August 2026 | Director's Report | Minerva Public Library

Director's Report: August 27, 2026

Prepared by Director Jason Bumbico for the August 27, 2026 Board of Trustees meeting

The Library completed its transition from WhoFi to LocalHop for online event listings, the website calendar, and room reservations ahead of WhoFi's service end date of August 31.
The Library will be closed on Monday, September 7, for Labor Day.

July and August adult programming included a Patrick Henry program presented by Jim Knight, our adult craft, and classes on food preservation, livestock raising, and crockpot cooking.
September programming will include programs on internet safety, sheet pan recipes, Medicare, and the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The Adult Craft Class is transitioning presenters this fall. Megan Kindleberger will continue presenting through September, and Tracy McGuire will co-present with her in October and November to get comfortable with the format. Tracy will take the class over in the new year.
We have been awarded both a Carroll County Foundation grant ($1,750) and the Ohio Arts Council's ArtStart grant ($3,060) for the Library's circulating original art project. We are currently looking for at least one more source of funding to complete the project.

The Summer Reading Program, "Unearth a Story," wrapped up July 31 with 643 total sign-ups.
The End-of-the-Read Pool Party was held July 30, with 90 children in attendance.
Staff have been busy getting ready for class visits, regular storytimes, and after-school activities.
Staff have begun planning the Library's fall Pumpkin Day event, tentatively set for Friday, October 23.
On Monday, August 24, we held our community meeting as part of the community engagement requirements for the ALA Libraries Transforming Communities grant. Attendance was lighter than anticipated, though Mr. Burman and Ms. Vernier from Minerva Local Schools attended, and we had a productive conversation about the project direction. In September, we will be preparing the Book Sale Room for its new purpose and finalizing the layout of the space. We anticipate placing orders for the new furnishings and features at the beginning of October.

New materials added in July 2026 included:
- Adult books: 152
- DVDs: 14
- Youth books: 142

The SEO Library Consortium has officially selected Innovative Polaris as its next shared library management system, which will eventually replace SirsiDynix Symphony.
Our Ohio Persistent Cyber Improvement (O-PCI) cybersecurity onboarding has been scheduled, and we are moving toward compliance with the State of Ohio's cybersecurity directives.

We are continuing to address the water issues in the lower level of the Library. Two companies have provided estimates regarding the problem, and we are actively seeking at least two more to provide diagnoses of the issue, along with accompanying price quotes.
The Library is experiencing an elevated level of false trouble alerts and notices from our fire alarm system. Johnson Controls has been contacted, and we are working to schedule a technician to address the issue.

The Auditor of State's office continued its review of our FY2024-25 records. Additional requested documentation was provided in early August, but we are still awaiting a few supporting documents regarding our copier lease.