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021125 Library Advisory Board Meeting Packet
LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD MEETING AGENDA February 11, 2025 q0 11:00pm I Pink House/Library Learning Center • Join virtually via computer or tablet at https://zoom.us/i/98397026683 enter the Webinar ID 98397026683 • Join by phone in listen -only mode United States: (1)253-215-8782 access code: 98397026683# • Submit public comment to be included in the meeting record to: https://Publiccomment.fillout.com/citvofpt I. Call to Order II. Roll Call III. Annual Election of Chair and Vice Chair IV. Approval of Agenda V. Approval of Minutes VI. Welcome and Introductions VII. New Business a. 20th Annual Community Read i. https://PtpubliclibrarV.org/library/page/community-read b. Library's Top Ten- 2024 in Review c. 2024 Accomplishments d. Work Planning for 2025 Vill. Next Scheduled Meeting — April 8, 2025 1 1:00 p.m. /Pink House Meeting Room Suggestions: IX. Public Comment X. 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Q o,• �' 3 o _ •3 P d° o p= orni s'OL vUn Q ou O �C a�G °ct w lE 72 V) an 'E 0.. p � � •� � >, �, o � o '� � °' � Q � Q. 3 � •� '� � obi o ,� � � � 3 3 •3 �= C,5 � o a o V) o v o > Fj o 3 7j a 3 °' ' o yo 75 � ctij ct of s~ :~ :~ °' o Q° V) o 3 0 � � O � C O � � � � � O ,� U N •U Q .� O vUi .� vUi •�• rz III (� fn U L M U) O N Y O — N -0 O O L 0 0 a) ZZ � .O O Q � LO E 1 0 co C: Q O j U O U D Q O O N � > O _0 _0 C O � U = O M O a)� o U 'E TS L MO O W i E O N > Q 0 O ((ne `V L U) N O N L O I cl� Cj U � ^a O U N •� a1 � O c� \ N 05 + Y \ y Q O O c� bi) O o® p m O m CZS -C,' •> cr •,ma�.yy y O S", .S' t) z CN t7 w O > n z w q 04 w 4 rL � U l 0 4? c O LO,�-y-� ® ti 04 O Q Q r 0 O N ch City0fFort Townsend City of cart Townsend viceBoard2024 AccomplishmentsTemplate Library Advisory Board Please work with your staff liaison and Advisory Body colleagues to develop a list of top 3 — 5 accomplishments of 2024. Please also consider adding unanticipated challenges or mistakes and subsequent lessons learned to carry forward into future years. This structure will be helpful in providing a more regular update of yourAdvisory Body's work to City Council and the community throughout the year. ACCOMPLISHMENT#1: Updating the Collection Development Policy Measured by: Passed by City Council in 2024. Why it matters: The policy strengthens the City's commitment to intellectual freedom and anti- censorship. The procedural language was removed to make the policy clearer and easier for staff to update the procedures and put together a Collection Development Manual. Mistakes made/unexpected outcomes from what you planned/lessons learned: The previous policy was overly specific in some areas and contained procedural language. The policy is much improved. An important lesson has been to help LAB members and City Council membership understand that this is the most important library policy. ACCOMPLISHMENT#2: Balancing the need for quiet spaces with dynamic and welcoming all age spaces in the library Measured by: LAB's support of finding a solution for the need to have both spaces in the library. This happened through the Friends support of purchasing a Zenbooth that is used for meetings, quiet reading, telehealth etc. The Zenbooth received positive publicity and is frequently used. httos://www. Dtleader.com/stories/iibrarv-week-hiahliahts-new-services-such-as-zenbooth.185291 Why it matters: The library needs to serve our entire community and balance the needs for dynamic all ages spaces with the precious needs of quiet space are important. Mistakes made/unexpected outcomes from what you planned/lessons learned: LAB members did an excellent job balancing the diverse community needs of the library while understanding the role of contemporary libraries and their challenges. ACCOMPLISHMENT #3: Meeting Room Policy Update Measured by: The Meeting Room Policy was passed by City Council. Why it matters: The library offers free meeting space for community groups who meet the policy. The procedural language was removed to make the policy clearer and easier for staff to update the procedures. Ideally, the room is regularly used by a variety of community groups. Mistakes made/unexpected outcomes from what you planned/lessons learned: The previous policy was overly specific in some areas and contained procedural language. The policy is much improved. An important lesson has been to help LAB members and City Council membership understand the roles public libraries play in supporting free and accessible meeting spaces. 