The mission of the Library Advisory Board is to advise and support the Library Director in maintaining the philosophy of the Carnegie Library System and in fulfilling the purpose, goals, and responsibilities of the Trinidad Carnegie Public Library in providing organized access to meet the educational, informational, recreational, and cultural needs of the general public.
Current Members: Chelsie Kalehuawehe, Janet Clark, Laura Vega Flores, Julie Morris and Paul Kiefer
The regular meeting of the advisory board is the 4th Tuesday of each month at 4:00 pm in person and virtually. For the virtual meeting invitation, please contact us at 719-846-6841.
The meeting minutes for the current year and the previous year are available directly below. Please reach out to the Library Director for archived minutes. To access the agenda and information regarding upcoming meetings, please see our events page.
*For archived minutes, please contact the Library Director at 719-846-6841.
The Regular Meeting of the Library Advisory Board of the City of Trinidad, Colorado, will be held on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at 4:00 pm in person at Carnegie Public Library
AGENDA
Library Advisory Board Meeting
February 25, 2025
The meeting was called to order at the Carnegie Public Library, at 4:00pm by
Chelsie Kalehuawehe, Library Advisory Board, President.
Roll Call was taken;
Board Members Present: Janet Clark, Chelsie Kalehuawehe, and Laura Vega Flores
Board Member Present via Zoom: Paul Kiefer Board Member Absent: Julie Morris
Library Staff Present: Jessica Huffman, Library Director
Approval of Minutes from January 29, 2025 Meeting
Motion to Approve: Laura
Seconded: Paul
Communications
Jessica, speaking for the Library and the Advisory Board, “Welcome Back, Paul!”
Agenda
Building
Minotaur Construction started working on the water-damaged closet. Prior to the start of construction, Jessica did a thorough clean-out and found the original blueprints for the Library addition.
Jessica reported that the elevator broke down two weeks ago; following one mishap of a stuck passenger, Jessica decided to investigate herself and ended up getting stuck inside! She was eventually rescued and a short in the wiring was diagnosed as the culprit. However, good things were discovered in the desperate “free Jessica event.” Keys were found that allow the elevator to be opened on any level. Also, the purchase of short range walkie talkies was discussed – one for the Library Director and one for the staff. These might come in very handy in a variety of situations.
The Library front door has encountered more issues. Apparently, the entire door was built out of spare parts, thus requiring that the entire door needs to be replaced. This is a very expensive repair, perhaps $10K and the work would have to be done by a licensed, historical contractor. This door issue might signal a foundation/structural problem.
Programs
Legal Help is going great. Reservable spots are filling up fast.
Trivia Night is March 4th at Mutiny Cafe
The winter Adult Reading Program is going great.
The Living Library Special Event scheduled for Saturday, March 1st, currently has about 9 individuals to “check out”. There will be live music, food and the event will be videotaped.
Tom has scheduled the Adult Spelling Bee for March 13th.
Jessica will be working the Spring Literary Fair at Primero on Feb. 27th.
The movie “True Grit,” one of the Adult Reading Programs focus books is being shown at the Library in March.
Tuesday Tots is going strong.
The last Storytime will be March 13th, due to Phyllis’s resignation.
Common Good Cafe continues to meet the second Monday of each month.
Budget
Due to budget cuts, Udemy, the Library’s online course and certification program, will be discontinued. Jessica is exploring various ways to possibly bring it back in the future, if specific user-targeting is employed.
Personnel
A huge loss to the Library will occur this month with the retirement of our Children’s Librarian, Phyllis. She will be sorely missed.
Reports by Members
Paul: is happy and glad to be back in service to the Library.
New Business
Autism Awareness Event Meeting – March 6th.
Please e-mail Jessica if you would like to add something to the Agenda.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn: Janet
Meeting adjourned at 4:58pm
The Regular Meeting of the Library Advisory Board of the City of Trinidad, Colorado, will be held on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, at 4:00 pm via Zoom meeting and in person at Carnegie Public Library
Library Advisory Board Meeting
January 29, 2025
The meeting was called to order at the Carnegie Public Library, at 4:00pm by Chelsie Kalehuawehe, Library Advisory Board, President.
Roll Call was taken;
Board Members Present: Janet Clark, Chelsie Kalehuawehe, and Julie Morris
Excused Board Member: Laura Vega Flores
Library Staff Present: Jessica Huffman, Library Director
Community Member Present: Angelo Cuccia
Community Members Present via Zoom: Marjie Kiefer, Paul Kiefer
Approval of Minutes from October 22, 2024 Meeting
Motion to Approve: Janet
Seconded: Julie
Communications
Marjie Kiefer, speaking for the Friends of the Library, reported that all invoices presented to them have been paid.
