HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - PPMLT - 02/12/2020 Paul Pratt Memorial Library Board of Trustees
February 12,2020
Library Historical Room, 6:00 pm.
Present: Carolyn Coffey (Chair), Marylou Lawrence, Catherine Harvey, Elaine Breslow, Meghan Brinzey,
Sarah Pease, Stephen Brown, Meaghan James (Director)
Meeting called to order, 6:07 pm
1. Minutes
a. The January 8, 2020 minutes were moved,voted and approved unanimously.
2. Director's Report(James)
a. The new furniture arrived on Monday and is in place for the most part, with some ongoing
adjustments. Feedback from the public has been positive and the Trustees were pleased
with the results. Everyone is grateful to the Facilities and IT departments for their flexibility
and assistance. There was a discussion of finding ways to discourage the use of the YA
Room by the tutors, since it is less likely that teens and tweens will use the room if adults
are present. Some suggestions included posting signs on the doors stating an age limit,
recommending other areas for the tutors to use and offering passive programming on the
tabletops,to make tutoring more challenging and to encourage more YA use.
b. Meaghan has been busy with the Community Services Group, which is comprised of the
Library, Rec. Dept., Elder Affairs, Safe Harbor and Veteran's Services. She, along with Rec.
and Safe Harbor, has been tasked with studying the feasibility of creating a Teen Center, in
the former Garage in the town parking lot. Chris Senior and the Selectboard have named
opening the center as a goal for this year. The group has been asked to create a draft
budget, complete a survey to determine interest and conceive an operational vision. More
work is needed for the project to get off the ground.
c. Meaghan has submitted the initial FY21 budget request and has met with Chris S. and Don
P. They have agreed to award the library a 10%funding increase over last year. Meaghan
shared the draft budget proposal and noted that some lines had budget increases, while
some lines were reduced over last year's totals. The next step in the process will be to go
before the Advisory Board,which is planned for March 41". The Trustees approved of the
budget as proposed.
d. Sharon and Meghan have planned some changes in the Children's Room that will include
moving some shelving and installing activity wall panels that are interactive and encourage
imagination.
e. The Legislative Coffee will be held at the library on February 21 and Meaghan invited the
Trustees to attend. Sandra Perry has addressed the invitations and they have been sent.
The Friends have volunteered to provide the refreshments.
f. Technology—i.The new patron print station has arrived but has not been set up yet. ii.
Meaghan is researching options for a new people counter system but may have to wait until
funds are available in the next fiscal year to purchase. iii. Kyle, from the IT department, has
upgraded the staff computers and they are all running Windows 10 now. He has also helped
set up Gayle's computer and phone at her new work area.
3. Financial Report/Bills Payable (James/Nelson)
a. The outstanding bills were approved unanimously.
4. Chair's & CLT Report (Coffey)
a. Carolyn met recently with CLT chair,Jane Goedecke, to discuss the makeup of the CLT
boards and how to maximize the talents within the groups. Currently,the Board of
Directors' skills are not being used to their full extent and meetings are typically short. It
was suggested that the Board might consider merging with the CLT Investment Advisory
Board, to streamline the groups. Some Trustees felt that the proposal would dilute the
number of professional advisors that are currently on the Investment Committee and was
unnecessary, since the Investment Committee was performing well. A motion was moved
to explore the possibility of rethinking the role of the CLT Board, and it was approved
unanimously. Carolyn will speak further with Jane about the matter.
5. Friends Report (Harvey)
a. The Friends' annual appeal revenues are down from last year,which may be affected by a
large donation received the previous year.
b. The bylaws have not been updated in approximately 20 years and will need to be looked
over and the group brought into compliance.
c. The Friends are scheduled to do a Cake & Conversation program in April, with the goals of
sharing information about the organization and increasing membership.
6. Other
a. The State of the Library signs that were placed in the public restrooms were well received.
In addition,the gender-neutral restroom signs have been ordered and will be installed when
they arrive.
Meeting adjourned at 7:53 pm
Documents:
Minutes of the January 8, 2020 Trustees Meeting
Director's Report—February 12, 2020
Town of Cohasset—Fiscal Year 2021 Budget
February FY20 Financial Report
February 12, 2020 Accounting Report—Bronwyn
FY20 February 12, 2020 Warrant
Library Trustees Authorization for Payment—02/12/2020
FY20 Deposits to Treasurer— Fines & Fees etc.
FY20 Deposits to Gift Account
February, 2020—Quarterly Report from the Reference Desk
Adult Program Statistics 2019-2020
Feb 2020—Librarian 1 Report
February 2020—Quarterly Report from the Children's Room
Young Adult Services&Technology Quarterly Report- February, 2020