Kingston Library Board Pursues Official Trustee Email, Reviews Failing Adams Center HVAC

KINGSTON — April 27, 2026 — Kingston Library Board flags HVAC failure at Adams Center and a stalled reference librarian search. The Board of Trustees, meeting April 27 with Chair Lee Lewis and Library Director Donald Culloch, learned that one of two HVAC actuators at the Adams Center has burned out completely, with a potentially costly condenser failure also under investigation — raising the prospect of no air conditioning at the facility for the start of summer. Culloch reported that a search for a reference librarian has yielded only about six applicants total, compared to the roughly two days it typically takes to reach that number for other vacancies; the position has been reposted to the MBLC, Simmons, and Rhode Island job lines to widen the pool. The board also agreed by consensus to pursue a dedicated public email address for trustees, limited by open meeting law to access by the chair and secretary, after Culloch reported that the town's basic email accounts are currently exhausted. A review of the library's certified-library access policy — governing whether patrons from a closed OCLN member library may borrow from Kingston — was deferred to the May meeting.