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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015.02.04 EC MIN CARY MEMORIAL LIBRARY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES Wednesday, February 4, 2015 Attendees: Norman Cohen, Kate Ekrem, Margaret Coppe, Trustees; Koren Stembridge, Library Director, Emily Smith, Assistant Library Director, Jen Forgit, Teen Services Librarian. Call to Order: Chairman Norm Cohen called the meeting to order at 4:0O PM Secretary’s Minutes Vote: Kate made a motion to approve the Minutes of the January 7, 2015 meeting. Norman seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Norman moved the Reconfiguration Update. Jen Forgit, Teen Services Librarian shared feedback from middle and high school teen focus groups about their vision of the teen space. Jen distributed a publication created by the new teen advisory group created called “How to Use the Library”. Margaret suggested she contact the LPS Director of Special Education, Ms. Sugita since the publication can be especially helpful for students in the autism spectrum. Financial Update Koren reported that we are about sixty percent expended through January 2015 on the municipal side. Funds are starting to come in from the Foundation and Friends. We received our first installment of State Aid. Koren noted that the Endowment went down a bit from last month. Administrative Staffing Updates There are no new hires to report. We have an upcoming full time staff retirement which has not yet been announced and a second one expected soon. Koren reported all of the organizational changes can now take place since the union contract has been finalized. Combining the Technology Department Head position with Assistant Director gave us the funding to create a ladder of positions. There will be a total of about nine promotions. Koren expressed appreciation for the Town Manager’s commitment to move ahead with this initiative. Margaret asked how our staffing relates to other libraries of our size. Koren explained that she compared libraries of similar population and performance in the Minuteman Network in evaluating the positions. New Business Reconfiguration Koren reported that Colin Smith expects to have a proposal by April or May. She hopes to present the plan to the Foundation Board before the summer recess. Carol Mahoney convened a couple of staff groups on the library reconfiguration. In order to makes this a success and keep the costs down, we came up with three priorities: Move the teens to the lower level Reconfigure the Circulation and Reference desk into a single point of service Add six study rooms on the mezzanine level. Koren reminded Trustees that in the fall, they approved a $2,000 expenditure to hire Carol Mahoney as an advisor on the Reconfiguration Project. Soon we will have expended that amount. She would like to use Carol to get the community involved and is requesting that Trustees approve a second increment of $2,000. Trustees discussed the request. Kate made a motion to increase the expense to $4,000 total to hire Carol Mahoney as a consultant in the reconfiguration project. The motion was seconded by Margaret Coppe. The motion passed unanimously. ALA Conference Koren asked Trustees permission to attend an ALA conference in San Francisco which will take place at the end of June. She hopes to look at technology and furniture. It is expected to cost $2500. Emily Smith will also be attending the conference. At this time, there is not sufficient trustee funds to cover the all the conferences that staff will attend. We are making a conscious decision to go over budget. We will use $5,000 from another line item. Margaret moved to approve $5,000 conference expenditure. Norman seconded, the motion passed unanimously. Koren will add additional staff development funds to the FY 16 budget. Margaret asked if conference attendance has been a tradition. Kate suggested a separate category for continuing education and conferences. Trustees discussed the value of attending conferences. Cleaning Paintings David William contacted Koren to have the Ellen Dana portrait examined for cleaning. It was determined that the painting was not in need of any cleaning but that the contractor noticed the two landscapes on the main area near the circulation desk require cleaning. The cost is $800. The consensus from the Trustees is to move ahead and clean the paintings. The Historic District Appointment was tabled to the next meeting. Library Sign Koren asked Trustees about the best strategy to approach the HDC on a sign for the front of the building. Norman suggested that Koren informally be in touch with Lynne Hopkins to seek guidance. The consensus from the Trustees is to start investigating. Endowment Kat MacDonald from the Foundation will attend the March Trustees meeting to present the updated Endowment value. Kate made a motion to adjourn. Margaret seconded the motion, the motion passed unanimously.