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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - PPMLT - 09/12/2018 Paul Pratt Memorial Library Board of Trustees September 12, 2018 Library Historical Room, 5:30 pm. Present: Carolyn Coffey (Chair), Marylou Lawrence, Stephen Brown, Sarah Pease, Elaine Breslow, Catherine O'Callaghan, Catherine Harvey, Megan Brinzey,Jackie Rafferty (Director), Gayle Walsh (Adult Services/Reference Librarian) Meeting called to order, 5:35 pm 1. a. Gayle demonstrated MeeScan, the new library app that allows patrons to check out materials using their smart phone. This option can be used at any time and will also be helpful when the power is out at the library. The Trustees were able to download and sign in to MeeScan and some checked out books using it. 2. a. The minutes of the July 10, 2018 Trustees meeting were moved,voted and approved unanimously. 3. Director's Report(Rafferty) a. Jackie reviewed the ARIS report statistics and noted that,while many areas are down,there are also some bright spots. Both database use and references questions answered increased significantly over last year's figures. Other numbers were down including circulation and program attendance. While there may be a problem with the statistical reporting from OCLN,Jackie feels that they do reflect the trend of lower circulation and attendance. The Trustees had some suggestions including: purchase older TV program DVDs for the Children's Room, offer a program highlighting the learning differences between online reading versus books, and form a focus group with the local nursery school parents to discover unfilled needs. Social media posts were also discussed, and it was mentioned that older patrons tend to use Twitter and younger people lean towards Instagram. Elaine also suggested a cookbook book group,which could include cooking demonstrations or food tastings as part of the program. b. The recently begun New York Times online access has been a success, with Cohasset usage numbers higher than many OCLN libraries. c. Two funding requests for the Friends were discussed and voted on by the Trustees. The first was a request to pay for the frames that were purchased for the Recovery Month photographs used in this year's exhibit. The invoice is for$727.81 and it is hoped that the frames could be reused in subsequent years. It was decided that it was more appropriate to pay for the frames out of the Supplies Account which is funded by the Town. The plan was voted and approved unanimously. The other funding request was the Young Adult programming proposal for 2018-2019. After a discussion,the request was approved unanimously. d. The staff contract has not been signed yet so there were no personnel updates at this time. e. The library has received a $5000 grant from the South Shore Music Circus to be used for program incubation. Jackie envisions it as a way to encourage young people to develop and implement new programs. Steve mentioned that NPR has a student-run investigative journalism series, which might interest local students. f. Jackie has sent this year's CLT letters to the families of the Endowment Fund donors. She included a sample in the report packet. g. Jackie shared a story about a lost wallet in a Florida airport the was reunited with the owner through her Paul Pratt Library card. h. Technology—The RFID funding request has been removed from the Capital Budget Committee request list. When it becomes necessary to replace the current system, a MeeScan kiosk can be purchased for a few hundred dollars. i. Program Committee: i. One more speaker has been added to the Sunday Author Talks lineup, bringing the total to seven for the series. The new addition is Margaret Arnold,the Rector of Saint Stephen's Church in Cohasset. She has written a book titled The Magdalene in the Reformation and will speak on January 13. The postcards and other publicity materials are being ordered and will be ready for distribution soon. ii.The MOTH-inspired storytelling program is planned for October, with Gina James again facilitating the program. It was suggested that the committee reach out to the Senior Center as well as the High School Drama Department to spread the word and increase participation. iii. The Recovery Month programming continues with a photography exhibit and an author talk scheduled for tonight at 7 pm. j. Jackie is participating in a MLA symposium that will be held on October 18 and will award the "Civil Liberties Champion Award"to Dr. Roopika Risam for her work promoting equality and justice in the digital cultural record. Jackie will be interviewed about the award by the Boston Globe and Keith Conforti will take photographs at the ceremony. k. Jackie announced that she plans to retire on January 2, with a phased-out schedule in the fall. Carolyn has spoken to Chris Senior and they plan a collaborative search process for Jackie's replacement. They will meet with Paula Linhares,the acting Human Resources Director, and plan the next steps which will entail gathering feedback and refining the job description before posting the opening. 4. Financial Report/Bills Payable (Rafferty) a. There was a discussion of the invoice for Lynda.com,which offers online classes to our patrons. The cost per year is$2500,which some of the Trustees felt was high. Steve has used the site in the past and offered to come up with ways to promote it to increase usage. b. The outstanding bill were moved, seconded and approved unanimously. 5. Chair's Report(Coffey) a. The Capital Budget requests that are in the pipeline include the library design fees, which it is hoped will be approved at the Fall Town Meeting, new roof funds for next year and a technology upgrade that Ron Menard is helping to quantify. The RFID self-check request was pulled due to the implementation of MeeScan. Chris Senior is making changes to the request process and, in the future, requests will go through the administration,followed by the Selectmen,the Advisory Board and finally the CBC. b. Chris Senior has mentioned that there may be some free cash available for unmet needs. Carolyn mentioned the necessity of a deep cleaning of the library and there may be funding to have the work done. Carolyn and Jackie also compiled a list of other maintenance issues, such as a broken window and stained ceiling tiles. c. There has been a delay in the Children's Room upholstery project with the Hampden County Sheriff's Office. Apparently,the fabric that was picked out was never ordered and there is a 12 week lead time needed for it to be delivered. Carolyn has spoken with the shop manager and he is looking into solutions and will get back in touch with her about it soon. 5. CLT Report (Coffey, O'Callaghan) a. The CLT met in August and voted to transfer$60,061 to the Endowment Account for this year's takeout. 6. Friends Report (Tarpey) a. Beth Tarpey was not present and there was no report. 7. Other a. There was no other business discussed. Meeting adjourned at 6:50 pm Documents: Minutes of the July 10, 2018 Trustees Meeting Director's Report—September 12, 2018 Dr. Richard and Ruth Sears Chute Fund thank you letter September 2018 Financial Report YA Funding Proposal August 15, 2018 Accounting Report—Bronwyn September 12, 2018 Accounting Report—Bronwyn FY19 August 15, 2018 Warrant Library Trustees Authorization for Payment—8/15/18 FY19 September 12, 2018 Warrant Library Trustees Authorization for Payment—9/12/18 FY19 Deposits to Gift Account—August 15, 2018 FY19 Deposits to Treasurer— Fines & Fees, etc., August 15, 2018 FY19 Deposits to Gift Account—September 12, 2018 FY19 Deposits to Treasurer— Fines & Fees, etc., September 12, 2018 Room Use by Time of Day—August 2018, 9/12/18 Circulation Department Report: August 2018 Circulation Department Report: September 2018 Circulation Statistics, FY2019 August 2018 Report from the Reference Desk September 2018 Report from the Reference Desk August 15, 2018 Report from the Children's Room September 12, 2018 Report from the Children's Room Young Adult and Reference Services Report, August 2018 Young Adult and Reference Services Report, September 2018