Goodnow Trustees elect Fontes chair, accept stricter July 4 closure rule

SUDBURY -- May 15, 2023, Goodnow Library Trustees elect new chair and move to scale back July 4 closures. The board on May 15 elected Katina Fontes chair, replacing outgoing chair Lily Gordon, after a self-nomination by trustee Natalie Chiligo failed to draw a second; trustee Jean was elected vice chair on a separate voice vote. Library Director Esme recommended scrapping a policy that closes the library an extra Saturday when July 4 falls midweek, calling it "complicated rigmarole" given that the library is already closed Sundays in summer. Trustees verbally backed the stricter rule, which will govern the July 4 Tuesday schedule. The board deferred to June a roughly $300 purchase of three Nipmuc portraits by photographer Scott Foster from his series "Ways of My Ancestors, We Are Still Here," pending placement decisions. Esme reported the library is 88 percent through the fiscal year and on budget, with a $4,000 revolving-fund discrepancy to be cleared by a ledger transfer.