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Home My WebLink About2017-06-19 Board of Library Trustees MinutesFR .moi b e39�1Ni0440S` Town of Reading Meeting Minutes Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Board of Library Trustees Date: 2017-06-19 Building: Reading Public Library Address: 64 Middlesex Avenue Purpose: General Meeting Attendees: Members - Present: Time: 7:00 PM Location: History Room Session: Open Session Version: Final L�.K 1411 AUG 15 P I = 0 John Brzezenski, Chair; Cherrie Dubois, Vice Chair; Alice Collins, Secretary (by phone); Nina Pennacchio Members - Not Present: Andrew Grimes; Sherri VandenAkker Others Present: Amy Lannon, Library Director; Ashley Waring, Assistant Library Director; Barry Berman, Board of Selectmen Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Alice Collins, Secretary Topics of Discussion: Meeting Called to Order 7:02 p.m. Approval of Minutes from May 15, 2017 Motion: To approve Minutes (Dubois/Pennacchio) Vote: Approved 4-0-0 II. Building Update: Ms. Lannon reported that Teen room oval windows are in, but we are waiting for muntins. Some small repairs and maintenance within warranty are still happening, but construction is finished. Final bills and payments are being handled by town and contractors. Cataldo Landscaping is still doing yard and lawn maintenance; will turn over to town soon. A resident on School Street has asked about landscaping. Ms. Lannon would like to go out to bid for a School Street landscaping plan, however now is the not the best time for planting. We will also get into the queue with town forestry department for more trees. III. Financial Report: FY2017: The Library may turn back some funds to the town this year. In salaries, this is due to a retirement, and in materials this is due to the library being closed for 6 weeks and the move to 64 Middlesex Ave. We will make the required 13%, but may not meet the budgeted 14.7% on materials spending. Ms. Lannon will draft a memo to the Town Manager and Mr. Brzezenski regarding reasons for the funding return this fiscal year. There is more professional development funding to be spent; multiple staff members are going to ALA annual conference in Chicago this week. FY2018: Next year's budget is most notable for the absence of funding for our Sunday hours. Ms. Waring is updating all collateral to reflect new hours. Mr. Berman Page 1 1 informed the committee that the Selectmen plan on having an override vote in April 2018. Therefore, the budget process needs to be accelerated by approximately 3-4 weeks and accommodate for two potential budget situations: one with an override, and one without. By early fall, Ms. Lannon will prepare a FY19 budget assuming no override, and will prioritize a list of items to be funded if an override does pass in April 2018. Mr. Berman shared that the Selectmen are organizing a survey to gather information from residents about the override. Ms. Dubois and Ms. Collins expressed the need for a paper survey so as not to exclude individuals who do not go online, and the importance of presenting the survey at a time where as many residents as possible can see it and respond. IV. Director's Report Personnel: In late May, five staff members attended the Massachusetts Library Association annual conference in Hyannis. All attendees wrote conference reports, and they will be made available to the Board. New local history librarian E. Barrett recently attended a Massachusetts Library System (MLS) "Treasures in the Attic" workshop about local history. Last week, five staff members attended the MLS's spring professional development day with a focus on social justice and diversity in libraries. Reference librarian A. Fiorillo shared her community -wide read of Waking Up White during the conference idea fair. One outcome from the day is the formation of an in-house Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (DISJ) working group. The group's first task will be to update the library's patron rights and responsibilities, after which it will come to the Trustees for review and approval. There was discussion of the town's Human Relations Advisory Committee and how the library can work with this group; A. Fiorillo has worked with them in the past. Mr. Berman attended a town clergy meeting about the recent hate graffiti in the schools; he will connect Ms. Lannon with Jamie Michaels from Old South Church. Ms. Collins reiterated the library's desire to be involved in town -wide efforts toward diversity and inclusion, as well as any response to recent events in the schools. Programs and Services: Last week the Teen librarians organized two nights of Exam Cram for high school students, where the library stays open until 11:00 pm for them to study and do group work. Over 160 teens attended on Wednesday, and over 200 on Thursday. Ms. Lannon met with Friends to discuss their budgeting for next year; they will raise the amount Teen librarians receive for programs. Friday was the annual Summer Sizzlers book talk night. About 70 people attended. This year a DJ played music and ran raffles. The "Build a Better World" Summer Reading Program started Friday, June 16. Materials and Resources: We are expanding our popular Library of Things and Launchpad collections. We are also getting Wall Street Journal for patrons to use free in the library. Community outreach and Engagement: The Children's and Teen librarians have been doing a lot of school visits about summer reading. These visits are time and labor intensive for staff, but very important because they help strengthen our collaboration with schools and ensure every Reading student hears about our summer reading program. The library had a table at Friends & Family day this past Saturday. Ms. Lannon met with Foundation, Friends, and Arts Reading recently. With the Sanborn condominium fire, the library helped mostly by offering up space for programs that needed to be moved from the Senior Center. We will continue to look for ways to support members of the community who were impacted by the fire. Policies: Ms. Lannon and Ms. Dubois met to begin the process of reviewing library policies. Ms. Lannon circulated a draft table of contents for a library policy manual and a timeline for updating and voting on policies. During discussion, Mr. Berman asked about the library's revolving fund. Ms. Lannon explained all fines and fees go into the fund, which is currently set up to be spent only on material replacement costs. Ms. Lannon requested that Mr. Berman and the Selectmen update the wording so the library revolving fund can be spent on costs associated with the fees (ex: pay for print toner with this fund because printer fees go into it). Page 1 2 Gifts and Donations: Ms. Lannon reports she is meeting with designer Martin Sorger to work on creating a donor board and room attribution signage. The goal is to have these designed by August in time for them to be in place for a donor event in October. Ms. Dubois recommended a serif font would help distinguish room and donor signs from existing wayfinding signs. V. Other Business: Ms. Lannon presented a draft 2018 Library holiday closings calendar. Two edits were proposed: change January 1, 2018 from New Year's Holiday observed to New Year's Holiday, and change date of Veteran's Day observed to November 12, 2018. Motion: To approve 2018 Library Calendar (Dubois/Pennacchio) Vote: Approved 4-0-0 Ms. Lannon proposed we vote for Board positions (Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary) at the August 14, 2017 meeting. There was a discussion of liaisons. Currently Mr. Brzezenski is our liaison to the Foundation, and Ms. Waring will be liaison to the Friends. Mr. Berman inquired if library has a liaison to the schools. Ms. Lannon noted both teen and children's librarians work closely with school media specialists and she look for further ways to build relationships with school administration and/or PTOs. Ms. Pennacchio brought a community request for library staff to be in "jail" for the Understanding Disabilities organization fundraiser at the Fall Street Faire. Ms. Waring reminded Trustees to please submit titles for the Reading Without Walls challenge. Mr. Berman inquired about the library housing some "artifacts" from Town Hall. Ms. Lannon reported she is applying for a community preservation grant in the fall. If we win the grant, funding does not go to the town, but to the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC). NEDCC uses the grant funds to pay a conservationist to work with Reading in identifying community groups and resources, creating an inventory, and developing a town -wide conservation plan. Ms. Lannon shared there's been a request for library Trustees to be involved in a town -wide discussion about meeting room spaces in town. At a future Trustee meeting, in executive session, Ms. Lannon would like to discuss safety, security and the use of cameras inside the building. Ms. Lannon is working on coordinating an intern from Qatar coming to work at the library this summer. He has an interest in youth services. Adjournment 8:43 pm Motion to Adjourn (Dubois/Pennacchio) Vote: Approved 4-0-0 Respectfully submitted, \ Alice Collins, Secretary Page 1 3