By T. Scott Boatright
The yearly nature of a calendar can sometimes make determining what are deemed holidays for a nonprofit institution a balancing act.
And the Lincoln Parish Library Board of Control had to determine that balancing act Thursday evening as it held its August meeting inside the LPL’s George Byrnside Conference Room.
LPL Director Jeremy Bolom presented three different options for the Board of Control to choose from.
“The way that the holidays fall next year is just really strange,” Bolom said. “That’s why there are three versions for you to pick from. And even as a governmental organization we don’t have to abide by what’s an observed holiday and what’s not an observed holiday.
“There are several observed holidays falling on days that we normally would not be closed. I don’t know what to tell you about whatever option you choose.”
Board member Amanda Norris asked Bolom what made Version 3 special enough to be considered.
“That version has two straight weekends in which the library would be closed,” Norris said. “So I was just going to suggest that we just get rid of that one unless there’s something extra special about that one.”
Bolom told Norris the third option was basically a combination of Versions 1 and 2 together. None of the options proposed an increase in paid holidays.
“We’ve done it that way before,” Bolom said. “We did it for Independence Day this past year — we closed for a weekend. So that was my thinking — it had been done before.”
Bolom said the difference between Version 1 and Version 2 is the LPL either pays workers for 11 holidays or 13 holidays.
“Basically for Independence Day (which will be on a Sunday in 2027), we close Saturday and Sunday and we don’t give (workers) a holiday on Monday, they just come back to work on Monday. They get the actual Fourth (of July) off — a Sunday — which people would rather have anyway.”
The trickiest part of deciding the 2027 LPL operating calendar became the Christmas holidays. Christmas and New Year’s Eves fall on a Friday with Christmas and New Year’s Day falling on Saturday. The question became whether the ensuing Sundays should become paid holidays also.
Version 1 offered employees the most paid holidays but fewer days off. Version 3 proposed three consecutive days off during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
In the end, the version that offered the most middle ground — Version 2 — won with a majority of five out of the eight votes, with the Sundays in question becoming working days during which the LPL will be open.
The LPL Board of Control also passed a motion Thursday evening to push its September 2026 meeting back a week to the 24th. The Board of Control usually meets on the third Thursday of every month.
“This would be the third or fourth year in a row that both (Library Assistant Director Jessica) and I would both be gone on business that third Thursday (of September),” Bolom said.
Board of Control Chair Bill Jones said he felt pushing the meeting back a week would be best in light of upcoming renovations set to begin at the library on Nov. 2.
“We’re going to be getting ready for the renovations,” Jones said. “So, we may actually have some things that we won’t know about (on Sept. 17) that we may need to address. So I think we need to move the meeting date (to Sept. 24) to give us more time to adjust should something come up we need to consider.
“Moving the meeting back a week as opposed to moving it up a week gives us a little more time for things to develop in preparation for the renovations.”
The motion to move the meeting back a week to Sept. 24 passed unanimously.
During the reports part of the meeting, Board member Deborah Gilliam, who is the BOC’s liaison with the Friends of the Lincoln Parish Library, called that organization’s recent book sale a success.
“Although I don’t have the dollar value, we did see quite a few people that attended (and purchased books), so I think it was a success,” Gilliam said.
Bolom pointed out the success of the Friends of the LPL book sale had an additional benefit.
“The Friends Room (at the LPL) is cleared out and open and ready for renovation,” Bolom said.
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