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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - PPMLT - 02/13/2019 Paul Pratt Memorial Library Board of Trustees February 13,2019 Library Historical Room, 6:00 pm. Present: Carolyn Coffey (Chair), Sarah Pease, Elaine Breslow, Catherine O'Callaghan, Catherine Harvey, Megan Brinzey, Lynne DeGiacomo, Marylou Lawrence, Meaghan James (Director) Meeting called to order, 6:00 pm 1. a. The minutes of the Trustees meetings held on December 12 and December 17, 2018 (two regular and one at the Capital Budget Committee meeting, where the Trustees presented their design funds request), were moved,voted and approved unanimously. 2. Director's Report(James) a. Meaghan shared that she has met individually with each staff member and was pleased with the positive feedback and impressed with their knowledge and ideas for moving the library forward. She has asked the entire staff to go through training on using Google Drive/Calendar so that all upcoming events of any kind can be easily accessed and updated. b. Meaghan met with Ron Menard of the Town's IT Department to discuss the planned computer replacement,which is set for some time around July 1. One option is to purchase Chrome Boxes, which are Cloud/Internet based and cost much less than traditional memory- based computers. We could also purchase Chrome Books,which could be checked out by our patrons using their library card. According to Ron,the schools have already switched over to this technology and it seems to be working well. A Capital Budget request has been submitted for this project. c. Meaghan went over the FY19 and FY20 budgets with Don Piatt from the Town's Accounting Department. We have spent a little over 50%of our FY19 budget,which is in line with portion of the year that has been completed. For FY20,the budget was essentially level funded, with a small increase in the OCLN assessment. d. Meaghan also met with Beth and Barbara from the Friends and discussed their budget and how the Library and the Friends work together. e. Meghan would like to have the Library's branding colors consistent across all materials. She put together two options based on the current blue and gray colors that are used on the website and in our printed materials. The staff has already voted on their preferred colors and the Trustees weighed in with their opinions. Catherine Harvey mentioned that the Friends are in the process of reworking their logo and will be dropping the orange color and going to some version of a blue color. It was suggested that they work within the library's color choices, so that the materials will coordinate and be consistent. f. Catherine O'Callaghan asked Meaghan if there had been any feedback from the staff since she started. Meaghan noted that they had requested better communication and the opportunity to feel heard and empowered. To that end, she will be sharing her Director's report with the staff, as well as any other pertinent information, such as meeting minutes, etc. g. The two new job descriptions have been finalized, based on staff input and Meaghan's observations. One is for an Outreach Coordinator/Young Adult Asst. Librarian and the other will be called Librarian 1 and will involve both technical and public service duties. Once the Union has approved the positions, it is hoped that they can be filled in a timely manner. The Trustees voted unanimously to approve the positions as written. 4. Financial Report/Bills Payable (James/Nelson) a. The outstanding February bills were moved, seconded and approved unanimously. In addition,the bills from the January warrant were also approved unanimously. 5. Chair's Report(Coffey) a. There is currently approximately$42,000 in unspent library State Aid funds that the Town would like to use for the computer upgrade. These funds were earmarked to be used for design plans for the library construction project. At this point in time, it doesn't appear that the project will be funded, based on the reaction of the Capital Budget Committee. Meaghan suggested using the funds to increase the library's relevance to the community as well as the visibility. Ideas that were discussed include: additional programming, replacing the failing art system in the Meeting Room, adding tables and brighter lighting for the chairs along the windows near the Reference Desk, clouded glass dividers for the study tables and more shelving, tablets and an interactive table for the Children's Room. Carolyn proposed using the $5000 South Shore Music Circus design grant to pay Stefura to create a design for the Children's Room that could be implemented within the available space. b. Catherine Harvey suggested creating a collaborative space in the Young Adult's Room. The main obstacle to the idea is the lack of space in the room. Meaghan mentioned that she will not be replacing the computers in the YA room when the upgrade is implemented. In addition,the YA nonfiction is being integrated in with the Adult nonfiction. These two changes will free up the entire wall on the right-hand side of the room, which could then be repurposed. c. The Children's Room upholstery project is moving forward, and it is hoped it will be completed soon. d. Proposals presented by Meaghan were discussed included—i.To clean up the walls in the Community Room by removing the brochure racks. There was a discussion about whether there was a policy for the bulletin boards. There is a policy, and it was felt that it should be posted. ii.To provide another bookcase for the Friends book sale in the Community Room. iii. To take down all the negative messages around the library, such as "no skateboarding". Replace with positive messages where required. iv. To replace the Eventkeeper calendar software with Library Calendar, a product from Library Market. Eventkeeper has proved to be somewhat difficult to use and manage, and Library Calendar is easier and offers many additional options. We presently spend $800 a year on Eventkeeper. Library Calendar would be an initial $3500 for installation,training by webinar and the first year of usage. Additional yearly cost is$1500. The software includes an option for"Outreach Librarian", which would permit other town entities such as Elder Affairs and Recreation to post on the Library Calendar. Potentially this could be a central calendar for the town with the library as the hub. Already the town is meeting monthly to go over programming so as not to replicate programming between different town entities. 5. CLT Report (Coffey, O'Callaghan) a. Marylou presented the new brochure that will be going out to prospective significant donors,to be followed up by a phone call. b. Carolyn noted that the CLT is looking to fill terms which will be coming up in the Spring. It was requested that the Trustees let Carolyn or Jane Goedecke know if they have any ideas for potential members. 6. Friends Report (Harvey) a. The annual appeal is up more than $6300 from the same time last year. 7. Other a. There was no other business to discuss. Meeting adjourned at 7:27 pm Documents: Minutes of the December 12, 2018 Trustees Meeting Minutes of the December 17, 2018 Trustees Meeting Minutes of the December 17, 2018 Capital Budget Meeting with Trustees Director's Report—February 11, 2019 Job Description—Librarian 1 Job Description—Outreach Coordinator/Youth Services Assistant Librarian February 2019 Pratt Programs Monthly Newsletter February 2019 Financial Report February 13, 2019 Accounting Report—Bronwyn FY19 February 13, 2019 Warrant Library Trustees Authorization for Payment—02/13/19 FY19 Deposits to Gift Account—February 13, 2019 FY19 Deposits to Treasurer— Fines & Fees, etc., February 13, 2019 FY19 Fines vs. Lost/Damage charges Room Use by Time of Day—January 2019,02/13/19 Circulation Department Report: February 2019 Circulation Statistics, FY2019 February 2019 Report from the Reference Desk February 13, 2019 Report from the Children's Room Young Adult and Reference Services Report, February 2019