HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - PPMLT - 03/13/2019 Paul Pratt Memorial Library Board of Trustees
March 13,2019
Library Historical Room, 6:00 pm.
Present: Carolyn Coffey (Chair), Catherine O'Callaghan, Catherine Harvey, Lynne DeGiacomo, Stephen
Brown, Meaghan James (Director)
Meeting called to order, 6:05 pm
1. a. The minutes of the Trustees meetings held on February 13, 2019 were moved, voted and
approved unanimously.
2. Director's Report(James)
a. Meaghan has ordered and installed three new bookcases in the Community Room that will
be used for the Friends' book sale. The Friends have agreed to pay for the cost of the new
shelving. She has also removed some of the flyers and business cards from the room and
would like the area to be used for non-profit organizations and to limit the number of items
that are posted.
b. The Bulletin Board Policy was discussed and revised. It has not been updated since May
2000. Some suggestions were offered, and the Trustees voted to approve the changes to
the policy.
c. Meaghan is working with the Recreation Department and the Senior Center to create a
community calendar possibly using Burbio. This program will pull information from the
departments' postings and create a single calendar that users can access using an app. It
would start with just the three departments and, if it works well,will eventually include
other entities in town, such as schools, churches and the Historical Society. It was suggested
that the Library offer training on how to use the app., possibly lead by Jason, our Teen Tech
Intern.
d. Meaghen has implemented a monthly email blast that publicizes upcoming programs as well
as a weekly email through Wowbrary,which highlights new materials that have been
purchased and links the user to the catalog.
e. The EventKeeper and TixKeeper programs are being replaced by Library Market and
Museum Key,which are easier to use and can be accessed with a smartphone.
f. The replacement art hanging system for the Meeting Room has been ordered and should
arrive soon. Meaghan will submit a work order to have it installed and the South Shore Art
Center plans to resume their exhibits in May. Carolyn suggested that the library carve out
time in the schedule for Cohasset High School students' art to be displayed, possibly twice a
year at the end of the semesters.
g. Meaghan attended Legislative Day at the State House with Sandra Perry of the Friends.
They met with Senator Patrick O'Connor and Representative Joan Meschino,who suggested
that libraries should be in contact with their reps more frequently, instead of only around
Legislative Day. Many budget decisions have already been made by the time of the annual
event. Joan also mentioned that many non-profits hire lobbyists to advance their agenda,
which is something the MBLC does not do at this time.
h. Interviews have been scheduled for next week for the two open staff positions. Meaghan
will conduct the interviews with Miriam Johnson, the Town's Human Resource Director, and
either Gayle or Sharon, depending on the position being filled.
i. The library was awarded a Community Preservation Committee Grant for continued
digitizing of the Cohasset Mariner.
j. Due to an error in the Town Accountant's office,the payroll budget was underfunded for
FY19 and FY20. Chris Senior has agreed to fund the new staff openings if the library will trim
some non-union staffing, such as intern and page hours. In addition,the Circulation
Supervisor position may be converted to a Circulation Tech. position,which receives a lower
payrate.
k. An Adult Programming proposed by Gayle was discussed and approved unanimously. She
plans to start a Craft Night program that would meet monthly,with a different craft each
month. The Friends have agreed to fund the program. Some Trustee suggestions for craft
nights going forward include book page folding, flower arranging and paint nights. Steve
proposed looking into bringing back offering wine at the programs. It might be possible to
use a certified bartender who carries insurance rather than have the library acquire the
insurance directly.
3. Financial Report/Bills Payable (James/Nelson)
a. The outstanding March bills were moved,seconded and approved unanimously.
b. A$2500 donation from the family of Doris McNulty was received and there was a discussion
about how to best use the funds in a way that would benefit the library as well as pay
tribute to Doris.
4. Chair's Report(Coffey)
a. Chris Senior has agreed not to use the reserved State Aid funds for upgrading the library
technology but he would like the funds to be spent, rather than carried over from year to
year. There is approximately$60,000 available from unspent grants and State Aid monies.
Carolyn has spoken with the design firm, Stefura, who proposed working on an hourly basis
to create plans for improvements to the Children's Room,the YA Room and the Reference
Area. They estimate the cost will be approximately$12,000- $16,000. One idea that has
been suggested is to convert the stationary bookcases to rolling stacks and Meaghan offered
to talk to other libraries about their experience with those types of bookcases.
b. There was a discussion about staff reports and which ones are still necessary and relevant.
The Trustees said that they do read the reports but agreed to eliminate some, such as the
room use report and social media usage snapshot. Some of the reports will be submitted on
a quarterly basis instead of monthly.
5. CLT Report (Coffey, O'Callaghan)
a. There was no meeting and no new developments to report.
6. Friends Report (Harvey)
a. The Friends'fundraising is going very well and is ahead of last year's receipts.
b. The design of the fundraising tote bag has been finalized and will soon be ordered.
7. Other
a. There was no other business to discuss.
Meeting adjourned at 7:20 pm
Documents:
Minutes of the February 13, 2019 Trustees Meeting
Director's Report—March 11, 2019
Bulletin Board Policy
Job Description—Librarian 1
Job Description—Outreach Coordinator/Youth Services Assistant Librarian
Adult Programming Proposal
March 2019 Financial Report
March 13, 2019 Accounting Report—Bronwyn
FY19 March 13, 2019 Warrant
Library Trustees Authorization for Payment—03/13/19
FY19 Deposits to Gift Account—March 13, 2019
FY19 Deposits to Treasurer— Fines & Fees, etc., March 13, 2019
FY19 Fines vs. Lost/Damage charges
Room Use by Time of Day—February 2019, 03/13/19
Circulation Department Report: March 2019
Circulation Statistics, FY2019
March 2019 Report from the Reference Desk
March 13, 2019 Report from the Children's Room
Young Adult and Reference Services Report, March 2019