquired on the capital project at Hamilton Library. Rachelle gave the board 
background information and updates on the project. There is approximately $800,000 set aside 
for capital improvements to the Hamilton Library. We are working with the architects for a design 
to improve the circulation workflow. The book drop is slightly outside and it's it does not flow well 
with the rest of the facility, so we will be getting an improved circulation work area. The old 
program room was designed to house a small amount of people and is poorly designed with 
concrete poured stairs and barely any space for families to sit down and engage in our programs. 
We moved what used to be the computer lab that was dedicated for high school use onto the floor 
several years ago to convert that space into a usable program room, but we are now trying to get 
a children's programming space in the children's area of the library. Hamilton is the only library 
that does not have any study rooms, so we are trying to add those to make it more consistent with 
the rest of our libraries. We are probably at 20-30% completion on the drawings with the architect 
and are hoping to have those drawings completed by September. Hamilton is the smallest space 
of all the libraries but we can't change the footprint, so we're trying to reevaluate how we're using 
the space and make it better for the school and for the community.  
 
2. 
Board Member Lowry will report on the funding requests for Friends supported programs 
and events for the 2024/25 fiscal year. 
Board member Lowry gave an update on the Friends of Library and the funding requests received 
from library staff. Requests from the library started coming in April, then three weeks ago the 
Friends met to discuss and modify or approve them. There were 21 different requests for funding 
this year, which was 35% higher than last year, and 100% higher than two years ago. The support 
of the community through book sales and donations to the Friends is what allows the Friends to 
keep pace with everything the library wants. The function of the Friends is to take whatever they 
can get through donations and book sales and turn it around to give it back to the library. The 
Friends have approved funding so far just under $90,000 for fiscal year 2024/25, but it may end 
up being closer to $110,000. Some of the key programs they are supporting are community

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outreach with $6,500, $10,000 for a library card campaign, which was discussed in March and 
Rachelle made her pitch last week, $10,000 for the Grab & Go kits, which were started during 
COVID and have developed a life of their own. The kits have been incredibly successful and are 
still going strong after four years. Staff appreciation and development will receive $8,000, and I 
think we can all agree that staff are very deserving of every penny of that because they are critical 
for the success of the library. The summer reading program will receive $8,000, general library 
programming gets $19,000, and high five early literacy will receive $6,300. These are just some 
highlights, there are many more programs the Friends support. Board member Lowry wants to 
emphasize that the Friends are only able to do what they do because of the generosity and 
support from the community. He feels this year the Friends are going to gross about $110,000 in 
revenue and will be giving it all back. Board member Lowry also informed the board that he just 
signed a check for just under $135,000 for the Library Bookmobile. This is something that the 
Friends have been working towards for a couple of years and they are excited for Chandler’s fifth 
library branch. 
Board President Brizel is very grateful for Board member Lowry and the Friends of the Library for 
all they do to support the library.  
Board member Pawlik inquired if it’s typical that there is a Friends Board member on the Library 
Board. Board member Lowry replied that there is generally not a Friends Board member on the 
Library Board. The Friends are a totally separate non-profit organization. 
 
Discussion 
1. Malori Heppler, Community Services Marketing and Communications Program 
Coordinator, would like to create social media posts that introduce each of our Library 
Board members, for those that are interested. 
Rachelle informed the board that if they are interested in having a professional headshot and a 
biography/profile about their service to the community and why they are serving on the library 
board, Malori will look after coming to a meeting. This is not mandatory, but let Courtney know if 
you are interested and we will coordinate with marketing. 
 
2. Board member Merritt would like to discuss updates to the Book & Board Library 
Lounge; future programming ideas, requesting funds from the Friends to add to the 
collection each year as new and improved board games are released, what 
advertising efforts have been used, and usage statistics. Also, why are the games not 
listed by name, but only as a game collection? Therefore, they are not searchable in 
the catalog. 
Board member Merritt has some follow-up questions on the Book and Board Lounge, as it has 
been open for almost one year. Rachelle responded that the games are now part of the library 
collection, which is under the cataloging and collections team. They have reviewed the statistics, 
which are not overwhelming at this point, but the games are getting used and there is a value in 
having them. At this point in time, this circulation is not warranting an expenditure on additional 
games in the lounge. The lounge is full of games so it is like any collection, we will keep an eye on

