Election 2025: Rob Neufeld for Library Trustee

This article is a part of the Burlington Buzz Election 2025 Series, in which we profile each candidate for election. This year's election is on April 5, 2025, and our mission is to make it easy for all registered voters to vote by ensuring the community has access to information about the candidates and issues on the ballot. ELECTION CORNER

Burlington's publicly-funded library has been around since the mid-1800s and is one of the centers of the community. While the library is staffed with professionals who have studied library science and manage the day-to-day operations, the long-term vision, policies, and budget are developed by the Library Trustees in collaboration with the Library Director. They are also responsible for hiring and supervising the Library Director.

There are six Library Trustees, one of whom is Rob Neufeld. Rob, who has been a Trustee since 2016, is running for re-election this year, and we sat down to get to know him.

Neufeld and his family moved to Burlington in 1995 and since then he has participated in a number of different roles in town government, including on the Ways & Means Committee and the Information Systems Security Advisory Committee. Professionally, he has worked in technology and retired from MITRE shortly before joining the Trustees. He was also a Lexington Minuteman for over 20 years and enjoys learning about history.

A love of reading initially drew Neufeld to the Library Board of Trustees. "I was there four times a week," he said, "and I read five books a week." Since joining the Board, he has become passionate about helping the library get what they need to run the programming the community has come to know and love.

While the state dictates most of the regulations and provides about 80% of the library's funding, the Trustees manage discretionary funds from the state, maintaining a reserve for emergencies and special projects. This funding ensures needed projects that enhance the experience of patrons and staff can be accomplished, such as replacing the drapes and the dividers between the meeting rooms, said Neufeld. During the pandemic, these discretionary funds allowed the library to set up outdoor tents for book pickups and other necessary accommodations to continue serving the community.

Over the 168 years of the library's history, the world—and, with it, the offerings of the library—has changed. Though Rob is a traditionalist and prefers to read physical books, he is also a realist who has been in favor of the library's embrace of the digital evolution that has brought Libby, Hoopla, and other ways of experiencing reading. Rob believes ensuring patrons know about available resources and services is essential for the library's continued relevance in the community.

Neufeld takes pride in the community atmosphere the library has cultivated over the last several years. Children's programming has been particularly successful, and a recent presentation on Antarctica drew 400 attendees. Library usage has increased steadily since the pandemic, which Rob attributes to people returning to normal activities and the effectiveness of social media promotion by the library's programming and marketing librarian.

While he's enjoyed the work of being a Trustee, Neufeld plans for his current term to be his last. If someone younger who had kids had come forward, he said, he would have gladly stepped aside before now. If you have interest in helping steer the ship of the library, this could be a great role for you to consider in a future election year!

Rob Neufeld, along with Janice Cohen, is running unopposed to retain his seat as one of two Library Trustees. Visit our Election Corner for more information about the April 5, 2025, Burlington Town Election.