HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - PPMLT - 10/17/2018 Paul Pratt Memorial Library Board of Trustees
October 17,2018
Library Historical Room, 6:00 pm.
Present: Carolyn Coffey (Chair), Stephen Brown, Sarah Pease, Elaine Breslow, Catherine O'Callaghan,
Catherine Harvey, Megan Brinzey, Lynne DeGiacomo,Jackie Rafferty (Director)
Meeting called to order, 6:05 pm
1. a. The minutes of the September 12, 2018 Trustees meeting were moved,voted and approved
unanimously.
2. Director's Report (Rafferty)
a. The library union contract has not yet been approved by Chris Senior so there are no
personnel updates at this time.
b. The OCLN assessment for FY20 has been determined and it is essentially the same as last
year. Jackie will vote to approve the proposed charge at the upcoming Directors Meeting.
c. The annual State Aid report has been completed, mailed and received. The library met both
the MER and MAR for last year.
d. The RFID self-checkout machine in the Children's Room is not working well and will need to
be replaced. A plan had been in place to buy a MeeScan kiosk that will work with an iPad
that the library had purchased previously. The kiosk will now be ordered sooner than
planned and the self-checkout machine near the Circulation Desk will be moved into the
Children's Room. The Trustees wondered if younger patrons who use the Children's Room
would prefer the MeeScan, since it works with a smartphone. Jackie will talk to the staff
and reconsider the best placements for the scanners. In addition,the 3M scanner business
was purchased by Bibliotheca and their prices are lower than we had been quoted
previously. This could be important if the MeeScan technology doesn't catch on and we
need to revert back to the 3M system.
e. Russ Bonetti, of the Community Preservation Committee, reached out to Jackie to
encourage her to submit a grant request, if there the library had any unfilled needs that
could be funded by the CPC.
f. Jackie shared the FY20 Annual Action Plan which will be submitted to the Massachusetts
Board of Library Commissioners. She asked the Trustees to review the plan and share any
feedback as soon as possible, as it is due to be turned in shortly.
g. Programs—i.The first Sunday Author Talk is scheduled for November 4 and Jackie asked the
Trustees to try to attend. Elaine wondered if the publicity flyers were posted on the Senior
Center's and the Town's websites and digital monitors. ii. The MOTH-inspired storytelling
performance will be on October 28 and Jackie hopes there will be a good turnout. There are
8 participants this year, including Steve. Catherine H. suggested it's possible that the
Cohasset Cultural Council would agree to fund the program next year.
h. Jackie discussed an intellectual freedom issue at the Worcester Public Library that she was
contacted about, because of her role in the MLA's Intellectual Freedom and Social
Responsibility Committee. She advised the complainant to notify the library director and
the trustees of his concerns and shared case law and precedents with him that might be
helpful.
4. Financial Report/Bills Payable (Rafferty)
a. The outstanding bills were moved, seconded and approved unanimously.
5. Chair's Report(Coffey)
a. Carolyn shared a draft of the Library Director position posting that will be presented to the
town for approval. The Trustees were pleased with the result and thanked Catherine O.,
Elaine and Steve for their work in crafting it. The Trustees voted and approved the job
posting unanimously.
b. The Cohasset Garden Club has agreed to prune the hollies in the front of the building.
Carolyn will contact the DPW for help with the cleanup.
c. Facilities—i. Carolyn has been told that the broken window in the Children's Room is slated
to be repaired soon and the public bathrooms will be painted. In addition, Chris Senior
plans to ask for funds at the next Special Town Meeting to cover a deep cleaning at the
library. ii. Carolyn spoke informally to Chris Senior and the Facilities Dept. regarding Capital
Budget needs for the library over the next 10 years. Chris Senior will place the request for
$60,000 for design plans on the Spring Town Meeting warrant, not in the Fall, as was hoped.
d. Carolyn visited the Hingham Public Library and was impressed with their offering of puzzles
and games available to be checked out. There was also an area where a puzzle was being
completed by patrons. She suggested that this might be something that the library could
incorporate into our collection.
e. The Trustees discussed the pros and cons of permanently switching to fine free for overdue
materials. Many OCLN libraries are going this route. There were concerns that the Town
would have an issue with the reduction in turnovers and that the lack of fines would
encourage patrons to keep materials longer. Bronwyn will create a chart to track the
percentage of fines that are for lost or damaged materials, which would still be charged
under the proposed plan. The Trustees will discuss the idea again at a later time.
5. CLT Report (Coffey, O'Callaghan)
a. The CLT has not met since the last Trustees meeting and there was no report.
6. Friends Report (Tarpey)
a. The next Friends meeting that was scheduled for tomorrow was postponed because there
would not be a quorum.
7. Other
a. There was no other business to discuss.
Meeting adjourned at 6:45 pm
Documents:
Minutes of the September 12, 2018 Trustees Meeting
Director's Report—October 17, 2018
FY20 Annual Action Plan
October 2018 Financial Report
October 17, 2018 Accounting Report— Bronwyn
FY19 October 17, 2018 Warrant
Library Trustees Authorization for Payment—10/17/18
FY19 Deposits to Gift Account—October 17, 2018
FY19 Deposits to Treasurer— Fines & Fees, etc., October 17, 2018
Room Use by Time of Day—September 2018, 10/17/18
Circulation Department Report: October 2018
Circulation Statistics, FY2019
October 2018 Report from the Reference Desk
October 17, 2018 Report from the Children's Room
Young Adult and Reference Services Report, October 2018
Library Director Draft Job Posting—10/1/18
Job Description—Library Director, Paul Pratt Memorial Library