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it, but as things get damaged, we don’t need to ask the Friends for funding to replace the games. 
Right now, adding money to the game collection is not a collection priority for us, which isn't to 
say that a year from now that may change. The lounge is still only a year old and a lot of collections 
take time for traction when they're brand new. Library staff are running a program survey right 
now. We have done some good marketing. There is a game of the month featured and Timothy 
from the Makery, who is kind of our gaming expert, looks after writing reviews of the games and 
featuring different ones, so we feel satisfied with where it's at right now. Given the newness of the 
collection and the purpose that it has, Rachelle feels the games are more for in-library use, which 
doesn't always reflect in the circulation numbers. It's an in-house circulation as opposed to an 
actual checkout. Sue Van Horne added that she is pleased with what she is seeing in the lounge 
and the board games. People are coming in, they're playing, they’re taking games into the seating 
area, and they're also playing them within the lounge. Sue wouldn't say she’s seen a lot of activity 
in the Dragon's Den, but that’s a smaller population. The lounge is a small area so we’re happy 
that people are in there playing and bringing their lunch with them or buying snacks. Rachelle 
believes there are two ways to look at the game collection; a collection in the sense that people 
can borrow it and take it home with them, or a program. If it's only a check-out collection, the 
checkout statistics are not there yet. If it's a program, its intent to draw people into the library for 
us to engage with them and give them the space to use it is fulfilled. For now, it's not a collection 
that we need continue to dump money into, but as a program, it's phenomenal right now. So right 
now it is functioning more as a program and program space for the library, as opposed to a 
collection that would be rivaling the DVD, fiction, or picture book circulation. People are just not 
borrowing it to the same extent, but it is getting the same engagement from the community as 
people coming in to sit and read magazines or attend a program or come to our job center. So, 
collection versus program? Rachelle feels it just depends on the philosophy that you take on what 
the library is getting from it, so for Rachelle right now, it is a very successful program. 
Board member Merritt also inquired on browsing the collection online. Rachelle stated the game 
collection was meant to be, at least from the cataloging perspective, a browsing collection and not 
a holdable collection. The intensity of staff resources for the games is a more labor-intensive 
collection to manage than checking in a library book. Sue added that we are not having patrons 
come in asking for games by name or recommending games to purchase.  
 
Members Comments/Announcements 
1. Board member McCarthy inquired as a new library board member, what can he do to help? 
Rachelle responded that there are two different functioning types of library boards; a 
governing library board and an advisory library board. Ours is an advisory library board. 
There are several important policies that this board sets, and they have recently reviewed 
and approved them just in the past year. The sticky one is the collection development policy. 
The board essentially runs interference between the community and City Council when some 
of those controversial political conversations happen. Because board members are 
appointed by council, they serve as the voice to the community. The importance of the 
Freedom of Information and the collection, and development policy, which is the most

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important policy that this group sets. Fines and fees are also set by the library board. Three 
years ago, this library board voted to remove fines. Being a community advocate for the 
library is the primary job as a member of the library board, and of course to show up at the 
meetings and be supportive, ask questions, and bring ideas. Sue and Rachelle are happy to 
give library tours. Chris is happy to give you a tour of the Basha facility while you're here 
tonight. As you rotate through meetings to the different libraries, we always like to have the 
library managers there. Each library has a unique personality and character and so you'll see 
different little things at each of them. Reach out to Rachelle directly and she and Sue will 
coordinate a tour, even if it's a one-on-one tour of the downtown library. Then as we go 
through the other board meetings, we will give you tours of the other facilities.  
 
Calendar 
1.  The next regular meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at 6:30 p.m., in 
the Hamilton Library Program Room, 3700 S. Arizona Ave. Chandler, AZ 85248. 
 
2. The next Friends of the Library Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 4, 2024 at 1:00 
p.m., in the Downtown Library Copper Conference Room, 22 S. Delaware St. Chandler, AZ 85225. 
 
Adjourn 
Motion to adjourn made by Board member Lowry, Board member Sidhu seconded. Motion 
passed. The meeting was adjourned at 7:27 p.m. 
 
 
______________________________ 
 
 
 
 
______________________________ 
Courtney Allen, Board Liaison                                         
Beth Brizel, Board President