Southwick Library Trustees Approve Policy Updates, Secure Extra Electricity Funds

Library · Meeting of March 10, 2026

Southwick Library trustees approved a suite of policy updates and confirmed a $12,500 electricity budget supplement at their March 10 meeting. Library Director Lynn Blair told the board that the Finance Committee approved the additional funds on March 3 and the Select Board ratified the transfer on March 9, covering a shortfall in the electricity line that had grown as the town trimmed the account over successive fiscal years. Trustees voted to adopt a modified version of the American Library Association's access policy for minors, retaining the library's age-five minimum for new library cards and keeping filtering software on children's room computers despite ALA guidance against both practices — with Chair Michael McMahon noting that "different parts of the country have different standards." The board also updated its Welcome Policy to add Tonie boxes as loanable items, revised the Museum Pass Policy with more general language, and tightened community room application rules to require two weeks' notice.

The library's annual resident survey runs through April 3.

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Source: the Library meeting of March 10, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.