Kingston Library Trustees Approve Courtyard and Volunteer Policy Updates

Library · Meeting of July 20, 2026

Kingston library trustees approve courtyard and volunteer policy updates, table a contested conduct policy. Library Director Donald Pallone told the Board of Trustees an emergency HVAC repair at the Adams Center cost about $8,000 instead of an estimated $36,000 after a vendor found surplus units from an unrelated Rhode Island project. Trustees unanimously approved amended courtyard rules allowing food with director approval and a reorganized volunteer policy, but spent most of the meeting rewriting a civility policy governing disruptive patrons without taking a vote, debating whether to say staff "may decide" or are "responsible" for addressing misconduct.

"It is going to create discrepancies as to how people feel that they can act," one trustee warned. The library also logged over 8,800 Hoopla circulations costing more than $21,000 this fiscal year, and Pallone flagged an ongoing dispute over families parking in library spaces meant for patrons at the Adams Center.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,342 words

Source: the Library meeting of July 20, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.