June 9, 2026
Library Advisory Board Minutes: June 9, 2026
For Multnomah County Library Advisory Board
The Multnomah County Library Advisory Board (LAB) met for a hybrid meeting at East County Library on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. The meeting began at 5:35 pm.
Board members present were: ALife Allah, David Jarvis, Domiè Newton, Ingrid Jacobson, Jade Chan, Joe Marquez, Jose Ramirez Reyes, Kate Fleming, Kelsey Fong, Kristi Ketchum, Madison Riethman, Megan Parrott, Naomi Margolis, Nikia Solbjor, and Tia-Theo Thompson.
London Sorcinelli was absent.
Staff members present were: Annie Lewis, library director; Maddelyn High, management analyst; and Stephen Houser, library deputy director. Commissioner Jones-Dixon, District 4, Multnomah County was also in attendance.
WELCOME & CHECK-IN
LAB liaison Maddelyn High welcomed attendees, who shared introductions. Attendees participated in a group icebreaker.
UPDATES FROM LIBRARY LEADERSHIP & DISCUSSION
Library Director Annie Lewis shared recent systemwide updates and highlights from the Director’s Report, including:
- Opening of the new East County Library, which had over 14,000 visitors during its first weekend, and has stayed busy since. The project received a lot of positive media coverage and social media engagement. MCL is still learning about the building and operational needs. Lewis gave a shout-out to the county’s facilities team for a quick temporary garage door fix after a delivery truck damaged it unintentionally.
- The upcoming opening of the new St. Johns Library on June 27, with Belmont Library’s opening to follow later this summer
- County and library budget adoption, with appreciation shared for LAB’s Finance Committee for their work and to Madison Riethman and David Jarvis in particular for presenting
- Upcoming summer programs including Summer Reading (which launched June 15), and for Juneteenth and Pride
- Installation of vapor sensors at all Central Library restrooms following a pilot; and a new Central Library pilot that extends delegated exclusion authority to contracted security officers to expedite incident response and to support library Persons in Charge (PICs)
- Ongoing work to evaluate the impact of the library’s 2020 bond effort, as projects come to a close; as well as a review of remaining work outlined in the 2017 Framework for Future Library Spaces, which will culminate in a report this fall/winter to assess community engagement results, scenario planning, and initial estimated costs for future library capital projects
In response to a question, Lewis shared that if delegated exclusion authority is successful at Central, it may be extended to other library locations.
In response to another question, Lewis noted that this coming fiscal year (FY27) will be a test year in terms of the impact of new libraries on MCL’s overall operational budget. Finance and bond staff have estimated as best they can, and will need to evaluate true facilities and IT costs (internal service rates), as well as staffing levels, after all new buildings have been open for some time.
MEMBERSHIP UPDATES
Membership Committee Chair Joe Marquez shared that 31 applications were received for four open positions on the Library Advisory Board. The Membership Committee moved 12 applications forward for virtual conversations, after reviewing all applications.
Members of the committee recommended four new members for appointment to LAB: two youth members (Jeana Chulim-Ellis and Jayden Abel) and two regular members (Yolanda Sanchez and Simon Xu). Credentials were shared for each new prospective member.
Three alternates were also recommended, if a vacancy arises in the near term: Natalie Mitchell and Xochitl Franklin, and Aya Ben-Khalifa (youth).
Megan Parrott made a motion to recommend new members as a slate for appointment by the Library District Board, and Riethman seconded. By a show of hands, new LAB members were unanimously approved. Names will be submitted to the Library District Board for final approval and formal appointment to LAB.
Ahead of the meeting, two candidates for co-chair for Fiscal Year 2027 (Jade Chan – second term and Joe Marquez – first term) submitted interest statements. Current LAB members then cast their votes using a Google Form. Votes were live-tallied, and both candidates were unanimously approved for LAB leadership roles.
BOARD BUSINESS
Meeting minutes for May 12, 2026, were approved with no changes.
Two representatives from the Finance Committee presented a summary of the CBAC memo at the May 20 budget worksession with county commissioners. Lewis shared appreciation to Riethman and Jarvis for their time and ability to speak confidently about library budget specifics.
Members of the Membership Committee shared that the committee is working on several projects, including a review of the recruitment process; an exit interview; and a general survey of current members.
As previously shared at the last meeting, High and Equity Manager Sonja Ervin met with one LAB member who had expressed interest in forming a new equity committee, to brainstorm ideas and possible direction for such a committee. Two other interested LAB members were not available last-minute for this meeting. Chan discussed inviting new membership into the fold, if interested, to further develop this committee’s direction; and committed to reaching out to interested LAB members to encourage the group to meet.
LAB members also inquired about the possibility of using the rooftop terrace at the East County Library for their August social, which staff will look into.
CLOSING
The meeting adjourned at 6:56 pm.
Respectfully submitted by:
Maddelyn High, director’s assistant
Multnomah County Library, Oregon