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These kits included graham crackers, candies, and all of the ingredients you need to make royal icing. They also included a recipe for homemade gingerbread and instructions for making icing. Our annual gingerbread kits are always popular with the community, and the frontline staff reported that library patrons started asking about them early in November. We are getting excited to see the gingerbread houses start to arrive in early December! rvV erbrerad Contest( at than Port Tcavvirsciid Pi,,i blic Libra.ry a�� 4'a7�r dirumura "�"�� Port Townsend Public Library November 2024 Monthly Program Report Pictures from this month's Read to Rover program with Gryfin listening to Because of Winn -Dixie: Judith shared a fun story from our Storytime Connections program on November 12t". She said "I brought in 3 "mystery boxes" that had an object inside and offered 3 clues after which the children had to guess what the item inside was. In between each box we read a "mystery" themed story. After the stories and guessing all the items, I had each child think of an item to put in a mystery box and with the grownup they came with, come up with 3 clues and the group would try to guess what was in their "box." It was really fun, everyone was involved and focused and the kids came up with some really great clues. I got a lot of positive feedback from the parents." a�� 4'a7�r dirumura "�"�� Port Townsend Public Library November 2024 Monthly Program Report Pictures from this month's Sing -a -Ling: Color Code:: ; _ = Adult Programs, � ireeino= Kid's Programs, Pur le=Teen Programs, Fled= Monthly Programs, 011h w= All Ages Programs a�� 4'a7�r dirumura "�"�� Port Townsend Public Library November 2024 Monthly Program Report Monthly Programs Book Lovers Caf6 1 st Mondays Melody Adult 15 Friends Fiber Arts Night 1St Kathi Adult 10 Library Wednesdays Spice Kits 2nd Kathi Adult 50 Friends Tuesda s WSU Plant Clinic 1st Tuesdays Sarah Adult 5 WSU Fairbank Extension Digital Equity Thursdays Jamie Pena Adult 12 Jefferson Navigator: Thursday County Tech Help and Basic Library Computer Classes Storytime Tuesdays Emily and 3-6 yr. 53 Library Connections Judith Toddler Storytime Tuesdays Emily and 18 months- 111 Library Judith 3 yr. Baby Storytime Mondays Emily 0-18 33 Library months Sing -a -Ling 3rd Thursday Keeth Apgar 0-6 yr. 11 Friends LEGO Club 2nd Mondays Emily 7-12 yr. 4 Friends Bufford Read 2 Rover Thursdays Melody and 5-11 1 Library and Gryfin Olympic Mountain Pet Pals a�� 4'a7�r dirumura "�"�� Port Townsend Public Library November 2024 Monthly Program Report Special Events Date: 11 /7/24 Presenter: Margaret Mizushima Intended Age: Adults Attendance 20 Location: Carnegie Room Sponsored By: Library Description: Join Margaret Mizushima, author of the award -winning and internationally published Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries, for an author talk at the Port Townsend Public Library. Mizushima served as president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, and was elected 2019 Writer of the Year by Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. She is the recipient of a Colorado Authors League Award, a Next Generation Book Award, a Benjamin Franklin Book Award, and two Willa Literary Awards by Women Writing the West. Her books have been finalists for a SPUR Award by Western Writers of America, a Silver Falchion Award by Killer Nashville. and a Colorado Book Award. Comments: a�� 4'a7�r dirumura "�"�� Port Townsend Public Library November 2024 Monthly Program Report Presenter: Conner Bouchard -Roberts and guests Intended Age: Adults and all ages welcome Attendance 50 Location: Carnegie Room Sponsored By: Friends Description: Come join Conner Bouchard -Roberts (Port Townsend's Poet Laureate) and other acclaimed local poets for an evening of poetry and conversation about the passage of this thing called time. Free, all ages, bring good questions. Comments: This concluded the year long poetry programs for the inaugural poet laureate program. Conner has been amazing at using his platform to lift other poets up. The programs have been well received as well as the poetry case displays. to It q* O m 0 m M O r N r O 0 M LC) y o 6 6 N M r f- to 4 CV CV T y c f` T vi r N r 6 N CV M ti ti CV L(i T o y o C C C Cl) Cl) O 0) O f') Lr) M Lf! f- O w > T O M V r r O LA O ti Lf! qq M 00 0 m O o T C Lf! O o! M ti c O T M 00 LD ti N LC! T No N O V Lf) N N N M N N N4 r r 00 N CL N r � U CL O LC) f` M O ql N O 00 T f- W 14* N ti N (D T Lf) O Nt V Nt W O M ti N M T d! Na-) a-)Lf) N O M O O T qt O N V N f` N f` M M O q* O N ON �� M M N N N Lo M Lfi N r N N� N 0 Lo T L T p C T N O O T ti 00 O N qe O LD O N 00 co c Lf) O N w T N ' w T Q! CD' 00 c N T :6 N T N O Ln w M r ' O O e CD' L T y L i co L C M C L C L C N � a O N � � "O 00 LO fr! 