Library Board

David Phillips


David taught for 34 years for the Durham District School Board as a Physical Education Department Head. He is a university graduate with a BA, a BPHE and an MEd. He is an active member of St.Andrew’s-Chalmers Presbyterian Church. He heads the Orange Shirt Day Committee and also the committee for the Christmas Day Dinner.

He has been married to Anne for 53 years and they have one married daughter, Nancy Alexander. Nancy and her husband Brian, have one daughter Rachel who was born in July 2009. David has been and continues to be a promoter of the Uxbridge Public Library and it’s great staff. He has served for many years on the Uxbridge Library Board becoming the Chair in January 2006. He is a representative of our district on the Ontario Library Service Assembly.

Agnes Croxford

Agnes is a retired Librarian with extensive experience in a number of corporate libraries and internet-based information services. She moved to Uxbridge in 2014 with her husband Ken,  and enjoys living close to her son and his family.

Since moving to Uxbridge she has been a volunteer in several capacities: trail clean-up, library programs, and as a member of the Horticultural Society Board of Directors.

Agnes has a B.A. and M.L.S.

Catherine Peters

Catherine has worked 40+ years in the Public Library system. Her experience includes Collections, Programming and Managing staff.

Catherine and her husband Dale moved to Uxbridge in 2014. They have two sons and enjoy spending time with their four grandchildren.

Christine McKenzie

Christine is an HR Manager with a bachelor’s degree in Zoology and a Master of Laws in Dispute Resolution. Christine is an active community volunteer, having served on the Uxbridge Environmental (Watershed) Advisory Committee as Chair and member since 2016. She is also a Scouter with 1st Uxbridge Scouts. Christine has a background in labour relations and mediation. She was also a zoo keeper for many years at Toronto Zoo.

Christine has lived in Uxbridge since 2011. She and her husband Kris have four children and enjoy being very active in the community. Christine is passionate about Uxbridge, and the good governance of public institutions.

Dwight Clements

Dwight

Dwight and his wife Deborah have lived in Uxbridge since 1989. They have three children, all who grew up in Uxbridge. Dwight is a retired York Region secondary school teacher. He was Head of Business Studies and later Head of Alternative Education. He also started and was the director of a business incubator program dedicated to helping High School students start their own businesses. He has a BA, BEd and an MBA.

Gordon Shreeve – Ward 2 Councillor

Prior to his election to Council, Gord served for two terms on the Library Board. For the past twenty years, he and his wife, Karen, along with their four children have been happy to call Zephyr home. Gord continues to work as minister of the community-minded Zephyr Missionary Church. He considers the Zephyr Public Library to be one of the most valuable resources the hamlet has to offer to its residents!

Kate Devine

Details soon!

Sheldon Wolfson

Sheldon is retired after spending almost 40 years in health care/government at
both the clinical and senior management levels. His last positions were with
Regional Municipal Government. He was also an assistant professor (part-time) in
the nursing program at McMaster University. He holds two Bachelor’s (B.A.)
degrees and a Master of Health Sciences (M.H.Sc.).

Sheldon has a history of being active in community activities, having sat on
several volunteer Boards including local hospital, health district, humane society
and provincial long-term care association. He was a surveyor and educator with
Accreditation Canada for over 20 years.

Sheldon and his wife Janet moved to Uxbridge in 2015 to enjoy small town living
and be closer to their daughter and her family. He spends much time with his
grandchildren, reading, following baseball and walking his dog, Desdemona.

Zed Pickering – Ward 3 Councillor

Zed Pickering considers the Uxbridge Public Library a second home having spent his youth attending children’s programming and later utilizing the library’s resources as an adult. Zed lives in Uxbridge with his wife Megan and their daughter. Since joining town council and the Library Board, Zed has enjoyed working with a group committed to improving library services and the user experience.

The Role of the Library Board and Committees

An important contributor to a successful and smoothly running public library actively involved in the community is the Library’s Board of Directors. The Library Board operates under the authority of the Ontario Public Libraries Act (R.S.O. 1990, chapter P.44) and most public libraries or library systems in the province have such a governing board. The Board is responsible for making policies for the operation of the Library; for obtaining adequate funding for Library materials, services and programs; and for promoting the Library in the community. The twelve Library Board members are appointed by the Township of Uxbridge Council for a 4-year term that runs concurrently with the term of the appointing Municipal Council.

The Library Board has a wide range of responsibilities, including the sound fiscal management of the Library. The Board is also responsible for setting overall policies such as the service philosophy appropriate for the total community and the programs best suited to implement that philosophy. As the Library’s policy-setting body, the Board deals with all legal and ethical aspects of the library’s operation and equitable personnel management practices within the library.

The oversight of the Library Board ensures that the Library is properly run and well-managed; however, the day-to-day operation and management of the Library is in the hands of the CEO/Chief Librarian. It is the CEO’s task to provide professional and practical advice to the Board and to implement the guiding vision provided by the Board.

The Township of Uxbridge Public Library Board meets the 4th Thursday of each month from September to June. Meetings are open to the public except when confidential items are discussed. Unless otherwise noted, the meetings are generally held at the Uxbridge Public Library.

There are three committees that do the preparatory work and make recommendations to the full Board. In this work, they are supported by the CEO and library staff, as directed by the CEO.

Finance Committee

  • Prepares an annual budget
  • Presents budget to Township Council
  • Reviews Library spending presents a report to the Board at each meeting

Governance and HR Committee

  • Develops a performance appraisal process for the CEO
  • Writes Board policy with the CEO and presents it to the Board for approval
  • Consults with CEO regarding personnel issues consults with the CEO regarding the wage and benefits portion of the budget
  • Forms a committee to hire the CEO

Community Committee

  • Identify community needs and wants.
  • Develop a message or messages and determine how best to communicate to community.
  • Promote the library, its services, volunteer opportunities, benefit to community.
  • Identify partners to assist in meeting Library mission.

SOLS Trustee Councils

  • David Phillips (Uxbridge Representative)
  • A communications link between Southern Ontario Library Service and boards regarding SOLS’ services.
  • A forum for sharing information and an opportunity to hear how other boards deal with similar issues.
  • Suggestions and support for trustee training
  • A pool of trustees from which to elect members to the SOLS Board.