1997-08-04 Board of Library Trustees Minutes

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R CE1ViE , . 0#tf9, An. Board of Library Trustees Minutes of Meeting - August 4, 1997cP 1, 1 4 F Present: Mrs. Maria Silvaggi, chair; Mr. Stephen Conner; Mr. William Diamond; Ms. Cherrie Dubois; Mr. Robert Fields; Dr. Christine Redford. Mrs. Silvaggi called the meeting to order at 7:05. Dr. Redford was excused after the meeting was called to order. Mr. Conner thanked Ms. Dubois for her work as chair, on the Board's behalf. Minutes: The minutes of June 16 were accepted. Financial report: Fiscal year-end reports show that more money for adult nonfiction books came from non-budget funds than from the municipal budget. The municipal budget was spent entirely. Sixteen thousand dollars remain in donations. A new way of tracking the personnel budget expenditures is being used this fiscal year. Mr. Fields asked about progress on changing the security system. It is a big job, that will require about $50,000 and is in the capital plan for FY99. Tom Stohlman is working on a redesign of the circulation desk to incorporate the proposed security system. Redoing the entrance and the canopy is part of the same project. Statistical report: Nonresident circulation is about sixteen percent of total circulation. This number reflects books borrowed at the Reading Library, not sent out on interlibrary loan--largely residents of Wakefield, North Reading, Wilmington. Circulation was up 8000 for the fiscal year. Mr. Conner suggested that the Board use this report as a source for its report to Town Meeting. Mr. Diamond joined the meeting at 7:30. Report from the Chairman: Mrs. Silvaggi and Ms. Hanley attended a meeting with the Facilities Director and other Town department heads. Building maintenance is no longer a function of the Department of Public Works. Custodians now work for the School Department and building maintenance funds are in the School Department's budget. The Chair and the Director are concerned about the paperwork required to get a job done, and the lack of manpower. The Board expressed unhappiness with the change. Mr. Diamond suggested a letter to the Town Manager citing specific concerns. The consensus was to give the new process a fair trial. The Director will provide an update in September, with a short statistical report on work orders placed, work done, etc. If the consolidation proves unsuccessful, the trustees can tell the Board of Selectmen that the Library is not participating and reclaim responsibility for the building, citing state law over charter. Mrs. Silvaggi conceded that the experiment with NOBLE and Coolidge was not as successful as had been hoped, but the door is left open to future collaboration. John Doherty and Mary Hichborn of Coolidge have met with NOBLE's Director and are moving forward.