At an April meeting of the Town of Northborough Library Trustees, consultant Maura Deedy presented a draft Health & Wellness Plan that would steer library programming, collections and partnerships toward post-pandemic community health needs while seeking new funding to sustain the work.

The plan, developed through surveys, four focus groups and staff sessions, organizes goals under three public-facing priorities — "Be connected," "Be informed" and "Be active" — and adds internal aims for staff training, policy development and sustainable funding. Deedy said the process has included review of local reports and outreach to municipal partners and that the library expects to finalize plan content in May and map measures to state-level data by June.

The plan’s public priorities include creating inclusive programs and accessible spaces to reduce social isolation; building a wellness hub of vetted health resources and materials to support health literacy; and offering physical-activity and volunteering opportunities that link patrons to community services. Internal recommendations call for clearer policies on confidentiality and reference interactions, regular staff training on crisis response and mental-health supports, and pursuit of outside funding.

Deedy told trustees, "My name is Maura Deedy. I am the principal and founder of Local Library Consulting," and described the research behind the draft, including the MetroWest Community Health Assessment and a Northborough health and human services strategic assessment. She said the plan is grounded in community input gathered by survey and focus groups and aims to amplify work already being done by library staff.

She also announced that the library received a $10,000 grant from the American Library Association that supports services and collections for caregivers and residents coping with memory loss and related cognitive decline. Deedy noted that the library’s initial $20,000 ARPA allocation has already been partly leveraged in grant applications and local programming: "If you look at the initial $20,000 investment of ARPA funding, we've already gotten half of that back," she said.

Trustees and staff offered edits during the discussion. Comments emphasized culturally responsive outreach reflecting Northborough’s changing demographics, clearer wording about the library’s role ("staying in our lane" while referring patrons to clinical services), and a more proactive marketing approach rather than a strictly passive collection strategy. One trustee said she "liked seeing that there was an external facing and then an internal" set of responsibilities, pointing to the draft’s combination of outward programs and inward staff supports.

Deedy and staff described pilot ideas under consideration: a physical and digital wellness hub with discreet self-service materials, themed kits for healthy aging, partnerships for short "office hours" with local social workers or municipal staff, story-walk programming on the trail behind the senior center, and leveraging local professionals for workshops and passes. Staff described existing programs that dovetail with the plan, including CPR training, healthy-eating demonstrations and prior "Be Well" collaborations with municipal partners.

Trustees and staff stressed the emotional toll that intensive reference and crisis interactions can have on employees and supported the draft’s call for staff training. Library staff will receive a mental health first-aid certification session in the coming week and the board discussed building longer-term training and boundaries into staff practices to reduce burnout.

Next steps recorded during the meeting include synthesizing feedback from this session and staff, finalizing plan language in May, mapping goals to measurable indicators, and creating a first-year action plan that identifies specific, phased tasks and funding opportunities. The trustees scheduled their next meeting for May 20, 2025, at 7 p.m.; remote participation was confirmed as allowed for the next two years.

The meeting closed after a motion to adjourn was seconded and approved by voice vote.