Agenda
Director’s Report
Building
The Library’s front door is slowly being repaired. November winds broke the hinges right off and were replaced with a full hinge. However, the new hinge does not line up with the frame! Jessica is working with Karl Gabrielson’s crew (Trinidad Construction Group) to figure it out – along with having concrete repaired that is now damaged at the entrance to the Library.
Insurance is taking care of the hail damage to the roof edging and HVAC unit. Bids are currently coming in for those repairs.
Jessica is also waiting on one more bid on the downstairs water-damaged closet. The damage was caused by a misaligned downspout.
And, finally, only one more egress security light needs to be installed and that will complete that project.
Programs
The Legal Help program is successfully up and running again. They are available every 3rd Tuesday from 2 to 4pm. Appointments are 20 minutes and need to be scheduled. There are also non-English speakers available for appointments at other time and date options.
Trivia Night at the Mutiny Cafe is still going strong, the first Tuesday of every month from 6 to 7:30pm.
The Adult Winter Reading Program has kicked off and registration is going well. Participants receive prizes for reading and attending Library sponsored events, such as Trivia, the Spelling Bee, and Movie Nights. The program utilizes READsquared to track progress. Two movie nights are already planned in conjunction with this program; the original 1969 “True Grit” and the remake from 2010.
Kristi Rogers, who formerly lived in Trinidad and designed the Library’s website, is helping to spearhead the Human Library event that will take place the first weekend in March. Instead of checking out books, patrons are able to “check out” people to educate them on a multitude of topics. The event will be videotaped and has been very successful at other libraries.
Tuesday Tots is happening the 1st and 3rd Tuesday and currently has approximately 10 consistent families attending.
Every 3rd Friday, the Library offers STEM workstations for area students to enjoy.
The very popular Book to Movie group, for 5th/6th/7th graders, read and watched “The Indian in the Cupboard” in January and is looking forward to “The Wizard of Oz” in February, and especially the March offering of “White Bird”, the group’s first graphic novel.
Commongood Cafe continues every 2nd Mondays from 5 to 6:30pm. Our community guest, Angelo, is a participant and stated that Tom does a great job with this program.
Budget
Jessica happily announced that REV Renewables donated $5000 to the Library. She is planning to use this money to purchase Alzheimer Kits, Autism Programming materials, and refurbishing the very popular, weather-worn Story Time display located at Central Park.
Personnel
There is a Library staff meeting scheduled for this Saturday morning at 8am.
Reports by Members
Chelsie: Community members have quizzed her on the difference between Aspencat and Libby and asked Jessica for clarification. Jessica explained that Libby is the source for audio books and e-books, while Aspencat is the Library’s online catalog
New Business
Please e-mail Jessica if you would like to add something to the Agenda.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn: Chelsie
Meeting adjourned at 4:39pm
The RESCHEDULED Meeting of the Library Advisory Board of the City of Trinidad, Colorado, will be held on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, at 4:00 pm via Zoom meeting and in person at Carnegie Public Library
Upcoming meetings: February 25, 2025 4:00 p.m. Library Advisory Board Meeting
Trinidad Carnegie Public Library, 202 N Animas St, Trinidad, CO 81082
Library Advisory Board Meeting
October 22, 2024
The meeting was called to order at the Carnegie Public Library, at 4:03pm by Chelsie Kalehuawehe, Library Advisory Board, President.
Roll Call was taken;
Board Members Present: Chelsie Kalehuawehe, Julie Morris, and
Laura Vega-Flores
Library Staff Present: Jessica Huffman, Library Director
Missing: Janet Clark
Approval of Minutes from September 30, 2024 Meeting
Motion to Approve: Julie
Seconded: Chelsie
Communications
None
Agenda
Director’s Report
Building
Programs
Budget
Strategic Plan
Staff
Reports by Members
None.
New Business
None.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn: Julie
The meeting adjourned at 4:50 pm
The Regular Meeting of the Library Advisory Board of the City of Trinidad, Colorado, will be held on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, at 4:00 pm via Zoom meeting and in person at Carnegie Public Library.
Library Advisory Board Meeting
September 30, 2024
The meeting was called to order at the Carnegie Public Library, at 4:01pm by Chelsie Kalehuawehe, Library Advisory Board, President.
Roll Call was taken;
Board Members Present: Janet Clark, Chelsie Kalehuawehe, and Julie Morris
Board Member Present via Zoom: Laura Vega Flores
Library Staff Present: Jessica Huffman, Library Director
Approval of Minutes from August 27, 2024 Meeting
Motion to Approve: Julie
Seconded: Chelsie
Communications
None
Agenda
Prefacing her report, Jessica thanked the Board for agreeing to meet at this rescheduled date.
