HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - PPMLT - 11/10/2015 Paul Pratt Memorial Library Board of Trustees
November 10,2015
Library Historical Room, 6 pm.
Present: Carolyn Coffey (Chair), Roger Lowe, Stephen Brown, David Dwyer, Lynne DeGiacomo,Agnes
McCann, Marylou Lawrence,Jackie Rafferty(Director)
Meeting called to order, 6:03 pm
1. The minutes of the October 14, 2015 Trustees meeting were moved,voted and approved.
2. Director's Report (Rafferty)
a. Technology—i.The reinstated filters from CyberPatrol are too restrictive and need to be
adjusted. Jackie has asked Ron Menard to bring in Tom Campbell to make the corrections.
Ron will review the issue with Tom and then either he or Tom will attempt to fix the
problem. ii.There is a new program from T-Mobile that would allow the library to loan out
mobile Wi-Fi hotspots for patrons to use at home or when traveling. Ron Menard
recommended investigating Verizon's pricing before making a decision. There is still more
information to be gathered from both OCLN and the phone companies to determine if it is
feasible and cost effective to pursue the program further. There were also questions about
monitoring and how to avoid inappropriate use.
b. Ted Carroll would like Brian Joyce to put together the CPC grant application for the back
parking lot and landscaping. Jackie tried to schedule a meeting with Ted and Chris Senior to
discuss the library's needs but Ted said he didn't have time to meet right now. Carolyn will
put together a memo outlining the library's vision but until the Long Range Plan is
completed, some of those needs are unknown at this time. The Town Space Planning
Committee is meeting soon and some of the Trustees will try to attend.
c. The Homework Center is running smoothly with the new coordinator. A plan is in the works
to create an anonymous survey to gauge the effectiveness of the Homework Center and
solicit ideas to improve it. Prizes will be given to those who complete the survey.
d. The group investigating the possibility of creating a Cultural District in the village met
recently. Jackie could not make it to the meeting but was updated by Kristin Sherman of the
South Shore Art Center. Having a Cultural District in place in town would create grant
opportunities. The group will meet again on December 10 at the library.
e. Kristin is interested in running a fine free period over the holidays, in addition to the
planned Food for Fines program in the summer. There was concern that it might reduce our
turnovers to the town too much in one year and the Trustees decided not to endorse the
plan.
f. Jackie shared two articles on marketing for libraries. With bookstores in decline, libraries
are one of the few places left to browse materials. The articles described effective
marketing techniques, including using local business to sponsor displays.
g. Jackie discussed the packet from the Edge Initiative,which provides benchmarks to evaluate
library technology services. She highlighted the section that pertains to engaging the
community and conducting surveys for feedback about library technology.
h. Jackie met with Rep.Tom Calter recently at the Kingston Library. They discussed the cuts to
the Board of Library Commissioner's technology budget due to earmarks for a few towns.
She also included a handout from the MBLC that illustrates the ramifications of cuts in state
funding.
i. Jackie shared an article from the Netherlands that describes their use of a mobile
makerspace van.
3. Financial Report/Bills Payable (Rafferty)
a. Jackie presented the accounting report, including bills for a book leasing program and our
annual magazine renewal. We turned over$1339.20 in fines and fees and deposited
$1284.70 in the Gift Account since the last meeting, much of it for the Marge Murphy Fund.
b. The outstanding bills were moved, seconded and approved.
4. Chair's Report (Coffey)
a. Carolyn passed out the corrected fundraising letter from the Friends, which was missing the
names of two board members.
b. Carolyn has met with a consultant who will help distill the data from the surveys that will be
conducted as part of the update to the Long Range Plan. Carolyn would like the surveys to
consist of focus groups as well as one-on-one interviews. She passed out a strategic plan
map and three different questionnaires to be used in the interviews, depending on the
category of the library user. Carolyn would like each of the Trustees to email her with the
names of ten possible interviewees by the end of the week. The goal is to have the
interview portion completed by the end of the year,the focus groups finished by the end of
January and the plan created by the end of March.
5. CLT(Brown)
a. There are three new members of the Investment Subcommittee that will be approved at the
next meeting.
b. The group made small corrections in reaction to the current market conditions, but
otherwise feel comfortable with the investments in place.
6. Program Report (Lawrence)
a. The next Sunday Author Talk is this Sunday, November 15. This is a new date due to the
author's schedule conflicts. Marylou is concerned that attendance will be low because the
date is changed and there will be a Patriots football game at the same time. She is reaching
out to a local synagogue and mosque to increase awareness of the talk. She also may try to
have it mentioned in the Cohasset school newsletter.
7. Friends Report (McCann)
a. The Friends have sold 52 ornaments so far and raised $2080.
b. The annual fundraising letter was sent out but was missing the names of two board
members. The printing company refunded some of their costs and printed some new
letters. In addition,the mailing list from the CEF that was used had many errors and the
Friends will likely go back to using the town mailing list next year.
8. Other
a. There was no other business to be discussed.
Meeting adjourned at 7:20 pm.
Documents:
Minutes of the October 14, 2015 Trustees Meeting
Director's Report November 10, 2015
November FY16 Financial Report
November 10, 2015 Accounting Report—Bronwyn
FY16 November 10, 2015 Warrant
Library Trustees Authorization for Payment, 11/10/15
Disbursements by Account Number, 11/10/15
FY16 Deposits to Gift Account, November 10, 2015
FY16 Deposits to Treasurer—Fines& Fees, etc., November 10, 2015
Building a Display-Driven Strategy I Brand Insider by David Vinjamuri
Activate Partners to Grow Circ I Brand Insider by David Vinjamuri
Edge: Benchmarks Version 1.0
How Sharing Library Resources Works, and Why It's at Risk
FryskLab, Bibliotheekservice Fryslan, Leeuwarden,The Netherlands
Reinventing the Library, New York Times
Friends of the Cohasset Library fundraising letter
Strategic Plan Map
Library Interview—Staff
Library Interview—Library Users,Trustees, Volunteers
Library Interview—Non-users
Questions to stimulate discussions for LRP
Cohasset Space Needs Analysis Project schedule
Homework Coordinator's Weekly Log
Circulation Department Report: October 2015
November, 2015 Report from the Reference Desk
Young Adult Services Report, October 2015
November 8, 2015 Report from the Children's Room