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T tm r 0) T ty,T r r L L L L L C L L c r 0U c t 0U c r 0U c s 0U Il� ri N 00 Ln Ln 00 m ri M 00 ri Ln ri M N O Ln n LP) r4 I�% r4 r-I ri IliI� 00 Ol Ict N N M Ln N ri N N Ln Ly 00 LD M ri r-I 0) iy r-I N Ly N N N N s s r s L L C L L L L L C L L L L U L U L U L U 00 00 Ln M Il% L0 00 1.0 L0 N 0) m Il% al m 01 Il M M r'i L^D %0 M O N LD 00 00 ri C N r-i s s s s c c c c c c c c L U L U L U L U L C O � O � � N N y C O w N L yJ U f6 N _ a) n 3 w m) 7 LU O +O-' O ra *' 0 Cf A '^ O_ u _ v L u aJ > O +O+ y 41 N u 3 u Ln a h 2 0J 3 3 +�+ C +�+ .� m 0J O N 0 O O (6 0 O O (6 0 3 m m Q q-! m(� m ORll:� OR L q rl� LA m-* (14- m N o W tD o § m � o N o - � @ e N m m N §k §k §k c §k q n § g n $ _ m N m - N � m n N Q Iq N CD m N 00 m § § § § $ 1 q 0 2 § g en _ m CN N �c C14 o N - n { n { q { n { 7 7 I m o o n q o R o o 2 2 a 2 ¢ a� a f a B . 2 . �0 k2 a= a= C= ou ou ou ou m � � § Q $ Ln m m m § § § § { 0 { 0 { 0 { 0 k k k k m o 0 2 Ln m g m U q - - _ 2 2 I 2 2 M a M 2 2 £ 2 J 3 J J E 0 � E S 2 w E / 0 c / : c c a)c � R o 41 e � � 4� < _ ` c < m } E t 2 // k 41 2 k k k k N a�� 4'a7�r dirumura "�"�� Port Townsend Public Library December 2024 Monthly Program Report 30th Annual Uptown Gingerbread Contest Mayor David Faber juried the gingerbread entries this year and was impressed by the creativity of our community. Mayor Faber wrote, "I had a great time judging this year's Gingerbread House contest. I was really impressed with the creativity of so many of the entries, and I really struggled to name just one winner in each category. The Raccoon Lodge edged out the other entries for "Most Creative" because of its strong and direct relevance to Port Townsend; I selected The Kindness Go Round for the "Under 12" category because of the spirit of community and cooperation involved in its creation; and I selected the Discworld entry for "Most Literary" because... well, I love Terry Pratchett! Great work, everyone!" This year we had 22 entries from all ages. Winning pictures with titles and their makers are listed below and will be and on display at the library through December 31, 2024. Gingerbread Winners: People's Choice: #16 Oribel's Chickshaw by Sylvie & Robin Errichetti Most Creative: #5 The Racoon Lodge by Steve LaFleur Most Literary: #19 Discworld by The Haney Family 12 and Under: #18 The Kindness Go Round by The Superhero Kids- Dr. D's 2nd Grade Class People's Choice: #16 Oribel's Chickshaw by Sylvie & Robin Errichetti Port Townsend Public Library December 2024 Monthly Program Report r Most Creative: #5 The Racoon Lodge by Steve LaFleur /l r N 1 v �PIR0,2 ip Ali 9/�i ✓ D YrIV'�i ri Will a�� 4'a7�r dirumura "�"�� Port Townsend Public Library December 2024 Monthly Program Report Most Literary: #19 Discworid by The Haney Family 12 and Under: #18 The Kindness Go Round by The Superhero Kids- Dr. D's 2"d Grade Class a�� 4'a7�r dirumura "�"�� Port Townsend Public Library December 2024 Monthly Program Report a�� 4'a7�r dirumura "�"�� Port Townsend Public Library December 2024 Monthly Program Report Picture from Read to Rover this month: a�� 4'a7�r dirumura "�"�� Port Townsend Public Library December 2024 Monthly Program Report Book Lovers' Cafe Annual Holiday Party and Book Exchange For nearly a decade the book club members have met to exchange gift books through a white elephant style party and brought goodies to share. This year Mary learned to felt and felted everyone a special nametag. Such an amazing group of women who have forged friendships through the group. a�� 4'a7�r dirumura "�"�� Port Townsend Public Library December 2024 Monthly Program Report Monthly Programs Book Lovers Cafe 1 st Mondays Melody Adult 12 Friends Fiber Arts Night 1St Kathi Adult 5 Library Wednesdays Spice Kits 2nd Kathi Adult 50 Friends Tuesda s WSU Plant Clinic 1st Tuesdays Sarah Adult 5 WSU Fairbank Extension Digital Equity Thursdays Jamie Pena Adult 27 Jefferson Navigator: Thursday County Tech Help and Basic Library Computer Classes Toddler Storytime Tuesdays Emily and 18 months- 15 Library Judith 3 yr. Storytime Tuesdays Judith 3-12 yr. 22 Library Connections Baby Storytime Mondays Emily 0-18 11 Library months Sing -a -Ling 3rd Thursday Keeth Apgar 0-6 yr. 20 Friends LEGO Club 2nd Mondays Emily 7-12 yr. 6 Friends Bufford Read 2 Rover Thursdays Melody and 5-11 3 Library and Gryfin Olympic Mountain Pet Pals From: John Mauro, City Manager Subject: Letter from library staff member Date: February 11, 2025 To Members of the Library Advisory Board: On or about December 10, 2024, the City received a letter from a City -employee, Anthony Boruch-Comstock, which appears intended for the Library Board based on the e-mail transmittal. A copy of Mr. Boruch-Comstock's letter is