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January 2026 Minutes
Approved on February 20, 2026
Suffolk County Library Association (SCLA) Minutes
Friday, January 16, 2026
Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY
In attendance: Rachel Cecchini, Zachary Sogluizzo, Sue Kandle, Bob Johnson, Anthony Giansante, Tim Spindler, Jackie Narkiewicz, Amanda Hayman, Katie Brand, Rebecca Goldstein, Rita Alfano, Sam Alberts, Tim Sicurella, Tory Young, Liz Hughes, Jen Conlon, Abby Szwed, Alexis Camarda, Nicole Malley, Steve Alcalde
Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 10:11 AM by Bob Johnson. Seconded by Rebecca Goldstein.
Announcements:
Motion to approve the December 2025 meeting minutes by Steve Alcalde. Seconded by Nicole Malley.
Presidents Report – Bob Johnson reported:
Thanks to Anthony Giansante and the entire 2025 SCLA Board and members for everything they did last year and their continued support.
Bob would like to include a monthly raffle (not from SCLA funds) at the meetings, to honor all board members for their commitment, both during work hours and off work, spending time away from their family to accomplish SCLA goals. The idea is to use the winnings with your family. Our January winner is Zach Sogluizzo from Half Hollow Hills. He was asked to report back in February.
Treasurer’s Report – Wonda Miller reported:
December Finances:
SCLA began with a combined starting balance of all our accounts on December 1st of $96,025.77.
The income for December was $13,019.01, primarily from LILC proceeds, membership renewals, and RASD & YASD Annual luncheons.
The expenses for December total $9,821.22, primarily for Advocacy buses, and reimbursements for event fees.
The closing balance for December was $99,223.56 with $599.13 in pending checks.
|
Income |
Expense |
Net |
Closing Balance |
|
|
January 2025 |
$5,881.91 |
$6,581.88 |
-$699.97 |
$99,617.61 |
|
February 2025 |
$4,218.83 |
$3,480.11 |
$738.72 |
$100,356.33 |
|
March 2025 |
$3,361.64 |
$1,350.33 |
$2,011.31 |
$102,367.64 |
|
April |
$5,010.97 |
$6,826.85 |
-$1,815.88 |
$100,551.76 |
|
May |
$2,996.76 |
$2,262.97 |
$733.79 |
$101,285.55 |
|
June |
$1,948.81 |
$3,856.02 |
-$1,907.21 |
$99,378.34 |
|
July |
$658.44 |
$808.49 |
-$150.05 |
$99,228.29 |
|
August |
$891.36 |
$1,019.56 |
-$128.20 |
$99,100.09 |
|
September |
$1,765.43 |
$2,535.08 |
-$769.65 |
$98,330.44 |
|
October |
$6,582.98 |
$12,013.37 |
-$5,430.39 |
$92,900.05 |
|
November |
$4,515.93 |
$1,390.21 |
$3,125.72 |
$96,025.77 |
|
December |
$13,019.01 |
$9,821.22 |
$3,197.79 |
$99,223.56 |
Division Reports
DASL – Bruce Seger reported:
We are awaiting a response regarding a program submitted for the annual conference. In addition, I will be coordinating with LILRC and ASLD regarding our spring invitational. I should have updates for both at our next meeting.
RASD – Jackie Narkiewicz reported:
RASD offered a very successful program on Intro to AI for Librarians on January 14 that was attended by over 50 people. MOSAIC wants to offer the “Best Plus 3.0” training through Literacy Suffolk for librarians in early February. Long Island Reads has a new website! Find us at www.longislandreads.org. The Programming Guide for the 2026 pick can be found there, and we’ll be directing everyone to the website for tickets in March. Information about the coordinated order should be coming soon, with the Reader’s Guide to follow. The next meeting for the Readers Advisory Committee is Thursday, January 29, 2026 at 10 a.m. at SCLS. Our topic is Healing Fiction.
CATS – Nicole Malley reported:
CATS is planning a Women in Tech panel, along with the EETC. Location and date is still being determined. We have 4 panelists and a moderator participating, and are looking for a Tech services and Children’s librarian to join the panel, ideally from the East End.
We have appointed Alex Cranshaw as our Emerging Tech Chair, and I have been appointed co-chair of TIF, as of our last meeting.
We have scheduled our board meeting dates for the first half of the year, which has been posted to the SCLA website. They will take place in person at SCLS, on the first Wednesday of the month, except for February which will be on the 11th.
SSD and CATS are currently coordinating a Vega Discover training. This will be held February 23 from 2-4pm at the Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library.
SSD – Alexis Camarda reported:
SSD and CATS will co-host a Vega meeting in February at the Mastic Library. PALS will join us for part of this session to review the latest features and additional technical aspects of Vega.
We are also looking into hosting a second annual Virtual Library Gallery Meet-Up soon, as we did last January.
SSD has its monthly board meetings scheduled for the last Tuesday of each month in 2026. We hope to make a motion to appoint Abigail Szwed as Secretary and Hailey DeVaul as Treasurer.
Bob thanked CATS and SSD for reigniting the SSD division, as it was struggling for a while and now has a new board and lots of ideas to move forward.