Building
All egress lighting is slated to be replaced.
The “Poop” offender lighting situation is still being researched by both Jessica and Sam at Tri Star Security.
A water leak was discovered by the City’s new Building Inspector. It was located in a basement closet and thankfully it is not a structural component, but rather a misaligned downspout. All repairs and fixes will be addressed.
Programs
The new volunteer Legal Help team from Pueblo did not show up for their last scheduled session. They provided a phone number for clients to call but then did not answer the phone. Jessica and Tom are sitting down to evaluate this volunteer group and perhaps recruit a new legal team. Patrons who need legal help, need to be assured that it will be there when scheduled.
Trivia Night has returned at Mutiny Cafe and is going strong.
The Common Good Cafe, Tom has reported, is running well.
Tuesday Tots with Phylis is going strong.
Books to Movie this month featured “The Wild Robot” and was a huge hit. The Library paid for 1 child with 1 parent to attend the movie at Tri Peak Theater and a good crowd participated. The theater is very happy with the partnership.
Jessica attended Trinidad State College’s Fall Resource Fair; she promoted Kanopy and signed up some new Library patrons!
The Library will be participating in both Primero’s Fall Fun Night on October 29th and First National Bank’s Trick or Treat event by giving out books and candy.
Budget
Always the team player, Jessica submitted to the City next year’s Library budget with many cuts. She is confident that the money loss will not affect services.
City Strategic Plan
By 2027, the City will create a vibrant plan so that Trinidad will be more of a “College Town”. Jessica feels that city-wide acknowledgment and celebrations of Trinidad State College are past due and very much needed.
Reports by Members
Janet: reported that she will miss the October 22, 2024 meeting.
Julie: wanted to formally acknowledge what a great job Jessica is doing for the Library and in turn for the community itself. The rest of the Board wholeheartedly agreed!
New Business
None.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn: Janet
Meeting adjourned at 4:36pm
The Rescheduled Meeting of the Library Advisory Board of the City of Trinidad, Colorado, will be held on Monday, September 30, 2024, at 4:00 pm via Zoom meeting and in person at Carnegie Public Library
Library Advisory Board Meeting
August 27, 2024
The meeting was called to order at the Carnegie Public Library, at 4:03pm by Chelsie Kalehuawehe, Library Advisory Board, President.
Roll Call was taken;
Board Members Present: Janet Clark, Chelsie Kalehuawehe, Julie Morris, and
Laura Vega-Flores
Library Staff Present: Jessica Huffman, Library Director
Approval of Minutes from July 23, 2024 Meeting
Motion to Approve: Julie
Seconded: Janet
Communications
None
Agenda
A group discussion was held concerning the procedures that this policy spells out. Janet commented that she thought it was quite thorough and fair, as it requires the petitioner to qualify their concerns. The Advisory Board recommended no changes to this Policy.
Building
The “Poop” offender that was discussed in the last meeting will be addressed with an additional security camera. It has not been decided if the camera will be hardwired or solar – costs are being evaluated.
Programs
Things are really gearing up for the fall at the Library. Tuesday Tots, the Legal Help Program, Book to Movies (“The Wild Robot” will be the first featured selection), Trivia Night has returned to Mutiny Cafe, Jessica and the Staff will be at Primero’s Family Fun Night, and Phyllis continues to shine with her traveling Story Time at Head Start and many area schools.
Jessica is working with the Branson Schools and Holy Trinity issuing all English Students Library cards and incentives to visit.
Jessica submitted the library’s budget proposal for next year to the city.
Jessica informed the Board that the City had hired a Strategic Planner to better help the City reach common goals. Some of the Departments have been proposed to consolidate; Jessica explained that in the City Ordinances, the Library is to be a separate department on its own. She is working with the City to keep that organizational policy the same.
Reports by Members
None.
New Business
None.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn: Janet
The meeting adjourned at 4:52 pm
Library Advisory Board Meeting
July 23, 2024
The meeting was called to order at the Carnegie Public Library, at 4:00 pm by Chelsie Kalehuawehe, Library Advisory Board, President.
Roll Call was taken.
Board Members Present: Janet Clark, Chelsie Kalehuawehe, and Laura Vega-Flores
Board Members Absent: Julie Morris
Library Staff Present: Jessica Huffman, Library Director
Approval of Minutes from June 25, 2024 Meeting
Motion to Approve: Laura
Seconded: Janet
Communications
None
Agenda
Building
There is a repeat offender who is using a corner of the outside back area as a pooping station. This area, of course, is in a section that the security cameras do not cover. Jessica contacted Bob Just, Trinidad’s Public Works Director, who suggested installing motion sensor lights.