enclosed. Mr. Boruch-Comstock is a part-time staff member in the Library Department and represented by the Local Union No. 589 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters ("Union"). The Union is the exclusive bargaining representative for employees of the Library Department, and accordingly the City is limited at this time in its ability to respond to the statements in the employee's letter. Nevertheless, and despite this topic and related decisions are not within the purview of the Library Advisory Board, I am providing this information to you in the interest of open and transparent government. The Washington State Public Employment Relations Committee added the Library staff to the City's General Government Bargaining Unit on November 29, 2023. As the Library staff is part of the Union, the City is required to address the Library staff along with all other members of the Union during bargaining sessions. The Union has advanced several items of concern to the Library, and the City has and will address those concerns as we move toward to the ratification of a new Labor Contract. The City is pleased to report that it has resolved several substantive items that will be reflected in a new labor agreement in the near future. The City will continue working with the City employees, including the Library staff, on the committee through the exclusive bargaining representative. Sincerely, John Mauro City Manager Enclosure: Letter from A. Boruch-Comstock 250 Madison Street - Suite 2. Poirt'rownserid - WA 983618 618 � www.c 1tyofpLus From: Anthony Boruch-Comstock To: Iab(c cityofot.us Subject: Statement from PT Library Worker Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2024 6:29:30 PM Attachments: CITYOFPTsalaryschedule.ndf WA Library salariestitleslonnevity.Ddf Library letter 12 2 24.docx (1).Ddf Hello, I've written this statement on behalf of myself and my coworkers to shine some light on the situation we've been dealing with. This letter was reviewed by a lawyer, our rep from the Teamsters, as well as my coworkers and they're all in agreement with the content. Thank you all for everything you do! Please think of us library workers. Yours sincerely, Anthony m 'o > C) 1 0 r r r :-I� C G r °1 D '! u-cr 3 n n a c- cr Cu m M M O O (D O 0 (n (n n y 7 C c. Q; 7 7 13 CDn'� Cr U- n n ro 0 �, ; c O fD uNi vi 0 n Ai 1n �, r � C 0 O O 1n y' 00 r 2 fD tD (D n n n w �* m ff m or m d v m to (f9 m 1D 3 a m on M r- r- > -< a 0 0 'O cr 6' (A= s a Oro +� OJ Lu v� rr f C C rM IBC _ 3r ' rD �* s rt n' cn (n m LA m ° m m n cr cr o O .(^. n n` O O O ;; ;: 1D (D on (D o p Q4, A O_ CC .n�r � (D (D O n (l y' N O O M p 7 fD rr � y �_ a1 su lu p! : 7 Dq m 40 - OD W zp� : A 91 CT _V A A Cll (i1 W co Od O Ca —I cn -4 A CD Cn A I� W W CD N CD w m to w N N N N N N Cl1 CD cn Oo OD IIM^C=� C31 .A Ca O) 11 OD N CW V 4!� N N N N Ul —I CO O A W CDiD 41 O CDO W m Cr O N O42b co co CD Co CO CO —1 C>? 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A W K) N W W Cn W W r r � U U C 6 0' m Cr O' L Q Q 0 N Q Q O N N 0) 0) d1 41 w Ol 7' 01 0 @ 01 N 0 7 7 7 m GN1 07 A (U cr n N 2 ^" @ i'f rQ a n y m fA Y 3 N up v CD n a a m m in a o m N n ° v m sU m in Fn w v+ Ew v+ to Er► en d+ v+ is d+ (n i7n N w 1 i -4 1 ih 00 in [n 00 1 A (n CD O W W V iD W in iD tb A W CO `1 C W O O OD A A W w co O O N O N_ A O (n O OO w w iD W A W Oo 0 O W P iD O A N A W CD A W i W V A O) (n to N A Oo A 00 V — O W N W W O N W W in T M w A in (n A W O (n OD 41 n> n v p> n m m m m m m m rn m M rn m m c W Oo m CO 00 00 ao co 00 = rn rn o rn o o a� o w rn o O rn w O c= (n (7) o CD c o m o m m o c m m o o 4 V O V 0 0 V O V V 0 0 V rl O O 40% CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND NON -BARGAINING EMPLOYEE POSITION CLASSIFICATION SALARY SCHEDULE BUDGET 2024, Salary Schedule effective January 11, 2024 Elected Officials 2024 Budget Classification Minimum Maximum Positions Mayor $ 12,900 $ 12,900 1.00 Councilmembers $ 8,700 $ 8,700 6.00 Non Represented Employees Range Classification Step 1 Step 9 Positions City Manager $ 166,000 $ 205,917 1.00 31 City Attorney $ 146,591 $ 181,773 1.00 31 Chief of Police $ 146,591 $ 181,773 1.00 30 JPublic Works Director $ 139,610 $ 173,117 1.00 30 IFinance and Technology Director $ 139,610 $ 173,117 1,00 29 Planning & Community Development Director $ 132,962 $ 164,873 1.00 29 Parks & Rec Strategy Director (Limited Term) $ 132,962 $ 164,873 1.00 28 Parks, Recreation & Community Services Director $ 126,631 $ 157,022 0.00 28 Deputy Police Chief $ 126,631 $ 157,022 1.00 28 Deputy Public Works Director/City Engineer $ 126,631 $ 157,022 1.00 27 1 Director of People & Performance $ 120,601 $ 149,545 1.00 26 Assistant City Engineer $ 114,858 $ 142,424 1.00 25 Prosecuting Atty/Asst