Kingston Library Trustees Adopt Courtyard Policy With Child Safety Amendments

KINGSTON — May 18, 2026 — Kingston Library trustees unanimously adopted a new courtyard use policy and deferred a volunteer policy to June at their May 18 meeting. The courtyard policy, presented by Library Director Donald as a staff-requested framework for the library's enclosed outdoor space, was amended on the floor to add a no-smoking-and-vaping prohibition and a requirement that children under 10 be supervised — then passed without opposition. The volunteer policy, which would formalize structures for teen, senior tax-workoff, and community adult volunteers, was tabled after trustees determined they needed input from librarians who currently oversee volunteers before voting. The director also reported a 49,000-gallon water-use anomaly at the Ames Center under investigation, a site visit from an engineering firm assessing the feasibility of converting 1,600 square feet of sub-basement space into a dedicated programming room, and ongoing disruptions from the OCLN-wide migration to the Evergreen integrated library system, which the director said had generated approximately 400 open help-desk tickets network-wide.