Trustees set goals and praise director’s program expansion in Ryan’s performance review

The Southborough Library Board of Trustees discussed the director’s performance evaluation and established several goals for the coming year during its May 11 meeting.

Chair Marguerite said she had posted a draft evaluation and opened the floor for comments. Trustee Mary (speaking in praise) highlighted Ryan’s website migration and mentoring of staff, saying the library’s communications now have “a lovely cohesive look.” Mary added that the migration had helped marketing and programming. ‘‘I think our library director does a particularly nice job of making sure there are activities, entree to our library for absolutely every member of our community,’’ a trustee said in the discussion.

Trustees agreed on a set of goals for Ryan’s next evaluation cycle: (1) support the evolving roles and needs of the Friends of the Library and other community organizations and town departments; (2) research, recommend and implement improvements in space and storage needs for the library; (3) create written procedures documenting how to reconfigure library spaces for events and programs; (4) maximize use of resources (time, personnel and facilities); and (5) attend a national conference such as PLA or ALA.

Board members also discussed day-to-day operational challenges Ryan faces, including repeated interruptions and public-behavior issues that require staff time; Ryan said he will continue to expand signage and staff guidance but noted some patrons do not read posted rules. The board agreed the evaluation should reflect accomplishments — including expanded programming, successful mentoring of staff members Libby and Mariana, and the website migration — and would be finalized at the June meeting for use in salary decisions.

Separately, Ryan informed trustees that the library will be closed Friday, June 19 for Juneteenth (a federal holiday recognized by Massachusetts) and therefore will also be closed Saturday, June 20 so full-time staff receive the holiday; he said he will include that notice in his next director’s report.

Next steps: The chair will incorporate trustee comments into the evaluation draft, and the board will finalize the evaluation and goals at the June meeting; any salary recommendations will be considered within the town’s SAP/COLA process.