City Attorney $ 109,388 $ 135,642 0.00 25 Human Resources Manager $ 109,388 $ 135,642 0.00 25 Communications & Marketing Director $ 109,388 $ 135,642 0.00 24 Planning Manager $ 104,179 $ 129,182 1.00 24 Civil Engineer III $ 104,179 $ 129,182 1.00 24 Public Works Operations Manager- Streets $ 104,179 $ 129,182 1.00 24 PW Ops Manager - Water $ 104,179 $ 129,182 1.00 24 PW Ops Manager - WWTP $ 104,179 $ 129,182 1.00 23 Library Director $ 99,218 $ 123,031 1.00 23 Finance Manager $ 99,218 $ 123,031 1.00 23 Building Official $ 99,218 $ 123,031 1.00 23 Project Manager III $ 99,218 $ 123,031 0.00 22 Parks & Facilities Manager $ 94,494 $ 117,172 1.00 22 Communications & Marketing Manager $ 94,494 $ 117,172 1.00 22 Civil Engineer 11 $ 94,494 $ 117,172 0.00 22 Accounting Manager $ 94,494 $ 117,172 1.00 22 City Clerk $ 94,494 $ 117,172 1.00 21 Project Manager 11 $ 89,994 $ 111,593 2.00 20 Library Manager - Public & Tec Svs $ 85,709 $ 106,279 1.00 20 Library Manager - Youth Services $ 85,709 $ 106,279 1.00 20., Senior Planner $ 85,709 $ 106,279 1.00 20 Civil Engineer 1 $ 85,709 $ 106,279 0.00 20 - Finance & Budget Analyst $ 85,709 $ 106,279 0.00 20 Long Range Planner (Limited Term) $ 85,709 $ 106,279 1.00 19 Project Manager I $ 81,627 $ 101,218 0.00 18 Civil Engineer EIT $ 77,740 $ 96,398 0.00 17 Public Records Officer $ 74,038 $ 91,808 1.00 Page 167 17 Human Resources Specialist or Generalist $ 74,038 $ 91,808 1.00 17 Executive Assistant to City Manager $ 74,038 $ 91,808 0.00 16 Payroll and Benefits Administrator $ 70,513 $ 87,436 1.00 16 Deputy City Clerk $ 70,513 $ 87,436 0.00 16 Legal Assistant $ 70,513 $ 87,436 0.00 16 Legal Assistant/Deputy Clerk $ 70,513 $ 87,436 1.00 15 Executive Assistant to Chief of Police $ 67,155 $ 83,272 0.00 10 Navigator (Limited Term) $ 52,618 $ 65,246 1,00 Hourly Part -Time Positions 12 Human Resources Assistant $ 27.89 $ 34.58 0.50 12 Associate Librarian $ 27.89 $ 34.58 0.00 10 Library Associate $ 25.30 $ 31.37 0.54 5 Library Assistant $ 19.82 $ 24.58 3.51 5 Library Assistant Substitute $ 19.82 0.50 3 Library Courier $ 17.98 $ 22.29 1.00 1 Library Page $ 16.31 $ 20.22 0.30 Reserve and Seasonal Positions •'seasonals not included in Total FTE count Reserve Police Officers, commissioned Reserve Police Officers, noncommissioned Seasonal Workers MIII $ 16.31 $ 37.79 $ 25.00 $ 20.22 1.00 0.35 2.00 Total Non -Represented Employees 41.70 CITY=O •PORT TOWNSEND UNCLASSIFIED -EMPLOYEE IPOSITI.QM CLASSIFICATION 13UIDGET2424, SakjOty,Schedule effective SALARYSCHEDULE january 1, 2024 Non Represented Classification Minimum I Maximum Positions Grants Coordinator to be determined 1.00 Union/Represented Classification Minimum I Maximum Positions City Electrician to be determined 1.00 City Custodial to be determined 1.00 Total Unclassified Employees 3.00 CIT�f flI= PORT TOWNSEND UNION EI4APL,3'CE PQSION CLASSIFICATION Bl l]�aET 2024, Sala Seh dWe: ffective, . SALARY SCHEDULE January.1, 2024 UnionlRepresented Employees Grade Classification Minimumlhr Maximurn/hr*1 Positions 31 IT Network Administrator $ 45.43 $ 51.56 1.00 29.5 Accountant $ 39.17 $ 44.45 0.00 29.3 Associate Planner $ 37.80 $ 45.73 1.00 29.3 GIS Ili $ 37.80 $ 45.73 0.00 29 Crew Chief $ 37,08 $ 42.'12 2.00 25 GIS Geerdanakw $ 36.40 $ 41.38 0.00 25 IT Technical Support $ 36.40 $ 41.38 1.00".- 23 Building Inspector $ 35.54 $ 40.37 1 A0 23 23, Code Compliance Officer Public Works Inspector $ 35.54 $ 35.54 $ 40.37 $ 40.37 1.00"_1 1.00 23 Crew Chief Apprentice $ 35.54 $ 40.37 0.00 _ 23 IGIS II $ 35.54 $ 40.37 1.00 21 IMaintenance Worker III (Lead) $ 34.49 $ 39.18 4.00 IFFee Page 168 Hello, I am writing this on behalf of myself and my coworkers at the Port Townsend Public Library. My name is Anthony Boruch-Comstock, in 1991 my family and I moved to Port Townsend from Juneau, Alaska. I graduated PTHS in 2003 and then moved to San Francisco in 2007 where I spent seven years working for the San Francisco Public Library (ALA Library System of the Year 2017) as well as two years at the Mechanics' Institute Library (the oldest library in California, founded 1854, three years after the founding of the City of Port Townsend.) In October of 2022 1 returned to Port Townsend, spent several months working as a substitute at the Jefferson County Public Library, before becoming an employee of the Port Townsend Public Library in February 2023. Returning to my hometown after fifteen years and to the Library which had formed so many of my core childhood memories was deeply moving. My old friend and high school bandmate, David Faber, was now Mayor of Port Townsend. The room where I had played Oregon Trail after school now held the desk I worked behind. At the library, I was able to help my father file his