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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018.01.17 BLT MinCARY MEMORIAL LIBRARY BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES January 17, 2018 Attendees: Joe Pato, Doug Lucente, Howard Jaffe, Claire Thoryn Feingold, Suzie Barry, Trustees; Koren Stembridge, Library Director; Emily Smith, Assistant Director; Matt Schuman, Meagan Parker, Christine Muir and Alissa Lauzon, Library Staff; Jeri Zeder and Mary Ellen Ringo, Foundation. Call to Order: Joe called the meeting to order at 3: 34 pm Public Comment: None Secretary’s Minutes Vote: Howard made a motion to approve the minutes of the May 17, 2017 meeting, Claire seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. New Business Programing Team Presentation Meagan Parker, Outreach and Programming Librarian introduced her team, Matt Schuman and Christine Muir. She provided an overview of their goals: Plan, promote and execute adult events. Partner with other organizations such as Town departments, non-profits and citizens groups. Develop relationships with authors, artists and local speakers. Some upcoming projects: “Immigrant stories” oral history project Wen-ti Tsen art installation and related programming Expand programs for seniors Partner with the Perkins School Library on programs Storytelling events Strategic Planning Sessions Some examples of successful programs have been Science Café (currently on hiatus). Meet the Author, Writing Group and Socrates Café are smaller scale programs. We try to maintain a balance between STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) focus and literature based programs. Christine detailed how she came to work at Cary Library. In addition to program development she works on publicity. She is getting to know the local newspaper editors and is working on building relationships in the community. Matt explained his background and role on the team which is a blend of art and programing. He manages three galleries at the library and one at the community center. He enjoys the experiential nature of the job. He is excited about the ability of the library to host live music events. Joe expressed how great to see such enthusiasm. Howard asked if most programs are staff initiated or community driven and if there is a preference. Meagan explained that the traditional method of programming is staff driven however it does not always serve the needs of the community. We are trying to move to a community prompted one. We have successfully co-created programs with community members. We want to be a conduit to facilitate connections between people and their community. Christine commented that the role of the library is changing. Koren added that we have created a platform to showcase the many talents of the community. Alissa Lauzon, Head of Youth Services, showcased the “On the Road to Reading” program. We are hoping for a February launch. We are partnering with support from local business through the Foundation to get kids to read 1,000 books before kindergarten. Each child receives a bag upon signing up. Once they’ve completed the challenge they receive a t-shirt and attend a pizza party. Financial Update Koren reported we are about halfway through the fiscal year and are on track for spending on the Municipal side. On the Trustee side: We received a distribution for materials from the Endowment of $10,285.04. Our first installment of state aid arrived, $23,618.27. In August, we received an Endowment gift of $124,000 from the Kipp estate. Annually we will receive a 2% distribution to fund Library of Things starting next fiscal year. The Foundation continues to pay back the loan from the Endowment. The Boston Foundation received a gift of $250,000 which will spin off about $10,000 per year for large print materials. Administrative Update Strategic Planning – We’re kicking off our Strategic Planning efforts today – a bit later than we had planned. Included in your packet is a list of the upcoming opportunities to participate. We’ve tried to offer many ways for people to give us feedback. Koren will share this document electronically so you can share it. Staffing - We have been averaging a few vacancies each year. Next week we welcome a new full time staff person in Bibliographic Services. For the past several years most of these departures were a result of retirements. Since the average age of our staff has shifted so drastically, we are now seeing young staff leaving to take on more ambitious roles in other libraries as their careers evolve. Trustees – Koren showed the selection of books we plated honoring Peter Kelley and Jessie Steigerwald, trustees who are leaving the board. Joe will make the presentation at the upcoming reception on behalf of the library. May full board trustee meeting – Koren floated the idea of a lunch time meeting for the next full board. We will poll members and set a time based on consensus. Mural – There will be a reception on January 25th at 3:30 PM for the unveiling of the mural painted by the Minuteman High School students. Building