YASD – Amanda Hayman reported:
YASD just held its successful 2025 Luncheon on December 15 at Toast in Patchogue with guest speakers Veronica Agarwal and Lee Durfey-Lavoie, coauthors of the middle-grade graphic novels Just Roll with It and Sink or Swim. We will be having our first board meeting next Wednesday, January 21 at SCLS at 10AM and following will be our first event of the year: our Vision Board Workshop and Meet the Board event!
Committee Reports
Annual Dinner – Melissa Sutter reported:
No report, but is possibly looking for a new venue.
Archives – Bruce reported:
No report.
Civil Service: No report.
Community Service – Liz Hughes reported:
No report.
Continuing Education – Jen Conlon reported:
She was finally able to access the email account that she needed.
ELSA – Zach reported:
No report, but was shown where all of the ELSA supplies are kept at SCLS.
Intellectual Freedom – Bruce Seger reported:
As mentioned previously, I do have a speaker, Kelsun, and we hope to have him scheduled for mid-February.
LDA Award – Liz Hughes reported:
Prep work has begun for this year’s LDA award. Nassau County is in charge of collecting this year’s nominations and buying the plaque for the winner. We have just finalized the new brochure and it should be ready for distribution in the next week or so. Like in year’s past, SCLA will only be sending it out via the listserv, but if anyone would like physical copies sent to them, please let me know, ehughes@elwoodlibrary.org, and I am happy to send them to your library.
Legislative – Sam Alberts reported:
Advocacy Day is Feb 3, 2026. There are 2 buses scheduled to go up for Advocacy day. The first bus is now full. The 2nd bus currently still has seats available. Please consider attending and registering to take the bus. There are two Advocacy Information trainings scheduled for January 27th at 10 am and January 29th at 2 pm.
LEOC – Tory Young reported:
First meeting of the LEOC Roundtable will be held in-person at SCLS on Wednesday, February 11 at 9:30 am. Currently we have 10 attendees signed up.
First webinar in partnership with LILPA: Microaggressions in the Library presented by Charles Fox from Legal Aid Society of Suffolk. This will be Thursday, March 12 at 10 am.
Bob asked about setting up a Zoom meeting to discuss the possibility of doing a podcast.
Long Island Library Conference: Registration is underway. Programs submitted will be decided upon at the end of January and those selected will be notified..
LILPA – Katie Brand reported:
Mock Stonewall will be held virtually on Thursday, January 29th at 10:00am. Titles have been announced and registration is underway.
We are collecting LGBTQIA+ books to give away at this year’s Pride Parade in June. Please send any titles you may have to Katie Brand at Smithtown-Commack.
Long Range Planning/Marketing:
Membership: No report.
Networking – Tim Sicurella reported:
There will be a networking event at James Joyce in Patchogue on Thursday, February 26 for 37.50 per person. Tim asked for a motion to approve $500 for the deposit at James Joyce. Jackie made the motion. Anthony seconded. All in favor. Tim has submitted the Disbursement Request Form; invoice from James Joyce forthcoming. Flyers for the event have been sent out to the listserv.
Scholarship – Rachel Cecchini reported: No report.
Student Outreach – Rachel Cecchini reported:
I am compiling a list of library science schools to send materials out to. I’ll be using the SCLA Canva account to make an informational sheet that will be sent to the schools. I’d like to send a copy of the sheet to each Suffolk County library, with the hopes that it could be posted in a staff area.
Newsletter – Carole Lingg reported: No report.
Nominating – Rebecca Goldstein reported:
It’s never too early to think about nominating the next executive board. Please get the word out and send Rebecca any suggestions.
Web Page – Steve Alcalde reported:
He updated both SCLA and Wild Apricot websites to reflect the 2026 SCLA Board.
He added all available SCLA, CATS, and TIF meetings to the SCLA calendar, and asked other divisions to provide him with information when possible.
Also, upon request from Liz Hughes, he updated the YASD link on the SCLA page.
He has updated admins on Wild Apricot, and has asked all divisions to verify their incoming secretaries so he can ensure they have necessary access.
Finally, he asked all board members to submit any information to him that they would like posted on the SCLA page, Wild Apricot, and SCLA’s Facebook page.
Liaisons
CLASC: No report.
LILRC – Sally Stieglitz reported:
LILRC has the advocacy day schedule up on its site. This is still being updated and times may change. LILRC’s spring intern Elisha Feliz will start her internship next week.
NCLA: No report.
PLDA – Shauna Scholl reported:
Registration is still open for the two-day advocacy bus. Register by January 30th to reserve your seat. A check for $75 made out to Suffolk PLDA may be sent to Shauna Scholl, PLDA Treasurer @ Mattituck-Laurel Library.
SCLS: Samantha thanked everyone for their Advocacy support.
NYLA – Tim Spindler reported:
Advocacy Day is February 3.
Members-at-Large:
Old Business – Bob Johnson reported: No report.
New Business – Bob Johnson reported:
On behalf of Wonda Miller: Every year in January the Divisions are awarded $500.00 from the SCLA general fund, per a resolution that was passed in 2023. Bob asked for a motion to disperse $500 to each division, for a total of $2500. Rebecca made the motion. Jen seconded it. All in favor.
On behalf of Wonda Miller: I’d like to propose a resolution to hire Al Coster again this year to be our accountant for filing our tax returns and providing us with a Financial Report (it is an overview of our activity, rather than an audit which would be much more expensive). Last year it cost $1750.00, the proposed cost for this year is $1950.00. Bob asked for a motion to hire Al Coster. Rebecca made the motion. Amanda seconded. All in favor.
