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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-03-03 Board of Library Trustees MinutesOF q O� r Town of Reading 1 .4 .; i Meeting Minutes isJ'9: INCOROOPP� Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Board of Library Trustees Date: 2014 -03 -03 Building: Reading Public Library Address: 64 Middlesex Avenue Purpose: General Business Attendees: Members - Present: Time: 7:00 PM kLCrIV� �� OWN CLERK 1A11S S. ZION MAY 21 A 10: 50 Location: Conference Room Session: General Session David Hutchinson, Acting Chair; Alice Collins, Secretary; John Brzezenski Cherrie Dubois, Vicki Yablonsky Members - Not Present: Andrew Grimes Others Present: Ruth Urell, Director, Amy Lannon, Assistant Director, David Greenfield, Finance Committee Liaison Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Amy Lannon Topics of Discussion: I. Call to order David Hutchinson called to order the regular meeting of the Board of Library Trustees at 7:10 p.m. on March 3, 2014 at Reading Public Library Conference Room. II. Approval of minutes • Motion to approve minutes as amended ( Cherrie Dubois/ Alice Collins) o February 3, 2014 o February 10, 2014 o February 13, 2014 o February 26, 2014 • Vote: Unanimous III. FY 2015 Budget Ms. Urell reviewed introductory text provided by the Town Manager which refers to an earlier budget presented to Board of Selectmen, as well as the narrative that will be presented to the Finance Committee on March 5. She noted that the earlier budget request has been revised and the current budget request is a 3.5% increase over the FY14 budget. She further clarified that the change in Sunday hours to FY15 is solely due to the fact that the calendar naturally reduces the number of Sundays by two. Page 1 1 Mr. Hutchinson inquired about staff level requirements. Ms. Urell reported that the pages and public desk coverage have been reduced as much as possible. Ms. Urell and Ms. Lannon reported that continued planning and statistical analysis show that planned reduction of services and programs during temporary space does not reflect a strict proportional reduction of required staff time. They expect there will be an increase in customer transactions time and increases in time required for program planning and implementation off -site. Additional changes to the budget are all balanced within other budget lines in order to keep to the 3.5% increase. The materials budget is the required 15% of the overall budget. Ms. Urell recommends requesting funding for the Digital Services Librarian at the Finance Committee meeting, since funding for the position was removed in the Manager's recommended budget. Mr. Greenfield asked Mr. Hutchinson and Ms. Urell to give a brief update on the building project to the Finance Committee. IV. Director's Report a) Annual Report: Ms. Urell distributed the recently completed 2013 Annual Report. 2013 was a very busy year with a wide variety of programs and service. While working on the Annual Report, Ms. Urell had the chance to review the materials and video archives from the Highland School Memories Day. She recommended the Trustees take time review and share these videos to better frame the importance of the history of the building. b) Legislative Agenda: Ms. Urell presented the Massachusetts Libraries 2015 Legislative Agenda theme: End the Digital Lockout and showed the info graphic of the continued lack of state aid and need for additional support to public libraries in Massachusetts. She invited the Trustees to attend the 2014 Annual Legislative Day on March 31. Ms. Dubois will attend. c) Miscellaneous: Ms. Urell has received a request from Reading Symphony Orchestra to provide library space for their music library of 800 -1000 compositions. The Trustees agreed that they would be happy to discuss options for the future, but felt due to the upcoming building program nothing available for the next 24 months. Ms. Dubois will follow up the matter. d) Ms. Urell reported that the kick off for the Big Read is Friday, March 28 at 7 pm. This free event will be held at the RMHS Performing Arts Center and will encompass a variety of cultural events, entertainment and food. V. Building Project Update a) Ms. Urell reported that she has received a letter back from MBLC Building Consultants approving an extension until August 2014 for ground breaking (signing with the general contractor). b) Historical Commission: CBT is on the agenda for the Reading Historical Commission next week at 8 p.m. on 3/11/2014. The architects will present the schematic design planning to date. STV also raised the issue of filing with the state historical commission. The Trustees would like a definitive position Page 1 2 response from the Reading Historical Commission prior to the Town vote. There are many positive preservation and restoration features of the new design and an endorsement would be appreciated. c) The full text and description of the schematic designs are expected on Wednesday. Ruth has continued to communicate with the CBT programmer to refine the collection sizes and locations. The current priorities of these discussions include fleshing out details for the local history, children's and adult collections. Mr. Hutchinson inquired as to the status of the next phase (30% drawings). d) Ballot Committee: Ms. Collins reported that the Ballot Question Committee has met two times with plans for additional meetings. Ms. Yablonsky has spoken to RCN and to make use of 5 minute slots RCTV makes available to candidates. Also, the Committee will be sending postcards to voters from last April. The committee is also working on a one page flyer that needs a few edits, as well as a FAQ sheet. The committee will be seeking help from Town Meeting members. The committee also has a new lawn sign, several articles in process, and a website. e) Lease: STV is still working on the lease and has submitted build out requirements to the landlord and is awaiting pricing. VI. Trustees a) Discussion of meeting and minutes protocols. Review of state law. Mr. Hutchinson will follow up with specific details for the Town Clerk regarding Sunday meetings. b) Tuition Policy: Ruth reviewed the previously discussed tuition reimbursement policy. Trustees were satisfied that the new version incorporated their ideas from suggestions made at previous meeting. The Trustee compared this policy to the existing town policy. • Motion to approve the Library Tuition Reimbursement Policy (Cherrie Dubois / Alice Collins) Vote: Unanimous. VII. Adjournment • Motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:19 p.m. (Vicki Yablonsky / John Brzezenski) • Vote: Unanimous Page 1 3