Kingston Library Board Unanimously Adopts Revised Solicitation Policy

KINGSTON — March 16, 2026 — Kingston Library trustees adopted a revised solicitation policy and deferred a staff holiday-closure request at their March 16 meeting. The Board of Trustees voted 5-0 on a roll-call vote to adopt an updated policy governing sales, solicitation, and political activity on library property, including new language explicitly addressing candidates circulating nomination papers; the prior version had contained no such provision, and decision-making authority was shifted from the library director to the full board. Library Director Donald Cullen separately reported that the town's Finance Committee unanimously passed the library's proposed budget after questions about three increased line items — a software vendor replacement, a formula-driven rise in the Old Colony Library Network assessment, and step-raise salary increases. The board then turned to a staff request to close the library on Friday, July 3, without requiring employees to use earned time, given that July 4 falls on a Saturday this year; Cullen cautioned that union contract negotiations are approaching and that granting the closure could set a precedent affecting other town employee groups, citing a town administrator memo showing Town Hall staff will not receive floating holidays for the same weekend holidays. The board continued the closure question to its April meeting, directing Cullen to gather July 3, 2025, patronage data and consult human resources first.