1993-05-17 Board of Library Trustees Minutes

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Board of Library Trustees Minutes of Meeting - May 17, 1993 Conference Room - Reading Public Library - 6:00 p.m:- resent: Mrs. Elia Marnik, chair; Mrs. Carol Beckwith; Pir William Diamond; Ms. Cherrie Dubois; Mr. Robert Fields; Dr. Chri ti e`Redfor"d.- The meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m. Minutes: Ms. Dubois made a motion to approve the minutes of April 26. The motion passed. Financial report: Mrs. Marnik asked the Director if she would move any line item amounts, in hindsight. Ms. Hanley responded that the amounts are okay; next year there will be less spent for maintenance because some contracts have been switched around (a matter of some hundreds of dollars). Statistical report: Ms. Hanley made a cursory.survey of other NOBLE libraries which revealed that all libraries are down in circulation, with the exception of Salem. Salem's book budget is three times the size of Reading's. That library set aside chunks of money for collection development in standard popular subjects, such as job hunting. Director's Report: Rotary is going to donate a second Macintosh computer for the Children's Room of their own initiative. Nancy Aberman was contacted about the library's use of Electronic Bookshelf, which seems to be a first in the country. She has been asked to make presentations at national conferences next year. Representatives from the Woburn Public Library visited Reading to look at the circulation desk and find out more -'gout NOBLE. Renee Olson has found a printer for the Information Desk, but !11 wait until the new desk is ready before purchasing it. Liaison reports: Mrs. Beckwith will attend a meeting of the 350th committee before the trustees next meet. Ms. Hanley reported that the committee is interested in holding its 11350th ball" in the library. Tom Stohlman reported on Friends activities: the house tour was very successful, and netted about $2700. The Antiquarian Society wants to have Parker Tavern included next year. A house and garden tour was suggested. 'Mr. Stohlman encouraged members of the Board to attend the Friends' June 1 meeting on "the library of the future." Mrs. Marnik extended congratulations to the Friends for their MLA PR Award. Unfinished business: 1) Karen Brown made a presentation on what she has learned in eight months of selecting books for the library. She shared sample pages from book review journals to show why librarians select the titles they do. She has learned that Reading does not need to provide for every need; patrons pursuing rigorous intellectual syllabi can be successfully referred to libraries with special collections. 2) The Friends party is scheduled for June 10 at 5:30 p.m. New business: The family of Dianne Avery would like a bench to be purchased for her memorial. Ms. Hanley passed around catalogs with samples. of wooden benches. She has seen a bench at the Plymouth Library that is in r' god condtion after one year. The bench would be permanent and bolted to .e ground. Ms. Hanley was authorized to order a bench. 1