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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - PPMLT - 04/11/2018 Paul Pratt Memorial Library Board of Trustees April 11, 2018 Library Historical Room, 6 pm. Present: Carolyn Coffey(Chair),Agnes McCann, Sarah Pease, Catherine O'Callaghan, Marylou Lawrence, Stephen Brown,Jackie Rafferty(Library Director), Lisa Uglialoro (Cohasset Human Resources Director) Meeting called to order, 6:05 pm 1. a. The minutes of the February 13, 2018 Trustees meeting were moved,voted and approved unanimously. The minutes had previously been approved by an email vote due to the cancelled March meeting. 2. Director's Report(Rafferty) a. Bronwyn gave her accounting report and discussed the issues with our deposits to the town that go through the Treasurer's Office. The monies are frequently being credited to the wrong account or not posted in a timely manner. Steve mentioned that he discussed the issue with Don Piatt,the Town Accountant, and Don would like the town to look into switching from SoftRight to another financial software program. Lisa said that if Don wants to make a change, he would have to submit a proposal to the Capital Budget Committee and request the funds. b. Facilities—i.Jackie has asked Mark Kelly to get quotes for a thorough cleaning of the library, which hasn't been done in quite a while. ii. Carolyn noticed a broken window in the Children's Room and Jackie has let Mark know. iii.The Fire Dept. performed their annual inspection of the building and there were no issues. c. Technology- i. We have received a quote for the replacement people counter and will write a Purchase Order this week to get begin the purchasing process. We have not had a working counter for the parking lot entrance since February 26. ii. Ron has upgraded the wifi and we will now be able to obtain usage statistics. d. The request to the Capital Budget Committee for replacement RFID machines has been put on hold, as the stations are still working and we would like to assess the utility of MeeScan. e. The upper room has been cleared and will soon be painted in anticipation of the Safe Harbor Coalition moving in by April 23. Jackie has explained to them that the space is not to be used by the public due to ADA compliance. In addition, any meetings they have with outside groups should be held in our meeting rooms. f. The South Shore Music Circus grant application is due May 1s'and Jackie requested suggestions from the Trustees. So far,the ideas that have been considered are: a program incubator to develop new programs and an internship for a Children's Librarian. g. Jackie has agreed to be a judge for the Massachusetts Center for the Book annual book awards. She will be judging the nonfiction awards in June. h. Jackie is working on a grant proposal with the director of the Barnstable Library and the director of the Mass. Center for the Book which involves using the arts and humanities to combat opioid addiction. They envision a two year program that will involve 6 anchor libraries in gateway communities. i. The OCLN network is negotiating pricing for an online subscription to the New York Times that will offer patrons a rich variety of resources. Patrons will need their library card number to access it and they will be able to sign in on any of their devices. The fee will be split between all participating libraries, so the more that opt in,the lower the cost. j. The final Sunday Author Talk for the 2017/2018 season was a success with a great speaker and poet, Richard Hoffman. While the crowd was smaller, all agreed that that was preferable for a poetry reading and the event was well received by those in attendance. The Trustees appreciated Joan Kovach's efforts to invite high quality authors to the program. 3. Financial Report/Bills Payable (Rafferty) a. There was a discussion of the proposal to pay for the museum passes out of the Materials budget rather than request reimbursement from the Friends. This would free up some of the Friends monies that could be used for programming or other library needs. The Friends have been concerned about running out of reserves because the library has asked for more funds then the group has brought in over the last few years. Sarah noted that the Friends are not supposed to build up a large amount of funds in savings. It was decided to hold off on paying for the museum passes from the Materials account and to continue to request reimbursement from the Friends. b. The outstanding bills were moved, seconded and approved unanimously. In addition, last month's bills were signed by the rest of the Trustees after being approved by Carolyn for payment when the March meeting was cancelled. 4. Chair's Report(Coffey) a. Carolyn received a bid of$6100 from the Hampden County Sheriff to reupholster the furniture in the Children's Room. They require a 12 week lead time to order and receive the fabric, which would coincide with the new Fiscal Year,when the library will receive $2500 in upholstery funds. Carolyn spoke with Chris Senior and he indicated that he would be able to find the balance of the funds that were needed. b. Carolyn and Jackie went before the Capital Budget Committee on Monday and were told that there were many requests and limited funds available. The committee did not seem to be inclined to pay for the library design plans if it was not clear how the project itself would be funded. Carolyn asked the Trustees for their thoughts about how and when to proceed. Catherine felt that there was a timing issue,with the town still discussing the Town Hall renovation project. She felt the townspeople would not be likely to authorize more spending on another town building, particularly one that is in relatively good shape. Steve noted that the Senior Center limits the use of their meeting space for outside groups, which may impact our needs for current and future programming. There was also the suggestion that perhaps a local architect would be willing to estimate the costs involved in order to understand the scope of the project. Carolyn mentioned that part of the Town Hall plans call for archival space being created in the library basement for files that must be preserved and thought that perhaps that designer could also assist with plans for other areas of the library. Jackie stated that she feels that the most pressing issue is the lack of parking, which could possibly be addressed by using the Community Preservation Funds that were given to the library in conjunction with the Recreation Department. Those funds are due to expire in June but can be renewed, if necessary. The issue will continue to be discussed at the next meeting. c. There are three open seats on the Board for the May election. Lynne has agreed to run again and Megan Brinzey has pulled and submitted papers. Today, Carolyn contacted Catherine Harvey who expressed interest being a write-in candidate for the third seat. She is a new member of the Friends and is willing to be the Trustee liaison to the Friends, if she joins the Board. Since the window is closed to get on the ballot, she will have to do either a write in campaign or the Board of Selectmen could appoint her. She plans to run a write-in campaign because she will have to run again next year to finish the unexpired term if she is appointed. d. Nominations are needed for the next Trustees president. 5. CLT Report (Brown) a. The Trustees enjoyed Marylou's article in Life on the Rocks that describes the CLT and how to make a donation. b. Steve mentioned that he and Marylou as well as Michael Putziger have served their terms on the Board. There are now four openings, including two Trustee spots. Catherine O'Callaghan agreed to fill one of the openings and Carolyn asked the others to consider joining the Board. In addition, Mary Whitley is leaving and the Board will need a new clerk. Marylou suggested looking for someone with development experience to fill the open spots, as there are already members who have investment knowledge. c. The board has not met since the last meeting, so there was nothing more to report. 6. Friends Report (Patterson) a. Jessica was not present to give the report. b. The Friends has been assisting with legislative advocacy in an effort to educate the public about the need for state funds. They are asking patrons to contact their representatives to push for more funding for public libraries. 7. Other a. It will be Agnes' and Dave's last meeting on May 9t", as the town election is scheduled for May 12. Meeting adjourned at 7:07 pm. Documents: Minutes of the February 13, 2018 Trustees Meeting Director's Report April 11, 2018 April FY18 Financial Report April 11, 2018 Accounting Report— Bronwyn FY18 April 11, 2018 Warrant Library Trustees Authorization for Payment—4/11/18 FY18 Deposits to Gift Account—April 11, 2018 FY18 Deposits to Treasurer—Fines& Fees, etc.,April 11, 2018 Room Use by Time of Day—March 2018, 4/11/18 Circulation Department Report:April 2018 Circulation Statistics, FY2018 April, 2018 Report from the Reference Desk April 11, 2018 Report from the Children's Room Young Adult and Reference Services Report, April 2018