Other ideas for SCLA this year:
Meet SCLA Night – date TBD, possibly the second week in March. Bob asked for a motion to approve funds not to exceed $2000 for this event. Nicole made the motion. Alexis seconded. All in favor.
Sponsorship program – Bob is working on specifics for a sponsorship program where vendors/companies would pay for advertisements that will appear in our newsletter. Ideas are $250-$750 per year; program would be open to all but possibly can do an exclusivity for a certain amount of time (ex: Roofing company would be the only roofing business to be listed for a set period of time). If you have contacts that might be interested, please let Bob know. He will provide more specifics at the February meeting.
Broadway with SCLA – This would be a bus trip for a day, which includes lunch and a Broadway show. More information at the February meeting.
Please send Bob any additional ideas for programs, membership, funding, etc.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 am by Anthony Giansante. Seconded by Alexis Camarda.
February 2026 Minutes
Approved on March 27, 2026
Suffolk County Library Association (SCLA) Minutes
Friday, February 20, 2026
Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY
In attendance: Bob Johnson, Anthony Giansante, Wonda Miller, Susan Kandle, Jen Conlon, Melissa Sutter, Bruce Seger, Sam Alberts, Katie Brand, Brian Adams, Jackie Narkiewicz, Amanda Hayman, Nicole Malley, Alexis Camarda, Abby Szwed, Sally Stieglitz, Kerri Souto
Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 10:13 am by Anthony Giansante. Seconded by Nicole Malley.
Announcements:
Monthly Raffle – Bob Johnson: This month we have two raffles; Bruce Seger won the first raffle; Anthony Giansante won the second. Please report back to tell us what you did with your families/friends with the winnings.
Motion to approve the January 16, 2026 meeting minutes by Jen Conlon. Seconded by Alexis Camarda.
Presidents Report – Bob Johnson reported:
Spoke about how we can gain membership and get the word out about SCLA, specifically highlighting Advocacy and ebook costs, etc. This topic is touched on again throughout the meeting/minutes.
Treasurer’s Report – Wonda Miller reported:
January 2026 Finances:
SCLA began with a combined starting balance of all our accounts on January 1st of $99,223.56.
The income for January was $7,147.44, primarily from membership renewals, and the annual disbursements to the Divisions.
The expenses for January total $2,777.25, reflecting the division disbursements out of SCLA, and a couple of event reimbursements.
The closing balance for January was $103,593.75 with $393.84 in pending checks.
Every year in January the Divisions are awarded $500.00 from the SCLA general fund, per a resolution that was passed in 2023. This is reflected in both the income lines and the expense lines.
Al Coster, our accountant, has completed filing our Federal and State forms, and has provided me with a digital copy of our financial report for 2025 to share with the Board to review. He indicated that they exceed the hours for the estimate, but didn’t charge us for the additional time.
|
Income |
Expense |
Net |
Closing Balance |
|
|
December 2025 |
$13,019.01 |
$9,821.22 |
$3,197.79 |
$99,223.56 |
|
January 2026 |
$7,147.44 |
$2,777.25 |
$4,370.19 |
$103,593.75 |
|
February 2026 |
Bob Johnson (and the board) thanked Wonda for her meticulous attention to the finances.
Division Reports:
DASL – Bruce Seeger reported:
Bruce also thanked Wonda for her diligent work, as well as Bob for what he does for the board.
The Annual Herbert Biblo Academic Libraries Invitational will take place on April 10, 9 am – 4 pm at Nassau Community College.
RASD – Jackie Narkiewicz reported:
Local History currently has 41 members.
Library Marketing will start promoting the SLMA Award earlier this year around March 1.
Readers Advisory’s next meeting is April 30 and the topic will be Bite Sized Books – books under 250 pages.
CATS – Nicole Malley reported:
The Vega meeting on Monday, February 23 co-hosted with SSD was cancelled due to the blizzard. It has been rescheduled for March 4 at 2:00 pm at Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library. There are currently 56 registrations.
Women In Tech program will take place on April 30, 6:30 pm at Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library.
Technical Services Roundtable will be held on April 9, 10:00 am at SCLS. Demco will hold a demonstration on book covering.
CATS has discussed a branding refresh. More information to come.
Bob Johnson recommended setting up a scholarship for students who want to enter the library technology field. The idea is for a $500 annual donation. A motion was made and approved. The Scholarship Committee consists of Steve Alcalde, Anthony Giansante, Allison Mirabella, Dave Jones, and Bob Johnson.
SSD – Alexis Camarda reported:
SSD & CATS are co-hosting the Vega meeting originally scheduled for Monday, February 23, from 2:00 – 4:00 pm at the Mastic-Moriches-Shirley Community Library. This program has since been rescheduled for April 4 at 2:00 pm, to be held at MMSCL.
We have the Library Gallery Virtual Meetup scheduled for Monday, March 16, 10:00 – 11:00 am. At our last committee meeting, we began exploring additional ideas for professional development geared towards support staff for future programming, so we should have more info on that soon.
The SSD submission for the LILC has been approved; it will discuss hiring customer service support staff.
SSD is also in talks with Cornell Cooperative Extension for possible programming.
YASD – Amanda Hayman reported:
On January 21 we held our first YASD meeting and our Meet the Board: Vision Boarding Workshop which had 12 people attend.
