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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-03-19-BLT-min CARY MEMORIAL LIBRARY BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES Thursday, March 19, 2015 Attendees: Norman Cohen, Brent Maracle,Margaret, Coppe, Kate Ekrem, Howard Jaffe, Michelle Ciccolo, Jessie Steigerwald, Suzie Barry, Judy Crocker Trustees; Koren Stembridge, Library Director, Cynthia Johnson, Assistant Library Director; Phyllis Brooks, Friends and Jeanne Krieger and Jeri Zeder, Foundation. Call to Order: Chairman Norm Cohen called the meeting to order at 4:00 PM Secretary's Minutes Vote Margaret made a motion to accept the minutes of the October 15, 2014 meeting. Kate seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Foundation Update Jeri reported: • Foundation received $227,000 in overall donations so far this fiscal year. • The Spring Appeal is underway • We will be hosting a tea for Legacy Society members at the end of May. Deborah Brown will be speaking. • "Fuel Your Mind" program will be April 11, this is a ticketed event for all ages. • The Seed Library is underway • We contracted Bartlett Interactive to revamp our website. Jeri informed Trustees that Claude Brenner, a longtime library supporter, passed away last week. Claude was a cofounders of the Legacy Society. Jeanne reported the Foundation is $50,000 shy of their budget. Norman commented that is sounds like the Foundation is doing well. Friends Update Phyllis reported: • This Saturday several Friends will be attending an event called "Friends Sharing with Friends". The topic is communication. She will report back at the next meeting. • The Volunteer Appreciation Tea is Mary 13th at 2 pm in the Large Meeting Room. Please stop by, have a cookie and show your appreciation for the many volunteers. • May 15 starts the book sale. Norman acknowledged the amazing book sale and the funds generated. Administrative— Financial Update: On the Municipal side we are on target. At the end of February we are 66% expended. At this point in the year a few line items are fully spent. On the Trustees side, most of our income is received in the second half of the year. We received a payment from Shire. Koren detailed the agreement between Shire and the Town regarding the donation which is $250,000 payable over 5 payments every other year. This is the fourth payment. She reported that due to some state budgetary changes, our State Aid, grant may be slightly less than expected. The Foundation has donated $71,000 to date, the Friends pledged $25,000 in addition to the Museum Pass program which is fully supported by the Friends. FY 16 Budget Koren distributed the FY 16 Trustees Budget detailing each item. Last year, the board voted to lower copying fines and overdue fee which contribute to the decrease in income, patrons by the way are thrilled. We increased the amount dedicated to staff development, earmarking $10,000 toward conferences, $8,000 to in house staff development and tuition reimbursements. Since American Library Association's conference is in the Boston next year, we expect a large number of staff to attend. We are increasing the technology budget from $4,000 to $8,000. The library uses the Town procurement process for purchasing. The FY 16 Municipal budget request is in and hopefully it will pass at Town Meeting. Norman asked Koren to explain the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners standards of accreditation. Koren explained that each municipality is required to spend at least 13% of their municipal appropriation on materials in order to receive a State Aid Grant. This fiscal year we expect out state aid grant to be about $ 44,000. Most library's municipal appropriation includes custodial staff and utilities, ours does not. We expend more than 13% annually in materials. Building Koren detailed a proposal to reconfigure several library spaces: • Move the teen room from the main level to the fiction area on the lower level. • Moving the fiction upstairs will allow us to provide better service • Create one service point on the main level, combing the Reference and Circulation desks.This will create two teams who will be cross trained. We hope to stat this pilot at the end of May. • The architect will have floor plans available for review at the next Executive committee meeting. The cost is expected to be approximately $500,000 which we hope to fund privately. We are evaluating materials in the Reference area as well as circulating ones for weeding. Staff and Hiring Update Koren reported that the library union ratified the contract earlier this month. We are reorganizing some staff positons; establishing a Librarian II position, a Readers Services Manager to oversee the One Desk, upgraded the Bibliographic Services positons. As part of the shift we are able to promote several para professionals to association positions. We recently had one retirement and are expecting another. Fortunately they will be able to substitute as needed. We can benefit from their institutional knowledge. Koren congratulated the Lexington Reads programming; this year's choice is the Wizard of Oz. We partnered with the Cary Lecture Series which saved us money and and provided a point of entry for all ages. Alissa Lauzon, Head of Children's' services spearheaded the Fairy Tale Ball which turned out to be a fabulous event, with 547 people. Norman added that he heard positive comments from lots of people. Nominating Committee Norman called for a report from Suzie Barry of the Nominating Committee. Nominating Committees members are Suzie Barry, Jessie Steigerwald and Paul Shuppe. Suzie Barry presented the report of the nominating committee. The committee nominates the following members of the Cary Memorial Library Board of Trustees to serve on the Executive Committee for the term so f March 2015 - March 2016: Norman Cohen, Board of Selectman Joseph Pato, Board of Selectman Margaret Coppe, School Committee Kate Ekrem, Church of Our Redeemer Rabbi Howard Jaffe, Temple Isiah Norman called for other nominations. Judy Crocker made a motion to approve the nominees as presented. Margaret Coppe seconded.The motion passed. Norman commented that is was nice to have a large group in attendance Margaret made motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Howard Jaffe.The motion passed.