HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - PPMLT - 12/14/2016 Paul Pratt Memorial Library Board of Trustees
December 14, 2016
Library Meeting Room, 6 pm.
Present: Carolyn Coffey (Chair), Marylou Lawrence,Agnes McCann, Elaine Breslow, Roger Lowe, Sarah
Pease, David Dwyer, Stephen Brown,Jackie Rafferty (Director)
Meeting called to order, 6:00 pm
1. a. The minutes of the November 9, 2016 Trustees meeting were moved,voted and approved
unanimously.
2. Director's Report(Rafferty)
a. Bronwyn showed the graphs that she created from the data tracking room usage by time of
day. The Trustees asked if there were statistics pertaining to tutor use versus other uses.
Gayle includes that information in her report and Bronwyn will create a monthly chart
analyzing the statistics. Steve asked if there are any plans to charge for the room use since
the tutors are working for a fee. Jackie said that charging for use is not in the spirit of the
library and it would be very difficult to determine which of the users are working for a fee as
opposed to other uses.
b. The Accounting Report was given and there was a discussion about communication between
the Treasurer's Office and the Library. There have been times in the past when we have not
been notified about deposits for the library that have been received by that office. We will
continue to work on creating a better dialogue with the other town departments.
c. Social Media -The top tweet this month was about using social media to promote books.
Jackie will try to push our available platforms in future posts.
d. The digital display was finally installed, however, it is not working and the screen is
scratched. Jackie was not notified that is was scheduled to be hung and it could have been
placed on the wrong wall. Jackie spoke to Lisa Uglialoro and she agreed to talk to Mark Kelly
about better communication between departments. Jackie has had better results with
texting Mark rather than emailing and will use texting first to try to reach him. In addition,
she is still waiting for the Fire Department to install a defibrillator and a trauma kit for the
staff to use in the event of an incident.
e. The Annual Report is nearing completion,with Jackie cleaning up typos and adding
information about the top 10 checkouts in the last fiscal year.
f. The Bulletin Board Policy was updated to include the electronic bulletin board and the
Trustees approved the revisions unanimously.
g. Grants- i.The Greenbush Grant met today and chose the logo from the designs presented.
There was also a very productive meeting in November with representatives from the four
participating libraries. There are still many details to be worked out but the Committee
feels confident that it will be a successful program. ii. Gayle is doing a great job managing
the Equal Access for All Grant including posting a needs survey around town and on the
website. The program has evolved to also include individuals on the Asperger's and autism
spectrums.
h. Jackie discussed next year's proposed budget with Chris Senior during their regular meeting
last week. She will be requesting an increase in the Books and Meetings/Conferences lines
as well as adding new lines for copier rental and chair upholstery. Carolyn suggested
creating an ongoing request for chair upholstery, possibly$2000 per year after the initial
request of$5000 in FY18. The Trustees voted and approved the FY18 draft budget that will
be submitted.
i. Jackie discussed her suggested new policy titled "Incident Reporting Policy" with the
Trustees. The policy was warranted after some maintenance incidents in the library that
were not reported to Jackie. There were concerns that a repair person would be called and
an invoice generated without Jackie's knowledge or authorization. Dave was concerned
that the wording of the policy would inhibit employee initiative and/or action. Others felt
that the title was misleading and preferred "Reporting Requirement Policy". Jackie will
reword the policy and bring the updated version to the next meeting.
j. The December 4t"Sunday Author Talk was well attended and well received. The Program
Committee has been meeting regularly and has new and exciting plans for upcoming
programming. They are still waiting for payment from Tom Hamilton for his sponsorship of
this year's Sunday Author Talks. A new reminder letter and invoice were sent to him last
week but, as of today, no check has been forthcoming.
3. Financial Report/Bills Payable (Rafferty)
a. The outstanding bills were moved, seconded and approved unanimously.
4. Chair's Report(Coffey)
a. Carolyn and Jackie discussed a plan to change the way that the State Aid Grant has been
used to fund library needs. In the past, it has been used to supplement the book budget,
even though that goes against the spirit of the grant. Jackie explained that most other
libraries in the area use the grant for discretionary needs that are not in the budget. Carolyn
would like to use the funds to pay for part of the Stefura design plans in conjunction with
the South Shore Music Circus Grant and other grants that the library received in the past.
The loss of the book monies would be made up with Endowment funds,which include a
carryover from last year as well as an additional takeout for this year. There were some
concerns that this plan will leave the library without any available discretionary funds for
the rest of this fiscal year, but the Trustees approved the plan.
b. i. Carolyn discussed the rationale behind pursuing the larger design changes at the library
which would include the back area and parking lot. The Trustees voted unanimously to go
forward with the larger plan. ii. Carolyn has spoken with Liz Frazier of the Recreation
Commission and discussed the use of the joint CPC Grant funds to improve the back area of
the library/Rec. Department.They plan to work together as the design takes shape. iii. David
Dunkleberger approached the Recreation Commission about installing another basketball
court in the field adjacent to the back parking lot. He submitted plans that he had drawn up
and Carolyn shared them with the Trustees.
S. CLT Report (Brown)
a. Steve has notified the CLT that the library may need this year's takeout earlier due to the
planned use of the State Aid funds for the design plans, not materials purchases.
b. The CLT is looking for a replacement for John Flanagan on the Investment Sub-Committee.
c. Steve shared that Michael Putziger is working on plans to increase the size of the
Endowment as well as begin a capital campaign to help pay for the library improvements.
He would like to promote the idea of community members including the CLT in their wills.
Marylou stated that this would be best accomplished by identifying possible donors and
speaking to them face to face about planned giving to the library.
6. Friends Report (Patterson)
a. Jessica was not present. Roger, who is the new liaison to the Friends, gave the report.
b. The annual appeal is on track and generating many donations. They are still selling their
ornaments from last year and all Trustees were urged to purchase one.
c. The Friends agreed at their last meeting to raise the rates for their book sale to $1 for
paperbacks and $2 for hardcover books. The price of movies will remain the same at$1.
d. At their meeting, Roger suggested that they hold a children's book sale run by children. The
Trustees seemed enthusiastic about the idea.
7. Other
a. There was no other business.
Meeting adjourned at 7:25 pm.
Documents:
Minutes of the November 9, 2016 Trustees Meeting
Director's Report December 14, 2016
Room Use by Time of Day—November 2016
Bulletin Board Usage Policy
Appropriated Book Funds&Total Book Expenditures 2008—2016/Book Budget Funding Sources
Appropriated Funds by Fiscal Year
Municipal Appropriation Requirement (MAR) Worksheet
Materials Expenditure Requirement Worksheet
Incident Reporting Policy
December FY17 Financial Report
December 14, 2016 Accounting Report—Bronwyn
FY17 December 14, 2016 Warrant
Library Trustees Authorization for Payment, 12/14/2016
FY17 Deposits to Gift Account— December 14, 2016
FY17 Deposits to Treasurer—Fines& Fees, etc., December 14, 2016
Circulation Department Report: November 2016
December, 2016 Report from the Reference Desk
Young Adult and Reference Services Report, November 2016
December 6, 2016 Report from the Children's Room
Paul Pratt Memorial Library Annual Report FY16