We have our next YASD Board meeting on February 25.
The Nassau/Suffolk YASD Joint Meeting has been scheduled for March 24, at 11:00 a.m via Zoom. The guest speaker will be Kelly Jensen from the website Book Riot, who will be talking about censorship.
We will be having another YASD Librarian Meetup at the Brentwood Library on Wednesday, March 18 where we will be touring the teens space and making perler bead art.
Our 2026 Annual Fran Romer Memorial Booktalk Workshop will be taking place on Thursday, April 16 with middle grade graphic novel writer and artist Mike Cavallaro, who wrote the Eowulf series. The theme this year is “Graphic Novels: Teen Tales in Panels” Registration is now open, $35 for members, $40 for non-members.
Committee Reports:
Annual Dinner – Melissa Sutter reported: I am working on venue ideas and reaching out. More information will come soon.
Archives – Bruce Seger reported: Bob and Bruce will get together soon to discuss ideas.
Civil Service – Erin Kanellos and Lindsay Christ reported:
Lindsay Christ will take over as new Chair of the Committee – SCLA thanks you!
Upper Level exams are due at midnight on February 28th. Contact the helpdesk for a printout of attended meetings, if needed. The only other test that may be of interest is the Account Clerk (and Spanish Speaking Account Clerk), although this is not a commonly used title in libraries. The application deadline for this test is late April. Lindsay and Erin are working through goals and recurring tasks for the committee.
Community Service – Liz Hughes reported: No report.
Continuing Education – Jen Conlon reported: The following have been added to the SCLA Continuing Education/Professional Development Hours database: YASD Annual Luncheon on December 15, 2025 and RASD Reader’s Advisory Committee Meeting on January 29, 2026. There was also an inquiry about locating CEUs from the past two years from the Long Island Library Conference.
ELSA – Zach Sogluizzo reported:
I have reached out to members of the present ELSA committee to confirm if they would still like to stand on the committee. The following people have agreed to stay: Jennifer Caskey, Nanci Helmle, and Carolyn Brooks.
Intellectual Freedom – Bruce Seger reported: We are working on getting a speaker for the spring. More information to come.
LDA Award – Liz Hughes reported:
Email blasts have started to go out looking for submissions for this year’s LDA nominees. As of right now, there are 4 scheduled to go out at various intervals to ensure every member gets a chance to see them/nominate a library user should they feel so inclined. If anyone would like a paper copy of the brochure sent to their library, please reach out to me and I am happy to send over a few if needed. A copy of the brochure can also be found on the SCLA site, under the Awards section.
Also, this year the committee has decided that we will be giving out two awards. Andrew Ippolito, the “creator” of the LDA Award, has recently passed away, so it was brought to us that maybe the committee would, as they did in 1980, give out 1 posthumous award to Andrew, as he has never won, as well as one award to a living individual. We voted yes to this, so Andrew’s family and friends will be invited to the conference should they wish to attend. More information on that later will come once we know who accepts it. Because NCLA is in charge of buying the plaque this year, I am not sure what that means in terms of adding the extra plaque (we may have to split that) but I will send an update once that is all decided. (I think the plaque was around $125 last year, give or take, so it shouldn’t be too much from our budget.)
Legislative – Samantha Alberts & Kerri Souto reported:
Samantha introduced Kerri Souto, the new Government and Community Relations Coordinator. She comes with a legislative background.
Current NYLA Take Action Campaign: https://www.nyla.org/become-a-library-advocate-
Overall, Advocacy Day was a success. Initially, we had 72 people registered, and 59 attended. Sam and team are discussing possible ways to ensure that attendance is closer to the number of registrants next year. Thanks to Eliscia Cirrone from LILRC for scheduling all of the legislative meetings. Thank you to PLDA for all of their assistance. The board discussed the possibility of Suffolk County swag for next year’s Advocacy Day; scarves seem to be ideal. Other ideas included group shirts, hats, totebags, etc. The board discussed other options to get more attendance at next year’s event, including more/different advertising, specifically to library school students and trainees, etc. Sam will look into the possibility of a fall program that highlights the importance of Advocacy Day. In total for this year, Suffolk County had 3 buses, and more than 100 people attended; more than 700 people from across the state attended.
Sam explained the difference between CEUs and professional development hours.
LEOC – Tory Young reported:
First LEOC Roundtable was held at SCLS on February 11 with 25 attendees. The next roundtable has been scheduled for Thursday, April 16.
Microaggressions in the Library webinar, in partnership with LILPA, is scheduled for Thursday, March 12 at 10:00 am and will be presented by Charles Fox from Legal Aid Society of Suffolk. Currently we have 150 people registered.
Long Island Library Conference – Brian Adams reported:
All submissions for LILC have been approved and has been posted on the LILC website. Please advertise your programs within your own divisions. Registration is now open; Brian will ask Steve to add this to the SCLA website calendar.
This year, LILC committee would like to ask SCLA to fund a bridge loan to pay the Long Island Marriott a week ahead of the conference, which will be paid back once they get payment from all attendees. The ask is for up to $20,000. Brian spoke with Wonda and filled out the required form.
Brian made a motion for money not to exceed $20,000 for LILC, which will be paid back. Anthony Giansante seconded. The motion was passed unanimously.
