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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020.07.15 CML EB Minutes FinalCARY MEMORIAL LIBRARY EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES 4:00 PM July 15, 2020 Virtual Meeting Attendees: Trustees: Joe Pato, Rabbi Howard Jaffe, Suzie Barry, Eileen Jay, Rev. Claire Feingold Thoryn; Eileen Jay joined the meeting late. Staff: Koren Stembridge, Emily Smith, Alissa Lauzon, Cathie Ghorbani, Jennifer Webb, India Winslow, Meena Jain and Andrea Morrison. Virtual Meeting Recording Approval Prior to the start of the meeting, a request by Mr. Pato was made to approve the video recording of the meeting. Upon a motion duly made, by roll call, the Board voted 4-0 to approve the recording of the meeting. Mr. Pato read guidelines titled “Remote Meeting Opening.” There were no objections. Call to Order Mr. Pato called the meeting to order at 4:03 PM. Public Comment There was no public comment. Secretary’s Minutes for June 10, 2020 Ms. Barry made a motion to approve the minutes of the June 10, 2020 meeting. Rabbi Jaffe seconded the motion. Upon a motion duly made, by roll call, the Board voted 4-0 to approve the minutes. Financial Reports FY20 Update: Ms. Stembridge reported that the Town Manager asked departments to reduce spending in FY20 to the extent possible. The library has returned approximately $120,000 of unexpended funds to the Town for FY20. Ms. Stembridge reported that we do not expect FY21 Program Improvement Requests funding to be available this year. She also noted that the library had very limited income on the Trustees’ Financial Report, due to fines being waived during the closure. She estimated that there should still be sufficient carryover funds to support the Trustees’ budget for FY21. Administrative Update Director’s Report Ms. Stembridge reported that she is establishing a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access team at the library. Ms. Meena Jain, Outreach and Programming Manager, will lead the group with Ms. India Winslow, Children’s Librarian. Ms. Alissa Lauzon, Head of Youth Services, will lead the accessibility efforts. Ms. Stembridge underscored the importance of this work. Ms. Jain shared her passion around helping people of color to become librarians. Ms. Winslow talked about her desire to create a place to take risks and learn together as a group, even though conversations may be difficult. Ms. Lauzon shared her commitment to improve accessibility for all patrons. Ms. Stembridge plans to spend professional development funds to hire a consultant to work with staff. She is seeking guidance from trustees. After a discussion, the consensus from trustees was that we should move forward with this important work. Trustees requested adding a recurring placeholder to the agenda to provide monthly updates on this work. Ms. Barry made a motion to have Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access team on the agenda monthly. The motion was seconded by Rev. Feingold Thoryn. Upon a motion duly made, by roll call, the Board voted 4-0 to approve the motion. Building Updates HVAC Update Ms. Smith reported on the ongoing work with the HVAC system. Over the summer the Department of Public Facilities has scheduled upgrades to the building control system and a repair to a portion of the heading system that failed in February. Ms. Smith warned that it is possible the library building may need to be closed if the system needs to be shut down for this work to be completed. She will keep the Trustees updated as the work progresses. Old Business Phased Reopening Ms. Smith detailed the curbside services that the library began offering to the community on June 28th as Phase II of the Restoration of Services plan. Trustees discussed current services offered and the timeline for the next phase of restoring services, which would include opening the library building to the public in a limited capacity. After discussion, the consensus was for a conservative approach to reopening the building. Trustees recommended remaining in Phase II (curbside services) until revisiting this discussion on or around October 1, 2020. Ms. Jay made a motion that the library remain in Phase II through October, 1 2020 and that all use of public meeting rooms will remain closed until January 1, 2021. Ms. Barry seconded the motion. Upon a motion duly made, by roll call, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the motion. Adjournment Rabbi Jaffe made a motion to adjourn at 5:24 PM. The motion was seconded by Ms. Jay. Upon a motion duly made, by roll call, the Board voted 5-0 to adjourn.