Minutes

Forbes Library Disability Advisory Board
15 July 2021
4:00 PM

This meeting was on Zoom.

Present:

  • Ben Kalish, Reference Librarian
  • Molly Moss, Assistant Director
  • Brian Tabor, Borrower Services Supervisor/note taker
  • MaryJo Stanley
  1. Changes to curbside service. Appointments are no longer required but patrons are asked to give staff 15 minutes notice so bags may be processed. Curbside service may be requested for any reason by any patron.
  2. Expanded home delivery service.Patrons have the ability to place their own holds and the expanded delivery service may be used by any city patron for any reason. Our Outreach coordinator is currently making home deliveries and we hope to expand the service – with a new name. A link on our website exists where the library provides an online service request. Deliveries will be made within one week. This service is different and separate from the library’s standard Outreach services for homebound patrons which involve volunteers making deliveries on a longer term basis to our patrons from Northampton, Florence, and Leeds.
  3. The accessibility of library programs as in person events resume.The library received a Mass Humanities grant for equipment to live stream and record programs. There will be opportunities for community members to participate in test runs of the new system and give feedback on the visual, auditory and captioning experiences. The equipment will be in the Coolidge museum for library-sponsored events; if it works well similar equipment will be considered for the Community Room.Also, the city’s new assistive listening system will be compatible with and similar to what the library currently is using.
  4. The possibility of formalizing the advisory boards structure—do we want a formal membership list? a community co-chair?Tabled. The Advisory Board will address this at the next meeting when more can attend.
  5. Other topic: Current bathroom availability.
  6. Due to changing protocols, the library currently has three or four public restrooms available, of which two have scented air fresheners and two do not. The library will strive to open more restrooms for patrons.The library hopes to get funding from the city to improve the airflow in the restrooms.

Meeting adjourned, 4:27pm.

Next meeting will be scheduled for the autumn.