LILPA – Katie Brand reported:
Mock Stonewall was held virtually on January 29th with 9 attendees. The following titles were awarded/honored:
Adult: The In-Between Bookstore by Edward Underhill (Winner), The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King(Honored)
Young Adult: Run Away with Me by Brian Selznick
Childrens: Are You A Friend of Dorothy? by Kyle Lukoff (Picture Book Winner), Family Week by Sarah Moon (Middle Grade Winner)
LILPA is looking forward to co-hosting the Microaggressions in the Library webinar in partnership with LEOC. As of this meeting, there are 189 registrations.
LILPA is hosting a LILC program, “Beyond the Book Shelves: Empowering Library Leaders to Build LGBTQ+ Inclusive Workplaces” presented by Joshua Smith.
Long Range Planning/Marketing – No report.
Abby Szwed of Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library volunteered to be the Long Range Planning/Marketing chair. SCLA thanks you!
Membership – Rita Alfano reported: Currently, we have 519 members, 451 of whom are active.
Networking – Tim Sicurella reported:
The SCLA Winter Mix and Mingle Event on February 26th is shaping up to be very well attended. As of this week we are at 42 registered for the mixer! I would like to thank everyone that has helped to spread the word for the event and helped out with all the behind the scenes work. CLASC is helping with name tags, a door prize, scavenger hunt and raffle basket. PLDA has generously agreed to donate $500 towards the event. Melissa Sutter is helping with a basket as well, thank you to her! I will be bringing a basket as well so we should have 3 raffle baskets in total. It’s a little last minute, but if any other committees would be willing to put together a basket it would be much appreciated. Thank you.
CATS will be donating a basket as well. Anthony and Bob will look into creating an SCLA swag basket. No cash will be accepted for raffles.
Newsletter – Carole Lingg reported: No report.
Nominating – No report.
Scholarship – Rachel Cecchini reported: No report.
Student Outreach – Rachel Cecchini reported: I created a flyer with “headline” information about SCLA that will be sent to each Suffolk County library. A copy of the flyer can be found here. I will hold off until early March to send this, so please let me know if you notice anything that needs to be changed. Thank you!
Web Page – Steve Alcalde reported:
Need approval to renew the SCLA Zoom account for $169.90.
Bob Johnson asked for a motion to approve $169.90 to renew the SCLA Zoom account. Seconded by Melissa Sutter. Motion passed unanimously.
Steve and Bob are working on an SCLA website refresh.
Please send Steve any program information and he will put it up on the websites and social media.
Liaisons:
CLASC – No report.
LILRC – Sally Stieglitz reported:
From February through October 2026, LILRC will be honoring its 60 years of service by highlighting 60 acts of community service and engagement by the council and its members. We invite you to submit your own institution’s act of service or engagement to be included in this social media campaign.
Kindly complete this form to submit your institution’s contribution to our celebration!
For questions, please email Sally Stieglitz, Communications & Outreach Coordinator, at sstieglitz@lilrc.org
NCLA – No report.
PLDA – Shauna Scholl reported: No report.
SCLS – Samantha Alberts reported: The Training Room can now be requested for meetings.
NYLA – No report.
Members-at-Large – No report.
Old Business – Bob Johnson reported:
Broadway Day with SCLA – Bob and Susan Kandle have been looking into options for plays, buses, and lunch. More popular Broadway shows are not available for group tickets (for approximately 50 people) until about July or so. In the meantime, they are looking into Drunk Shakespeare for about 30 people, to use as a litmus test for interest, aiming for some time in April. More details to come at the March meeting. If any dates/payments need to be decided before then, Bob will email the board.
Corporate Sponsorships – Bob has outlined some rough ideas. He will discuss the financials with Wonda. If we go ahead with it, there needs to be a committee; the board will need to approve rules and vote on committee members. Bob will work on rules for the March meeting. Also discussed the option for a scholarship sponsorship, which would need to be a separate entity.
New Business – Bob Johnson reported:
Discussed membership, how to get more people to not only join SCLA, but be more active. A flyer was created (found here) with a membership drive in mind, sending people to the website to join and a form that people can fill out if they want more information or to speak with a board member. Several ideas were discussed on how to get this drive underway. We will revisit this next month with additional information and ideas.
Discussed programming, specifically for mental health. Many suggestions were made, including Compassionate Crisis Training, Trauma of Library Work, EAP. Bob will look into options for Zoom meetings. Please bring additional ideas to the March meeting.
If you want to send any information to the Directors’ Listserv, please send it to Kevin Verbesey.
Discussed creating a LinkedIn account for SCLA.
Discussed allowing vendors at events and as members of SCLA and if they should pay more. A policy would need to be written for this. Bob Johnson, Anthony Ginsante, and Wonda Miller will discuss this and report back in March.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 12:14 pm by Bob Johnson. Seconded by Alexis Camarda.
Approved on April 17, 2026
Suffolk County Library Association (SCLA) Minutes
Friday, March 27, 2026
Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY
In attendance: Bob Johnson, Rebecca Goldstein, Anthony Giansante, Sue Kandle, Jen Conlon, Melissa Sutter, Tim Sicurella, Carole Lingg, Bruce Seger, Zach Sogluizzo, Liz Hughes, Sam Alberts, Anne McNulty, Brian Adams, Rachel Cecchini, Lindsay Christ, Tory Young, Jackie Narkiewicz, Amanda Hayman, Nicole Malley, Alexis Camarda, Kerri Souto, Tim Spindler
Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 10:01 am by Anothony Giansante. Seconded by Nicole Malley.