taxes, rent an electrical tester to my mother, and help my old friends and classmates find children's books for their new families. Unfortunately, several months into my employment, I witnessed a tragedy. An all staff meeting was being called for eight AM, an hour before our normally scheduled shifts. This in itself was bizarre to me. At SFPL, there were strict rules around working within our scheduled hours and "meetings" amounted to weekly 15 minute briefings before opening hours. The purpose of this meeting was for our director, Melody Sky Weaver, and Port Townsend City Manager, John Mauro, to introduce the library staff to two new City employees. The first was Shelly Leavens, Port Townsend's first Communications Director. The second was Michael Todd, the new Parks and Facilities manager. I remember Michael Todd lightly joking that he was surprised that our director could get all staff to show up for a meeting at 8 AM and thanked us for being there. The third thing that happened at the meeting was honoring my coworker, Kathi Johnson, for 20 years of service at the Port Townsend Public Library. Kathi Johnson is a remarkable woman and a privilege to work with. Her guidance and patience with me as I learned our library system was very touching. To this day, I still refer to her in matters of policy and procedure. Her seniority and experience is an enormous asset to our library. Kathi is also a second generation daughter of Port Townsend. Her father, Elmer "Butch" Stanton, who sadly passed away in May of this year, was a mail carrier for Port Townsend for 37 years. Her daughter went to PTHS a few years below me. She began her career in libraries at the schools here in Port Townsend before being hired by Port Townsend Public Library in 2003. At the Library today, she oversees much of the Books on Wheels program for seniors and other homebound PT residents, Fiber Arts programs, cooking programs, as well as handling Interlibrary Loan, office supply inventory and ordering, and most of the mail. Along with this she is a near constant warm and funny presence at the Circulation Desk and a font of knowledge about her hometown and her library. In addition to this she was a board member at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds for twenty-five years and remains the Home Arts superintendent. She is an absolutely essential connection between her City government and her community. On that day, in the Fall of 2023, our Library Director presented her with a printed out "Congratulations" certificate, said "Thank you for your service," and then moved on to introducing our new Communications Director and Facilities manager. According to the City of Port Townsend 2024 Salary Schedule, available at the City of Port Townsend website (cityofpt.us), Communications and Marketing Director starts at $109,388. Parks and Facilities Manager starts at $94,494. Library Director starts at $99,218. City Manager starts at $166,000. In 2003, Kathi Johnson was hired at the Port Townsend Public Library for $12 an hour. On that day, after 20 years of service to her community as a City of Port Townsend employee, she was being paid $19 an hour. I was hired 6 months prior and was being paid $18 an hour. In October of 2023, 1 and five of my Library Assistant colleagues signed our cards to join the Teamsters Union Local 589. Local 589 represents every other City of Port Townsend department. The PT Library is the only department without representation and the difference between our wages, work environments, and benefits is stark. We are now on month thirteen of negotiations and management has shown zero desire to address our concerns or work with our demands. We have also unfortunately lost two of the six employees that initially signed up. I will outline the discrepancies in our workplace compared with our fellow City employees and with other Washington State library systems. Library Page. Assistant. Associate. and Librarian. When you walk into the Port Townsend library, most likely the first person you interface with is a Library Assistant. We are the public facing element of our library and deal with the overwhelming majority of patron interactions including Reference (two questions I encountered this last month: "Do you know any books about Risorgimento?", "What internet provider offers Senior Assistance programs in Jefferson County?"), ?" ), library card sign up, check out returns, and library account maintenance. We also provide the bulk of Tech help which is an enormous demand at libraries. This can entail anything from installing Libby on patron's phones or tablets, helping patrons access their online medical records, applying to jobs or benefits through online portals, or assisting with photocopies, scanning, or printing. In fact, the need for Tech Assistance is so great that the Library applied for a grant to have Jefferson County Library's Digital Equity Navigator, Jamie Pena, come spend Thursdays working solely on tech related questions from 10-5pm. The other six days of the week it is Library Assistants doing this work. From September through November of this year there were 873 Reference desk hours assigned. 