Board of Trustees

Board Documents: Minutes, Budgets, Plans

Notice of Board Meetings & Special Meetings

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Join the Steering Committee!

San Juan Island Library is seeking several community members to serve as public representatives on a
volunteer Steering Committee that will guide the community engagement and outreach process for the
next phase of development on the new library building at 660 Spring Street. Our goal is to run a
transparent and inclusive process that will result in a design that reflects the desires of the community.

The goal of this steering committee is to support/advocate for a successful community project by
deciding “How” we reach the goal, through community engagement that welcomes a variety of
viewpoints. The Steering Committee serves as a co-convener alongside the library and the consultant
groups, rather than a decision-making body.

Those wishing to apply to the Steering Committee can read the full job descriptions and fill out an application by clicking the link below:

Steering Committee Job Description and Application

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A total of 5 individuals serving rotating volunteer five-year terms comprise the library’s Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees focuses on setting library policy and meets with the library director on a monthly basis, usually at 3 pm on the second Tuesday of each month in the library’s meeting room.

Current Trustees:

Karen Vedder

President

Karen Vedder has had a San Juan Island Library card since 1974. Since arriving on the island she has worked as a biologist, newspaper reporter and attorney. She spent over a decade in the prosecutor’s office where she helped county departments accomplish their missions of serving the citizens of San Juan County. She hopes to use that experience in being part of a team of trustees whose goal it is to provide an exemplary library to everyone on San Juan Island.

John Aschoff

Vice President

John was born and raised outside Chicago, but after college escaped to the coasts, first to New York’s Hudson Valley and then for most his adult life to the Monterey Bay area. He spent his career as a software developer and manager for the IBM Corporation, a great place to develop useful skills and learn from others. His formal education includes a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics (U. of Illinois) and a Master’s degree in Management and Information Technology (Cal State Monterey Bay). Since moving to the islands he has enjoyed modestly contributing to local marine conservation efforts, working on the board for The Whale Museum (and volunteering on their Soundwatch boat) and as a member of the county’s Marine Resource Committee. He also works with a geologist mapping the Salish Sea and its marine habitats. He likes to write (essays and a couple of plays) and occasionally resurrects a few jazz standards on his vibraphone. Just about five decades (a lifetime) ago he married Marcy, a woman adept at travel planning, and has followed her to far reaches of the earth to observe and photograph some awe-inspiring wildlife. The couple can often be seen at American Camp walking Loki (a “Shepsky”). John appreciates the library since there is no room on his bookshelves for more books.

Boyd Pratt

Secretary

Boyd C. Pratt was born in the (then) Territory of Hawaii at Kapiolani Hospital—the birthplace of President Obama! He went to St. John’s College in Santa Fe and graduate school in architecture at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. In addition to farming and working at the Library as the Adult Programs Associate, he has recorded barns and other historic structures and researched local history, publishing histories of lime making, farming, and fishing in the islands. Favorite authors include Jane Austen, Herman Melville, and Fyodor Dostoevsky; music Gregorian chant and jazz; and then there are all those zombie movies…

Barbara Sharp

Trustee

As a new trustee as of January 2020, I am delighted to be part of our outstanding library. I have lived on the island since 2002. I am a retired attorney with a BA degree from Miami University (Ohio) and a JD degree from BYU Law School. I have worked as a judicial clerk for an appellate court judge; staff attorney with the Workers' Compensation Fund of Utah; and an attorney in the Bellingham Regional office of the Washington Attorney General. After I retired, I spent five years on the Friends of the Library board and later served as a Commissioner on the Public Hospital District #1 from 2016-2018. Currently I am active in Soroptimist International of Friday Harbor and the League of Women Voters board.