Announcements:
Motion to approve the February 20, 2026 meeting minutes by Jackie Narkiewicz. Seconded by Anthony Giansante.
Presidents Report – Bob Johnson reported:
Bob thanked Tim Sicurella for the successful planning & implementation of the Winter Mixer held at James Joyce. He also thanked Kim and Jackie for their assistance.
Reminder that we need to order swag for LILC – see new business.
The monthly raffles done and supplied by Bob will be stopped due to some concerns about optics.
Treasurer’s Report – Wonda Miller reported:
February 2026 Finances:
SCLA began with a combined starting balance of all our accounts on February 1st of $103,593.75.
The income for February was $6,496.20, primarily from membership renewals, and event registrations (SCLA Mixer & YASD Fran Romer).
The expenses for February total $936.58 including the mixer, administrative fees, and program reimbursements.
The closing balance for February was $109,153.37 with $4,014.86 in pending checks.
The Winter mixer expenses came to $2,101.45 and the income, including the raffle baskets was $1625.00.
Wonda made a motion to approve the 2025 Financial Statement provided to us by Al Coster, CPA. Seconded by Anthony. All approved.
|
Income |
Expense |
Net |
Closing Balance |
|
|
January 2026 |
$7,147.44 |
$2,777.25 |
$4,370.19 |
103,593.75 |
|
February 2026 |
$6,496.20 |
$936.58 |
||
|
March 2026 |
Division Reports:
DASL – Sally Steiglitz and Bruce Seger reported
Along with ASLD (NCLA) and LILRC, DASL is presenting this conference on Gen Z:
Understanding the New College Freshman: Supporting Gen Z Learners in Academic Libraries,
April 10, Nassau Community College Program is open to all types of library professionals and includes lunch and morning refreshments.
At LILC, DASL will present Experiences of Jewish Library Personnel in Professional Spaces, along with Sally Stieglitz, Long Island Library Resources Council and Laurel Scheinfeld, Stony Brook University, from 10:30 am to 11:30 am in the Nassau/Suffolk Room.
RASD – Jackie Narkiewicz reported:
I met with Bob Johnson and Nicole Malley of CATS on Zoom last week and we discussed creating an Emerging Technology Committee with RASD, CATS, & SCLA. Technology is changing so quickly these days, that it is imperative that we stay on top of what is new and up and coming for our libraries. Jackie will discuss it with RASD at their next Board Meeting on April 7, and Nicole will discuss it with CATS at their next Board Meeting. We will discuss again at next month’s SCLA meeting.
CATS – Nicole Malley reported:
The CATS/SSD Vega Discover Training was rescheduled for March 4th and was held at MMSCL. It was well attended with 50 participants. Professional development hours were awarded.
CATS marketing refresh is in the works, the new logo designs will be voted on in a future meeting, and the new logo will be announced at the annual meeting and will begin use for the 2027 term.
Pens have been purchased for swag for the Long Island Library conference, as well as the Cricut Joy Xtra which will be raffled off for LILC.
The EETC has an upcoming Women and Technology in Libraries Panel on April 30th at MMSCL.
A Tech tour of Rogers Memorial Library is being planned for the Spring.
TSR will host a Book Repair Workshop on April 22nd at Longwood Library.
There will be a CATS mixer at Blue Point Brewery, tentative date May 28th, with funds to be approved at the May meeting.
SSD – Alexis Camarda reported:
Our joint CATS/SSD sponsored Vega training on March 4th was well attended, with nearly 50 people in attendance. A representative from SCLS was there to help inform participants about the new catalog, as well as answer questions they had.
On March 16th, SSD sponsored the second annual Virtual Library Gallery Meetup. This event was hosted by Kathryn Heaviside, Librarian & Gallery Coordinator with the Northport-East Northport Public Library, and was filled with helpful tricks and tips for running a library gallery. 32 people attended.
The SSD Committee met on 3/10, and we voted to spend some of our budget to purchase new swag for the year, especially in time for the LILC. We are purchasing 500 packs of tissues and 500 wildflower seed paper shapes.
Some of the members of SSD, including myself, Vice-President Elect Rachel Robertazzi, Past SSD President Nicole Malley-Romagnolo, and former SSD Secretary Sandy Leon, will be presenting a version of the Customer Service Roundtable that we did last fall, now titled, “Improving Customer Service Skills for Library Staff”, at the LILC in May.
We are looking at some dates in June to schedule a summer kick off event at SCLS like we did last year, and hoping to get a speaker from Cornell Cooperative Adult Ed for this event. More details to come. Our next SSD meeting is scheduled for 4/28.
YASD – Amanda Hayman reported:
YASD held his joint meeting with Nassau on March 24 and had 48 attendees.
We also had our YASD Brentwood Library Meetup on March 18, which had 30 attendees.
Fran Romer is on April 16 with author Mike Cavaillaro about graphic novels, we have 27 registered.
We will be having another meetup on April 27 at the Elwood Library and will be talking about summer reading.
Committee Reports:
Annual Dinner – Melissa Sutter reported:
I’ve tentatively booked Captain Bill’s again for the Annual Meeting, on Wednesday, October 21. I asked about the larger room they have for events; they require a 115-person minimum, which we think we can get. An initial payment for $500 is needed to secure the room. Bob is in talks with some companies for possible corporate sponsorships. Anthony Giansante made a motion for money not exceeding $12,000 for the entire event. Rebecca Goldstein seconded. All were in favor.
