District Library Board to consider how to observe Juneteenth

Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19 as a new federal and state holiday, is being marked in several ways across the state and nation and the Belleville Area District Library Board discussed how the library should celebrate the holiday.
Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans and its celebration often broadly celebrates the African-American culture. Deriving its name from combining “June” and “nineteenth,” it is celebrated on the anniversary of General Order No. 3, issued by Major General Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865, proclaiming freedom for slaves in Texas. The day was first recognized as a federal holiday in 2021.
At the library board’s regular meeting Dec. 13, board chairperson Sharon Peters addressed the list of the 14 days in 2023 when the library will be closed, which are holidays plus one staff-training day.
She said she thought the board should discuss whether to close the library on June 19 or to keep the library open and celebrate that holiday.
Board member Joy Cichewicz, who is employed as a library director in Ypsilanti, said her library has a union staff, and it’s a floating holiday like Martin Luther King Day, where the library remains open, but staff members get floating holidays. She said the community has programs.
Library Director Mary Jo Suchy said it would be respectful to close the library or it could stay open and have special programs to celebrate the holiday.
Board member John Juriga made a motion to close on June 19, but there was no second to the motion, so it died.
“I don’t think it’s disrespectful when we’re open and have programs,” Cichewicz said.
Chairperson Peters agreed with Director Suchy’s suggestion to get a little more staff input on the question. Peters said the board will revisit the issue in a couple of months’ time. She said they will decide so they have enough time before June 19 to let the public know what they are going to do. The board unanimously approved the list of closings as presented.
In other business at the one-hour-10-minute meeting, the board:
• Approved the library board meeting dates for 2023 as presented. The board meets at 7:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month;
• Heard personnel committee chairperson Linda Priest announce that the annual evaluation of Director Suchy has been completed. The board members had filled out the evaluation forms and the results were of a high level and overwhelmingly positive. Priest said Suchy has “a warm and welcome relationship with users and staff.” Priest said the personnel committee is not recommending a raise at this time because it wants to get the area salary report on library personnel for this year, which will be out in January or February. Peters said after the figures are in the likelihood is that the board will have the pay retroactive, since it goes by the calendar year. Suchy said she wants to make sure the staff wages are competitive and, “I don’t want a raise until my staff gets a raise.” Peters said there would be no board action now and the salary will be deferred until after the report is available;
• Discussed the policy committee’s ongoing work on updating the “behavior of patrons” policy with the help of library attorney Anne Seurynck and library staff. One issue is the “animals, service animals, and therapy animals” part of the policy. Board vice-chairperson and policy committee chairperson Mary Jane Dawson, who did not run for reelection and was attending her last meeting, said the animals’ part has to be honed down. Cichewicz said from her experience, the animal doesn’t have to be marked in any way and you cannot ask what the disability is that causes the need for a therapy animal. She said if the animal is disrupting the public in the library, like urinating or defecating on the carpet, that could be a reason for removal. She said ponies are often therapy animals. Dawson said there would be another policy meeting this month and the board could get a policy update to consider at the next meeting, Jan. 10;
• Heard Peters say the art competition winners that are displayed in the library will be up until the student art show comes to the library. She said Dawson has agreed to continue serving on the Art Committee when she leaves the board;
• Discussed how to promote use of the Sumpter Media Center. It was suggested the building is set back from the road and isn’t easily seen and the sign can’t be read until the driver is right in front of the building. Dawson recalled in the beginning the library board wanted to name it the “Alan Bates/Bill Hamm Media Center” in honor of those late Sumpter officials who worked to make the center a reality. Peters said, “We tried and they told us to butt out”;
• Heard Juriga report that according to his notes he had served 256 hours together with Dawson on the building committee, working with attorneys, architect, and construction people. There was no building committee report at the meeting because construction is complete, the first time there had been no report in years. Juriga also noted 52,000 people came to the library so far this fiscal year and they took out 108,215 items. The use of the library keeps growing, he said;
• Heard Suchy report that Winterfest Saturday was a very busy time at the library. In addition to the hot chocolate and cookies program and post-parade visit from Santa, they welcomed two performances by Animal Magic that were originally planned for the tent in 4th Street Square. Due to the strong winds that day, the Chamber of Commerce needed to find a new home for this program. The automatic library counter determined 1,200 came into the library that day;
• Learned the library has increased its loan periods on the wi-fi hot spots to two weeks and is currently allowing patrons to place holds on them;
• Learned the Roys Street sidewalk has yet to be poured and, depending on the weather, might not be able to be poured until spring. The concrete by the first-floor meeting room door has been sawcut and re-caulked. The faulty circuit for HVAC Rooftop Unit #3 is still on order. Also, an end panel that was pried loose from the stacks needs repair as well as a window blind in the meeting room that is stuck. The window blind is still under warranty; and
• Heard Barbara Miller report that the Belleville Area Council for the Arts has an agreement with John Monaghan, a retired film and theatre critic for The Detroit Free Press, who is putting together a series of classic films to be shown at the library. She said there will be three in the spring and three in the fall, including film discussions. Miller said Friends of the Belleville Area District Library have agreed to help BACA with the expense.