231 of them were staffed by Librarians. The rest were staffed by Library Assistants. In fact, there is no difference between the duties of the Reference desk and the Circulation desk so the hours of Librarian duty worked by Library Assistants could rightfully be set around 1515. At every other Library System I have worked for, Reference desk has been worked by a Librarian, Tech, or Associate. Along with our circulation and public interfacing duties, we handle all processing of new materials, repairs, Interlibrary Loan, programs such as Books on Wheels where we select vast amounts of materials for our homebound patrons, fairy mail, occasional storytime, acquisitions for special projects like the Local Music collection, book club kits, collection maintenance, ordering and stocking supplies, and we have been trained in cataloging. During this last year, we were handling building permits for residents of the City, a duty usually handled by Public Experience Liaisons who start at $26.48. We also are tasked with general City Government roles like Safety and Wellness Committee. In short no matter your question or your need, we Library Assistants will do everything in our power to help you. We can do it all. But what is a Library Assistant? This question becomes thorny very quickly, but what a Library Assistant is not is a Librarian. Our Library currently employees 4 Library Assistants, 4 Library Assistant Substitutes, 3 Library Pages, and 3 Librarians. While the title of Librarian is reserved for those that have completed a Masters in Library Science, it should be noted that several of us have other degrees in Library Science. I have surveyed six other Washington State library systems, Anacortes, San Juan Island, Ellensburg, Burlington, Ridgefield, and the North Olympic Library System (Sequim, Port Angeles, Forks, and Clallam Bay). At all of these systems there is a wide range of classifications below Librarian including Library Associate, Public Services Assistant, Circulation Associate, Circulation Assistant II, Senior Library Assistant, etc. In short, Washington State libraries are given a great deal of freedom to define how titles and duties correlate with wages and hours. I was told by management early in my time at PTL that our library does not offer a Library Associate position. And yet Library Associate is listed on the 2024 City of Port Townsend Salary Schedule starting at $25.30. This distinction is incredibly important. Library Assistants are effectively doing the work of much higher compensated jobs at an artificially low title and wage. Not only are we underpaid for responsibilities that are outside the scope of our position,but we are also tasked with Library Page and Courier duties during absences. My three other Library Assistants were hired in 2003, 2012, and 2015 respectively. The Library has offered them no path towards advancement nor have they provided a step schedule that keeps pace with inflation. In fact, if you adjust for inflation, my coworker Kathi has taken a near $2 pay cut after her 20 years of service. Another issue is that our schedules and hours are constantly being changed. We have little input into how schedules are arranged and hours are taken and given without any consideration to longevity or need. Additionally whenever there are absences due to sick or vacation, the hours are always offered to substitutes rather than regularly scheduled staff who rely on our work to make a living. Furthermore, the loss of two employees this year has left many of their shifts vacant, adding additional stress to the remaining staff at busy hours. While tensions have been rising throughout this long year of negotiations, things have escalated sharply in the last few months. Management has enacted several very strict policies regarding work procedure, library account management, and dress code. Frequently these new policies have been enforced harshly, and often retroactively. Management is also requiring one on one meetings with management several times a month. This added pressure, which is a clear reaction to negotiations, has led to significant stress, uncertainty, and unhappiness in our workplace. On the November 14th broadcast of KPTZ's Brewocracy program, City Manager John Mauro discussed plans to merge