Archives – Bruce Seger reported:
Congratulations to Sally Steiglitz, winner of the ALA award.
Apologies to Bob for not touching base about setting up a meeting to discuss ideas. Bruce will be in contact next week.
Civil Service – Lindsay Christ reported:
Scores are out for Entry level Librarian OC, Entry Level Librarian (Children’s Services) OC, Librarian 1 (Children’s Services/Spanish Speaking) OC, and Librarian 1 (Spanish Speaking) OC. You can find the results on the Civil Service website under Eligible List search.
Last filing date for Account Clerk OC is April 22, 2026 and the written test date is May 30. Note that not all libraries have this position.
Community Service – Liz Hughes reported:
Liz is working with community organizations to find out what is needed throughout our communities and what we can do to help. More information to come.
Continuing Education – Jen Conlon reported:
MAKEUP DATE: CATS and SSD Present: Vega Discover Training and Staff Discussion and TIF March 2026 attendance were both added to the SCLA spreadsheet for CEUs/Professional development hours. An updated template will be sent out to Divisions and Committees to help streamline submitting hours.
ELSA – Zachary Sogluizzo Reported:
I have confirmed participation of current committee members and also added three new members. I have updated the brochure form to reflect the 2026 season and will submit so it can be added to the SCLA site.
Intellectual Freedom – Bruce Seger reported:
Bruce is working on possibly getting a speaker for late spring/early summer. More information to come.
LDA Award – Liz Hughes reported:
Nomination packets are due today (3/27/26). We are looking for two more judges from Suffolk County to help. Rebecca Goldstein volunteered for this. If anyone else would like to volunteer, please contact Liz.
Legislative – Kerri Souto reported:
NYS:
FY 2027 One House Budget Numbers
- Governor’s FY27 Proposal
- Operating Aid: $104.7 (-$1.6M from FY26 enacted budget)
- Construction Aid: $34M (-$10M from FY26 enacted budget)
- NOVELny: $3M (no change)
- Office of Cultural Education: $12M (new budget line)
- Note: The new budget line created for the Office of Cultural Education is something NYLA has been advocating for many years.
- Senate FY27 Proposal
- Operating Aid: $114.67M (+$8.34M from FY26 enacted budget)
- Construction Aid: $54M (+$10M from FY26 enacted budget)
- NOVELny: $3.1M (+$100K from FY26 enacted budget)
- Office of Cultural Education: $12M (new budget line)
- Assembly FY27 Proposal
- Operating Aid: $103.9M (+$3M from FY26 enacted budget)
- Construction Aid: $70M (+$26M from FY26 enacted budget)
- NOVELny: $3M (no change)
- Office of Cultural Education: $12M (new budget line)
Many of you have heard that association libraries that have provided Passport Services were no longer allowed to provide the service because they are association libraries and are considered a non-profit not a government agency. There is legislation at the federal level to address this issue. Information below about the federal legislation.
Federal Links:
HR 6997 Community Passport Services Access Act
S.3733 A bill to amend the Passport Act of June 4, 1920, to authorize certain public libraries to collect and retain a fee for the execution of a passport application.
Library Employees of Color (LEOC) – Tory Young reported:
Feedback has been great for the Microaggressions in the Library webinar co-hosted with LILPA on Thursday, March 12th.
Registration is open for our Thursday, April 16 roundtable, which will take place at SCLS from 10:00 – 11:00 am. At our first roundtable we asked the attendees what professional development topics they would like to see from us, and we’re considering these as we plan future programming.
Asked for a reimbursement of $50 reimbursement for refreshments for the roundtable. Bob Johnson made a motion for $50 reimbursement. Alexis Camarda seconded. All in favor.
Long Island Library Conference – Brian Adams reported:
The committee will meet at the Marriott on April 10 for a walk-through. Everything is going smoothly. Please spread the word about the conference. Libraries are stretched thin because of the active winter and increased expense of snow removal and are sending fewer people. We are hopeful that attendance will be good, however. The biggest expense for the conference is the food; Brian and committee are still working out the details on that and will report back. The vendor response has been medium so far, but both attendance and vendor registration gets a big spike in the days leading up to the conference. The committee is reaching out to vendors via phone this year, as well as email.
Bob Johnson handed Brian a check for $20,000 for a LILC cash flow issue.
Long Island Library Pride Alliance (LILPA) – Anne McNulty reported:
On Thursday, March 12, LILPA and LEOC co-hosted the webinar, Microagressions in the Library. 144 people attended.
Save the Date: Long Island Pride 2026 will take place on Sunday, June 14 in Huntington. Registration information is forthcoming. LILPA is collecting LGBTQIA+ books to distribute along the parade route. Please send donations to Katie Brand at Smithtown-Commack.
Asked for a motion to approve $200 for LILC and Pride giveaways. Bob Johnson made the motion. Tim Sicurella seconded. All in favor.
