Manhattan Beach Library Commission
April 13, 2026 1
CITY OF MANHATTAN BEACH
MINUTES OF THE LIBRARY COMMISSION MEETING
Monday, April 13, 2026
4:00 PM
City Council Chamber, City Hall, 1400 Highland Avenue and Zoom
A. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Braitman called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.
B. PLEDGE TO THE FLAG
C. ROLL CALL
Present (7) Commissioners Cullen, Doll, Ferris, Crabtree-Kampe, Levitt, Vice Chair Chou, Chair Braitman
Absent: None
Others Present: Senior Recreation Supervisor (SRS) Kari Bell; Senior Management Analyst (SMA) Linda Robb, Recording Secretary Rosemary Lackow
D. APPROVAL OF AGENDA It was moved and seconded (Doll/Crabtree-Kampe) to approve as submitted. Motion carried 7-0-0-0.
E. LIBRARIAN’S REPORT
Library Manager Cassandra Sargent reviewed programming, recent and upcoming (April/May) and updated (2025 -2026) metrics:
March 2026 March 2025
No. of Programs 28 with 997 participants 22 with 1,007 participants Visitors 14, 326 (-1,380) 15,706
Circulation (non-digital) 19,322 (+4,123) 15,199
Library cards issued 297
Holds placed 4,808
Recent/upcoming programming included Evening Book Club, Writer Workshop, Sound Bath Meditation, Teen Librarian Open Hour, Car Care for Teens, New Parent Engagement, Paint by Numbers Acrylic Bookmarks, Rhythm and Roots (Louie Cruz Beltran Latin rhythms); Listen, laugh, learn and participate! (children); Painted Furoshiki Cloths (hands-on demo); teen study hall; “Get Koala-fied”. County speaker series events in May: include Regency Era Inspired Book Vase and Queen Charlotte Book Club. For more info and reservations:
https://lacountylibrary.org/location/manhattan-beach-library/
F. PUBLIC COMMENTS - None
G. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. Library Commission Minutes, Adjourned regular meeting minutes: March 9, 2026
It was moved and seconded (Crabtree-Kampe/Ferris) to approve as submitted. Motion carried Manhattan Beach Library Commission
April 13, 2026 2
7-0-0-0 by hand vote.
H. GENERAL BUSINESS
2. Library Commission Work Plan 2026/2027 (approved by City Council February 24, 2026).
a. Library Appreciation Events (Commissioners Cullen, Ferris) SRS Bell noted that Queen Charlotte books have been purchased; the committee wants to offer the MB branch staff and school librarians reserved seating and the opportunity to be recognized at the speaker event. Another appreciation event is being considered at the end of the year.
b. Speaker Series (Commissioners Braitman, Chou, Levitt)
Chair Braitman noted some special planned activities for the May 23rd Julia Quinn speaker event. Library Manager Sargent reported on promotion and publicity (1,165 registrants to date, started including digital ads, email blasts, county website popups; press release to go out soon, posters to be sent to SRS Bell to be installed on city buildings; flyer to be given to Chair Braitman to give to Chamber of Commerce for giving out to community; direct outreach planned to Easy Reader, Daily Breeze, and Manhattan Beach News; and under discussion is Ms. Quinn recording a video.
The topic of meetings between the city (Library Commission) and County was discussed. SRS Bell will reach out to the County to set up, perhaps quarterly; commissioners should watch for emails about available dates.
Commissioner Levitt requested as a follow-up that the Commission agenda regularly include an item that is a recap of the meetings held with the County.
The Commission discussed future author speakers for Fall and beyond, focusing first on a children’s author; some being considered: R.L. Stine (offer pending), Dave Pilkey or Chris Colfer, who might attract several age groups. Others include: Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa/Be My Guest), Kelly Slater ( renowned surfer); Jenna Bush Hager (author/journalist), Taylo r Jenkins Reid (NYT best-selling novelist), Michael Connelly (best-selling crime novelist); Erik Larson (American journalist/author of historical nonfiction), or an Olympic athlete/author. A quick straw poll of the Commission by SRS Bell indicated a consensus to try first for Michael Connelly. Commissioner Levitt suggested Allegra Goodman, author of “This is Not About Us?” and a NASA scientist-author.
c. StoryWalk (Commissioners Chou, Cullen, Crabtree-Kampe)
Vice Chair Chou noted that the committee had a delay but has chosen new books: 1) “Just One Little Light” by Kat Yeh; 2) “The Together Tree” by Aisha Saeed, and “Juneteenth for Mazie” by Floyd Cooper, ordered through Amazon; all to be installed by the boy scouts. The stands and holders have been repaired/refurbished and look great . The committee hopes that a monthly monitoring and maintenance task may be added to the scouts’ duties.
d. Library Needs Assessment (Commissioners Braitman, Doll, Levitt) - see staff items.
Manhattan Beach Library Commission
April 13, 2026 3
I. S TAFF ITEMS
SRS Bell reported that county consultant Grace Eng Nadel will be presenting the final report of the needs assessment study to the City Council on 4/21/26. All encouraged to attend. The library fund now is at $14 million. Three main suggestions have emerged from the study on spending the funds: 1) explore design options for an enhanced outdoor patio to incorporate seating, lighting, and audio, to be used for community programming as well as events; 2) explore developing additional parking on Lot 3 (possibly sharing parking revenue with LACOPL) and 3) develop additional space dedicated to storage of MB Historical Society collection.. After the council approves direction, the joint city/county task force will at its next standing (end of month) meeting, discuss moving forward.
Library Manager Sargent suggested two author/speakers if a moon/Artemis themed talk is desired (possibly a third speaker event on a smaller scale):
1) Emily Calandrelli aka “The Space Girl”, aerospace engineer, author who advocates for STEM education, inspiring girls to pursue science; and
2) Jackson Pierce, of NASA JPL.
J. COMMISSION ITEMS
Chair Braitman noted on 4/16 the “Cupcakes with a Cop” event at Susie Cakes.
K. ADJOURNMENT
At 4:50 pm it was moved and seconded ( Cullen/Levitt) to adjourn the meeting to May 11, 2026, at 4:00 pm; motion passed unanimously 7-0-0-0.