the Library with Parks and Facilities under a new department called the Creative District. Our director Melody Sky Weaver would head this new department. This is partly to address budgetary concerns at both the Library and Parks and Facilities. In John Mauro's words we are in "negative free fall with the library with budget and staffing." While I find the notion of the Creative District fascinating and laud Mauro's innovative approach to these problems, it raises several issues. For instance, a Parks and Facilities Operator I starts at $26.48/hr. Will our wages be commensurate with our coworkers? Finally, if labor is the largest expenditure in a budget and our library staff is among the lowest paid in the state of Washington and the lowest paid of PT City Workers it is important to ask where has all our library budget gone, who has been spending it, and what is it being spent on. A little over a month ago, our Children's Librarian was promoted to Manager bringing our staffing to one director overseeing two managers who oversee four assistants and three pages. As of this writing, the library is currently hiring yet another Librarian. This will be the third Associate Librarian that has worked for us in the 20 months of my time with the Library. If the Libraries dire financial state is to be used to justify the suppression of existing staff wages and advancement, it should be asked what utility these new hires and promotions actually offer. As I have illustrated, we Library Assistants are more than capable of and would be happy to take on larger roles with our system. The data from the six other Washington Library systems I have analyzed supports this. One of my favorite podcasts is the WTF episode where Marc Maron interviews Mike Judge, creator of the television shows Beavis and Butthead, King of the Hill, and Silicon Valley. When they discuss Mike Judge attending college for a physics degree, he tells Marc he would go to the library to find better books than the ones being taught in the classes. After several years of working in engineering and playing professional bass guitar, Judge decides he wants to become an animator. When Maron asks him who taught him, Judge replies "oh, I just went and got books from the library." This is still the promise of libraries: every person has the opportunity to educate themselves and change their life. Every person is worthy of the opportunity to better their life. The Port Townsend Public Library is the heartbeat and soul of this magical community. As much as we Library Workers love our work and our community, we are assured every day of the love our community feels towards us. The numbers bear this out: we have the highest circulation per capita of any Washington State library. It is an honor to serve such an inquisitive, thoughtful, delightful, and delightfully thought -provoking group of people. I know all of us are proud to be raised in and raised by this town and all of us are proud of the children we raised in this community. Within these budgets and classes and duties there is clearly a path towards creating fair schedules, salaries, and, most importantly a belief, that our work will grant us security and stability. The fact that management has fought so bitterly against it betrays a cardinal sin of libraries: a lack of imagination. The Public Library stands as a symbol of care and compassion for everyone. No matter your station in this world or the conditions in your life, you are an equal at our library and we library staff will do our utmost to help you. I am amazed and inspired daily by the level of service my coworkers provide to our patrons. The long histories we staff and library users share is a powerful bond and ever growing story that is foundational to all our lives in this town. We are the foremost public representatives of the City of Port Townsend and I am proud to count myself among them. But no amount of pride in our work can compensate for the pain of living paycheck to paycheck or worrying if a fever and lost work might mean missed meals. Our mission statement is "Uplifting our community through reading, learning, connection, and creativity." We need our community to help lift us up. This is a wonderful opportunity to provide library staff with the security, safety, and recognition we so desperately need and deserve. The chance to improve someone's life, to provide someone with help, is a gift. I learned this working at libraries. Libraries Forever, Port Townsend Forever Thank you for reading, Anthony Boruch-Comstock with love to my fellow workers Shilah Gould, Nancy Grant, Jan Jacobson, Erland Cain, and Kathi Johnson. And to Suzy, Guinevere, Steven, Siri, Karen, Judith, and Mary - you're next!