Update Koren updated trustees on the recent building issues. This fall heating wires were installed along the gutters in the back of the building and Clarke Street side of the building. We had a chance to use them with recent snow and they helped, except that the cold was so extreme we still had giant icicles forming and then breaking off to slide down the roof to the sidewalk below. On January 2nd we arrived to find the building temps in the 30’s and 40’s. A computer program is in place to lower/raise temps according to the library’s schedule. Because of the extreme cold, the facilities department had overridden this program to keep the heat on 24/7. Unfortunately, the overwriting didn’t take and the building followed its normal program. The custodian arrived early and called in the problem. At the same time, the Facilities team started worrying about the possibility of frozen sprinkler heads. Our custodian shut off the water to our system so that no additional water would feed into the pipes. About 9:30 am one of the sprinkler heads split and drained all the water that was in the pipes. We were fortunate, because a day later when the sprinkler contractor was out, he found the sprinkler heads over the Adult Fiction section were also frozen – if one of them had let go we would have lost a substantial portion of that collection. We were closed Jan 2nd and 3rd for repairs and Jan 4th for the snow storm. Facilities had a contractor in to map the heat loss in the building and are planning a project to add insulation to all the areas in the library that need it. It is not clear as yet if this work will require us to close. Koren will provide updates as the plan is revealed. Trustees discussed the building issues. The recent sprinkler breach at the Lowell library was mentioned, they lost a huge amount of materials. Claire suggested we consider a monetary gift to the Lowell library or perhaps a donation of materials. Suzie is in favor of the idea suggesting broader community involvement. Howard stated that we need to consider if it is even legal for us to do this. Doug supports a matching type gift. Mary Ellen expressed concern that when people give to the library the expectation is that it will benefit this library. Jeri Zeder suggested a crowd funding campaign across the commonwealth. Trustees discussed at length ultimately deciding there are factors that need to be considered. Howard is comfortable with setting aside $5,000 of trustee funds (income from fines and fees) to be allocated for consideration at the next Executive Board meeting. Koren will be in touch with other library directors in the network to find out if there is any plan to collaborate and will get back to trustees. New Business Trustee By-laws Koren reviewed the changes which she emailed to trustees in advance of the meeting: Rearranged content to make the document read more clearly. Changes the Executive Committee to the Executive Board (which is a more commonly used term) Spells out the nominating process more clearly. Removes the Advisory Committee from the bylaws (this committee has not been in place for approximately 10 years) – The Trustees can instead appoint special/ad hoc committees as needed. Removes the Order of Business from the bylaws so this can change as needed Moves the annual meeting to May so that it is less likely to coincide with Town Meeting Changes the quorum requirement for the full Board meetings from a minimum of 5 Trustees with one officer to a minimum of 5 Trustees with one Executive Board member. It removes the Executive Board’s authority over the selection of books. Designates the Trustees of Public Trust as the entity that manages the Library’s investment accounts. Joe asked for any comments before accepting a motion. Howard asked if there is any other authority that has to approve them. Joe indicated no. Doug commented that there are few trustees in attendance. Joe related that this process has been ongoing over several months and drafts. Claire made a motion to approve the trustee bylaws presented. The motion was seconded by Doug, which passed unanimously. Early Closure Alissa asked trustees to consider closing the library at 3:30 PM on Friday, April 13th to prepare for the Fairy Tale Ball event. Howard made a motion to authorize the library to close at 3:30 PM on Friday, April 13. Suzie seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Meeting Room – Nothing to report Foundation Jeri reported the following: We have had a change in tax status to reclassify as public charity. This allows us to accept distributing from donors IRA’s. We are still a 501c3 which is another vehicle to accept donations. We continue to receive Transformative Space pledges. Donors are committed to their pledges and are stepping up to meet them. Our annual appeal took place n November and December put us slightly ahead of last year. We continue to collect donations from the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program. Adjournment Suzie made a motion to adjourn the meeting which was seconded by Howard. The motion passed unanimously.