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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015.10.01 EC MIN CARY MEMORIAL LIBRARY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES Wednesday, October 1, 2014 Attendees: Norman Cohen, Margaret Coppe, Joe Pato Trustees; Koren Stembridge, Library Director, Cynthia Johnson, Assistant Library Director. Call to Order: Chairman Norm Cohen called the meeting to order at 4:08 PM Secretary’s Minutes Vote: Norm Cohen made a motion to approve the Minutes of the May 29, 2014 meeting. Joe Pato seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Financial Update Koren reported that we are two months into our FY15 budget and 15% of it has been expended which is right on target. With the changes to the fines and fees, our income has decreased about 30% which was expected. Feedback from the public on the lowering of the fines has been tremendously positive. The endowment (currently at $1.6 million) has been doing well. FY16 capital requests were due at the end of September. Koren submitted a placeholder for reconfiguring the building, but she is hoping that the reconfiguration can be accomplished using private funds. FY16 operating budgets are due mid-October so Koren will present the budget at the next meeting. The bulk of the library’s budget (roughly $2 million) is staffing, and therefore subject to union negotiations. There is roughly $250,000 in funding for network dues, technology, supplies and materials. Koren is going to ask the town to increase these lines to cover true operational costs and will request that the Town fund 80% of the materials budget (this is in line with other comparable and surrounding towns). This will leave the bulk of privately raised money free to fund library programs, with some kept available for materials so we can purchase across the change in the fiscal year. Administrative Update: Staffing and proposed organizational changes are still in flux because we are still in bargaining sessions with the union. RFID is moving along. We’ve been working on the contract with the town’s purchasing agent, Lindsay Dahlberg, who has gone on maternity leave. We’re OK on the contract, and not in a huge rush to implement RFID until we have reviewed and organized the process. New Business Carol Mahoney has committed to acting as consultant for the library reconfiguration project and is writing up a proposal. We will use the architect the town has on contract, but Koren has not yet met with him to discuss the project; she will share his report at the November meeting. Reconfiguring the building will also involve corresponding changes in staffing. Koren explained that the Parent Information/Proxy Borrower sheet included in the Trustees ‘informational packet is something we can hand to parents when they first get a library card for their child or when there is a question. While it is reasonable for parents to want to know what materials are on their children’s’ cards, revealing that information does conflict with privacy laws and this sheet offers the explanation. We also want to use it as a starting point for families who wish to pick up materials for one another or for neighbors to pick things up for one another. The Friends twenty-fifth anniversary is coming up in November and library staff are working on a full page ad for the Colonial Times as well as a poster of “Twenty-five thins we love about the Friends”. Koren urged everyone to attend their annual meeting November 2 and highly recommended their speaker Joe Blatt. Margaret Coppe attended the meeting as the interim member of the school committee until a replacement is elected for Mary Ann Stewart. Koren presented a request from an author working on a book about Samuel Bowman to include a photo of our portrait as long as credit is given to Cary Memorial Library. It was agreed that the Trustees are comfortable with Koren’s giving this sort of approval. Koren attended a meeting of Chinese American Association of Lexington as they plan activities around the Chinese New Year. They hope to populate multiple spaces in the library with different events: games people can play, art they can learn, etc. They want people attending this event to discover the library so they hope to do it while the building is open. Koren would like to make the building available to them for this. Norm Cohen mentioned that the Indian American “family picnic” on Oct. 19 is also aimed at engaging all ages in multiple activities and highly approves of this sort of activity. He and Joe Pato and Koren are going to a CAAL meeting on Oct. 10 so will learn more then. Old Business Rob Addelson, Andrea, and Koren met with the Town’s auditing firm, and in late October the auditors will come over and talk further about our auditing practices. Koren will present the results of their discussion at the January meeting. The chairman of the HDC is coming to his tenth year so he can no longer remain on the committee. The library needs to come up with two names for appointments by the end of the year. Joe Pato will ask Britta McCarthy. Adjournment Norm Cohen moved that the meeting be adjourned, Joe seconded the motion and the meeting adjourned at 5:05 pm. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Johnson Assistant Director.