Long Range Planning/Marketing – Abby Szwed reported:
Ideas:
Email – contact library directors with a generic email about SCLA membership on a regular basis
LinkedIn – make a LinkedIn account to connect on a professional platform – post about events and membership
Division Travel – Have each division travel to a library (one a month or so) to communicate what SCLA does and is doing
Annual Marketing event – Library wide event in Suffolk County with all libraries (raffles, scavenger hunt, trivia marathon, etc.) to make a communal effort to come together to learn more about SCLA and to network
Bob will be in touch with Abby and more information will follow.
Membership – Rita Alfano reported:
Total Membership is 519. Active Members is 468.
Networking – Tim Sicurella reported:
The Winter Mixer at James Joyce was well attended, approximately 43 people. Thanks to Melissa, Jackie, and Kim for all of their hard work.
They are planning the next possible mixer to be held in June (the 9th, 10th, 16th, or 17th), possibly in Riverhead to reach more East End people, with the Fall Mixer being held in Patchogue or Smithtown. He’s open to venue ideas. Sue Kandle suggested Riverhead Cider House, which has inside and outside seating, with a few outside activities (Giant Connect Four, Cornhole, etc). Tim is also considering Topgolf or Ax Throwing as alternate options.
Tim asked about doing an SCLA basket for LILC. Bob Johnson made a motion for $100 for this purpose. Bruce Seger seconded. All in favor.
Newsletter – Carole Lingg reported:
Please have all information to Carole by Monday (3/30/2026) so that the newsletter can go out by the end of next week.
Nominating – Rebecca Goldstein reported:
No report currently, but please start thinking about who you would like on the board for 2027.
Scholarship – Rachel Cecchini reported: No report.
Student Outreach – Rachel Cecchini reported:
SCLA info flyers have been digitally distributed to several New York schools. It will be included in their monthly distribution lists for students. The flyers will be sent to libraries in the upcoming weeks. At the last minute I decided to write a letter that will accompany each flyer, just asking that this be posted for staff and if anyone had any questions to contact the SCLA Board. I’m also working on a survey to send out to students on the list-serv. The purpose would be to gauge their interests and expectations of what SCLA can do for them in terms of services and programs.
Web Page – Steve Alcalde reported:
I’m currently working with several Board members on a redesign of the SCLA website and will be sharing three template options for a vote soon.
In the meantime, please continue sending along program info for our website and social media, and start sharing photos from events with me so I can post them as well, highlighting what we’re doing and perhaps driving stronger attendance.
Liaisons:
CLASC – No report.
LILRC –Sally Stieglitz reported:
LILRC Annual Membership Meeting will be held on June 8, 9 am – 1 pm at Farmingdale State College. The Keynote Address will be presented by Nancy Robillard, Powerful Presentations.
Member Public libraries– Please take note of LILRC’s Medical Document Delivery Service (no fee).There is currently no limit to the number of requests made per/institution for medical-related loans. How to Request Medical Interlibrary Loans Through LILRC: Request Form (Medical Requests Only). Please send all questions to Mona Boyd at (631) 675-1570 or mboyd@lilrc.org.
NCLA – No report.
PLDA – No report.
SCLS – Samantha Alberts reported:
The blower in the meeting room will be removed in the next few months, which means the room will not be available for booking. However, the Training Room is now available and the seating can be rearranged as needed.
NYLA – Tim Spindler reported:
Spring on the Hill will take place in Albany on Tuesday, May 19, 8 am – 5 pm.
Member renewals are in the process of being sent out.
NYLA elections are coming up.
Members-at-Large: No report.
Old Business:
Sue Kandle reported on the upcoming SCLA Broadway Day:
Date: Saturday, June 13, 10 am – 7 pm (approximately)
A bus through Adventure Tours has been booked. They are hoping to have a new 30-person bus by then, but if they don’t, they will offer a 56-passenger bus for 30 people for a cost of $1600, all included. A deposit of $250 will be required to secure the bus. Pick-up locations and exact times are to be determined, but aiming for a 10 am pick-up, depending on stops, etc. We aim to arrive in NYC around noon.
Lunch: In talks with Parker & Quinn restaurant for 12 pm – 2 pm. Working out the details of the menu, etc, but are aiming for approximately $75 per person.
Drunk Shakespeare tickets: for 30 people, the total is $2389.50 (with 15% group discount), which must be paid by credit or debit card only. Show starts at 3 pm. Must be 21 years old to attend.
Aiming to leave NYC at 5 pm.
Bob Johnson made a motion for payment not to exceed $2,000 for the trip. Rebecca seconded. All in favor.
New Business:
Bob Johnson reported: Bob met with Rebecca Goldstein via Zoom regarding Health & Wellness for Library Workers. He suggested making a new committee for this, chaired by Rebecca, with one person from each division. The goal would be to provide library workers with programs and outlets for all things mental health and wellness. Volunteers include: Nicole Malley, Alexis Camarda, Jackie Narkiewicz, Jen Conlon, Amanda Hayman, Bruce Seger, Sue Kandle. Bob made a motion to establish this committee under SCLA. Bruce seconded. All in favor. Rebecca will be in contact with all volunteers. Please see Rebecca if you are interested in joining this committee.
Bob Johnson reported: New swag is needed for LILC and other events, including the Annual Dinner. Bob will look into options. Bob made a motion for payment not to exceed $3000 for annual swag. Nicole Malley seconded. All in favor.
Bruce Seeger reported: Asked about an SCLA mascot. He will discuss ideas with Bob Johnson.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 11:05 am by Bob Johnson. Seconded by Anne McNulty.