HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012.06.06 BLT-ECCARY MEMORIAL LIBRARY
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Attending: Norman Cohen, Howard Jaffe, Mary Ann Stewart, Trustees; Koren Stembridge,
Library Director; Kathy Quinlan, Assistant Director.
Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 5:09 p.m.
Secretary's Minutes: Three corrections to the minutes of the May 2 nd Executive Committee
meeting were noted:
1. In the Administrative Update, the highlight should note that the Children's Room print
circulation surpassed the adult print circulation
2. In the Financial Report, the final sentence should be deleted
3. Mary Ann Stewart's name should be spelled correctly
Howard Jaffe moved, and Mary Ann Stewart seconded, to approve the Secretary's Minutes of
the May 2 2012 Executive Committee meeting as corrected. The motion passed.
Administrative Update: Financial: Koren reviewed the proposed warrant process for Trustees,
Foundation and Friends purchases, modeled after the warrant process for Town purchases:
Library administrative staff would continue to verify invoices and enter them into the library's
accounting system; a member of the Executive Committee would review the verified invoices
and sign a cover sheet noting approval to pay. This proposed process, to begin July 1, 2012, is
designed to address any concerns that auditors may have. Mary Ann Stewart moved, and
Howard Jaffe seconded, to authorize Koren to move forward with this warrant process for
expenditures from Trustees, Foundation, and Friends funds.
Koren briefly reviewed the FY12 budget status: we are on track to come in on budget for
municipal expenditures and will likely turn back a very small amount. Our expenditures for
library materials should easily meet the required threshold of 13% of municipal appropriations
in order to receive the maximum amount of State Aid.
Building: Koren reviewed a list of anticipated long -term projects and approximate costs for
each. (Please see attached list.) Pat Goddard, Director of the Dept. of Public Facilities, will soon
meet with Koren to discuss renovations to the Large Meeting Room (a /v technology, lighting,
etc.), modifications to the Business Center to turn it into a study room, enabling video to
stream into the Commons area, and other projects that would involve the Facilities Dept. even
though they might be funded from non - municipal sources. The upcoming strategic planning
process will likely generate additional ideas for building /program improvements.
Work to upgrade the library's HVAC system will begin June 7 The Town received a $50,000
grant to upgrade the entire system and improve the controls which regulate the various parts
of the system. The first part of the project, involving pulling wires through ceiling and wall
panels throughout the entire building, will last several weeks; we will post notices for patron
awareness. Sidewalk repairs will also begin very soon. The Facilities Dept. has recommended
that we use a professional moving company to help us move some microform cabinets and a
large table from the area adjacent to the Young Adult area to other locations in the library.
(This will enable us to expand the area for teens.) This project will be completed during the
summer.
Old Business: Strategic Planning: Mary Ann Stewart reviewed all 4 submissions received in
response to the library's RFP for strategic planning services for the 2013 -2017 long range plan.
She reported that all four submissions were very different from each other, but that the most
impressive submission was offered by Maureen Sullivan, the incoming President of the
American Library Association and a very experienced consultant who has facilitated many
public library strategic planning processes throughout the country. Mary Ann felt that Maureen
Sullivan "s proposal was very clear and concise, and that her approach would be the most
appropriate for the Lexington community. Mary Ann moved the accept Maureen Sullivan's
proposal to facilitate Cary Library's strategic planning process; Howard Jaffe seconded. The
motion passed.
Koren will work with Maureen to issue a press release, probably in the fall, to introduce the
planning process to the Lexington community.
Website RFP: Koren plans to issue the RFP for creating a new library website in the very near
future; the due date will be in mid -late July. The submissions will be reviewed by a committee
including Koren, Hank Manz, Glenn Parker, and some members of the library's web team. The
committee agreed if the RFP review committee were unanimous on which firm to hire, Koren
could move forward with the project. If the committee could not reach agreement, finalists
would be brought back to the Executive Committee in September. Mary Ann Stewart
suggested adding a high school student to the web RFP committee; from her experience on the
School Committee, she has been very favorably impressed by the thoughtful insights and fresh
ideas that students can add.
Howard Jaffe moved to adjourn the meeting, and Mary Ann Stewart seconded. The meeting
was adjourned at 5:55 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Quinlan