Programs
This summer’s Summer Reading Program was the best attended ever, with 108 participants! Also, more readers finished their individual challenges than ever before as well. Jessica was very happy, but she is planning on re-evaluating each age group’s individual goal-setting procedures. She is excited to implement some positive changes for next summer. Even though this summer was a huge success, she thinks the program can be even better. She will maintain the big event themes as this year’s pool party had 117 attendees, the Foam Party had over 300 attendees, the Skateland Party had 48 attendees, and her Story Time presentations at the Farmer’s Market were popular as well.
The Library’s Legal Help Program has resumed with new leadership. It is the 3rd Thursday of every month.
Jessica will submit the Library’s next year’s Budget Proposal on August 1st. All City departments have been asked to reduce their overall budget by 10%. This cut was necessitated by City Sales Tax being down and the inclusion of Noah’s Ark Animal Shelter in the overall City Budget.
Jessica will also submit the State Library Grant by August 31st.
The staff has begun work on fall programming.
Reports by Members
None.
New Business
Jessica requested that in next month’s New Business, the Advisory Board review the Library’s current Reconsideration Policy to refresh our minds and reflect on its ease of application.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn: Janet
Meeting adjourned at 4:52 pm
The Regular Meeting of the Library Advisory Board of the City of Trinidad, Colorado, will be held on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, at 4:00 pm via Zoom meeting and in person at Carnegie Public Library
The meeting was called to order at the Carnegie Public Library, at 3:59pm by Chelsie Kalehuawehe, Library Advisory Board, President.
Roll Call was taken;
Board Members Present: Janet Clark, Chelsie Kalehuawehe, and Laura Vega-Flores
Library Staff Present: Jessica Huffman, Library Director
Approval of Minutes from February 27, 2024 Meeting
Motion to Approve: Laura
Seconded: Chelsie
Communications
None
Boards and Commissions Training Update
Chelsie attended this training and reported that this 4-hour training session was jam-packed with good information. One of the main concepts was the importance of running “good” meetings. Good meetings follow Robert’s Rules of Orders and incorporate the following six concepts:
Chelsie also reminded all Board Members when attending meetings, one must be prepared and ready to listen and engage.
Jessica stated that she will put on next month’s Board Agenda a review of Robert’s Rules and a review of our Library Board bylaws to ascertain if the rules are consistent.
Director’s Report
Building
Jessica and the Library Staff are investigating an odd ammonia-based smell in the basement. So far, no source has been determined.
Programs
Book to Movie Club continues to be a success. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is next up, followed by How to Train Your Dragon.
Trivia Night, the first Tuesday of each month, at Mutiny Cafe also continues to be very popular. Dekota and Jessica lead this fun, informative evening event.
Philosophy Cafe is changing its format, with a three topic approach.
Tuesday Tots, led by Phyllis, continues its success as well.
The Adult Book Club, Time Out for Reading, is solid with a core base of readers is looking to attract some fresh bibliophiles.
The Library is hosting a Solar Eclipse event on Monday, April 8th. Jessica purchased 300 pairs of eclipse glasses and will have some on hand for the event and is also handing out 2 pairs per family upon Library patrons’ request. The Library will have their telescope set up during the eclipse for safe viewing as well.
Jessica is focusing grant money this calendar year on the Large Print Collection. She acknowledged that the Library serves quite a large group of patrons who seek out this collection, and these books are generally more expensive than the traditional print size.
She is also working on purchases for the Experiential Collection. These include; Triggers tickets, Main Street Live tickets, Swimming Pool passes, and she is considering; Skateland passes, Movie tickets and Monument Lake passes.
She was thrilled to report that the LIbrary’s two backpacks for the State Park experience have been replaced by the State Library Commission.
Jessica is working to finalize the Summer Reading Program’s big events.
The Library Foundation is being revitalized and approached Jessica about a possible Library fundraiser. The fundraiser will celebrate its 30th anniversary and per Jessica’s suggestion may target its focus on a possible Book Mobile!
Personnel
Jessica and all staff will attend a Library in-service Training Program, Rural Meet and Greet, in Pueblo on April 16th.
Reports by Members
Laura reminded everyone that April is National Autism Acceptance Month and National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Laura also suggested that a “New Business” section be added to our Library Board Agendas. Jessica thought that was a great idea and she would look into the addition.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn: Janet
Seconded: Laura
Meeting adjourned at 5:07pm