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Home My WebLink About2019-07-08 Board of Library Trustees Minutes Town of Reading Meeting Minutes (DECEIVED its TOWN CLERK a.,mo REA01111G, MA. Board - Committee - commission - council: 2113 AUG 26 PM 2 00 Board of Library Trustees Date: 2019-07-08 Time: 7:10 PM Building: Reading Public Library Location: Upper Conference Room Address: 64 Middlesex Avenue Session: Open Session Purpose: General Meeting Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: John Brzezenski, Chair; Cherrie Dubois, Vice-Chair; Nina Pennacchio; Monette Verrier Members - Not Present: Alice Collins, Secretary; Andrew Grimes Others Present: Amy Lannon, Director; Michelle Filleul, Assistant Director Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Alice Collins, Secretary Topics of Discussion: Call to Order I. Approval of Minutes from June 10, 2019 Motion: To Approve Minutes (Dubois, Verrier) Vote: Approved 4-0 II. Public Comment-none III. Election of Officers Mr. Brzezenski presented the slate of FY20 officers as follows: John Brzezenski, Chair; Nina Pennacchio, Vice Chair; Alice Collins, Secretary. Motion: To Approve Slate of FY20 Officers as presented (Dubois, Verner) Vote: Approved 4-0 IV. Review of Sunday Usage FY19 (Assistant Director) Ms. Filleul reported that after a hiatus of a year, the library re-opened on Sundays starting on October 7, 2018 with little PR. The library was open from 1-5pm for a total 30 Sundays through May 19, 2019 or 120 hours of service. There were 8,135 visitors (270/week), 13,886 items checked out(463/week), and 16 outside room bookings.There was no library programming due to staffing levels and custodial needs. The busiest Sundays were in March and the slowest were in November. Sunday usage included many families. Ms. Verner asked if there was anything library staff would change with regard to Sunday procedures. Ms. Lannon noted that she is reviewing opening and closing routines, but feels that the current staffing allocation and hours meet the public need. This data will serve as a benchmark that will provide a clearer picture of usage over time. Mr. Brzezenski inquired about the busiest times during the week. Ms. Filleul responded that the busiest times are between 3 and 4 pm with the busiest day being Wednesday. V. Financial Report a. FY2019: • Salaries -FINCOM met and approved $5,000 transfer to cover remaining retirement sick and vacation leave buyback. The August meeting will Include a summary of FY2019 retirement and leave buyback. Page 1 1 • Expenses - Final FY19 invoices will be submitted by July 22.The library has met the 13% materials expenditure requirement and expects to reach the 14% goal. FY19 materials spending included the purchase of 8 new computers, 3 laptops for public use. Some municipal money will be returned to the General Fund. b. FY2020: • NOBLE contracts have been signed. The annual membership services increased by 1.1%. Our electronic content and subscriptions increased by 2%. Northern Essex Community College will be withdrawing from NOBLE by the end of FY20. This is the third institution to withdraw as many years. Bunker Hill CC is also considering withdrawing. NOBLE has already been planning for this situation and has put in place some financial strategies to mitigate these losses. c. Gifts: • $300 from Bruce Austin, matching the Reading Lions gift for Large Print and materials for the visually impaired. • $150 from Lucretia and Thomas Zerfas Ms. Lannon also reported that she and the town treasurer are looking into trust or interest bearing options for certain large gifts. VI. Director's Report a. Building Facilities • Monday,July 1, 2019 Tucker Interiors installed additional shelving in the audiobook room on the ground floor. • Kevin Yatsuhashi received his Eagle Scout award on June 15, 2019. The library congratulates him and again thanked him for his work Installing the flagpole last year. b. Personnel • The library welcomes Gauri Barar and Smritha Srinivasan, two new high school pages. Town Manager Bob LeLacheur reviewed the rates and classification for library pages and upgraded the position to GRADE 3 on the seasonal chart.The two new pages were hired at Step 1 with a starting rate of$10.54 which is a 5% increase or the previous starting rate. All other pages received incremental increases from the transition to the new grade. Grade 3 rates range from $10.54 to $13.37 per hour.The highest paid page is at Step 10 or$12.60 per hour, effective this current payroll. Ms. Verner asked about minimum wage requirements. The town only has to abide by Federal wage requirements which are less than state rates. • Professional Development: Ashley Waring attended the Annual ALA Conference in Washington, D.C. Also, 12 librarians will attend a two-day workshop on facilitation on July 9th and 10th from 9 am-lpm. This is being taught by Deb Gilburg of Gilburg Leadership, Inc. The facilitation skill set is becoming more essential as the trend in libraries moves from the traditional role of"teaching/telling"to building connections and relationships within the community. There is no other professional development planned until the fall. c. Programs and Outreach • "A Universe of Stories"has started. As of June 30, there were 780 summer reading registrations for the Kids SRP. Teen Services received a brand new, exciting list of titles for the RMHS required reading list and worked especially hard with the Collection Services team to get the books out on the shelves in time for the end of school. • Eats and Beats was a wonderful event with over 700 attendees. Staff gave away wristbands to estimate attendance and ran out of at 600 around 6:15-6:30 p.m. The food truck lines were shorter this year with the added food truck. Both performances were fantastic and hiring Alpha Omega to work the sound was essential.The event was funded through donations from the RPL Foundation and Northern Bank, in addition to municipal program funds. d. Collections and Services • The library remains a leader in the town-wide Dementia Friendly Reading initiative. 80% of library staff has attended Dementia Friendly training. The library expects to be recognized with a sticker for the window and possibly some press for achieving this goal, along with other businesses and organizations such as the Burbank YMCA. • Ms. Lannon updated the board on the upcoming strategic planning process. A draft bid document is being reviewed by the town's procurement officer. The Page 12 2014-5 strategic plan processes cost$19,935 and took place before the completion of the building. The anticipated cost for a new comprehensive strategic planning process will be between $15,000 and $30,000. The Trustees discussed pros/cons of using statewide bid list or MHEC list, or if it made more sense to send it out nationally. The contract will go to the lowest bidder, so it is imperative that the scope of work for the project is clearly defined. The state bid list has consultants and strategic planners who may not have experience with libraries, but have experience with non-profits and/or municipalities. Ms. Lannon will continue to develop the bid document with Ms. Vernier to review prior to it being issued. Ms. Vernier and Ms. Pennacchio will help review the submitted proposals and interview consultants as needed. VII. Other Business The library was approached by the Travel Channel to use the library for some backdrop filming for the"Dead Files.: If the Trustees approve of the filming, Ms. Lannon said that two releases need to be signed, and that Town Counsel will go over the release document. Mr. Baezenski made a motion for the Trustees to conditionally approve the use of the library if the Travel Channel could guarantee the following: That the library would have minimal disruption, no extra staffing would be required,that they would provide a donation of$300 to the library, that RCN and other patrons would have permission to observe the filming, that the library not be mentioned in the show. Motion: To Conditionally Approve the use of the library for the Travel Channel program as long as they would affirm the above questions. (Baezenski,Verrier) Vote: Approved 4-0 Ms. Lannon distributed the FINCOM schedule noting the Financial Forums will be held at the RPL. Ms. Lannon also reported that December is the deadline for the rough draft of budget for FY21. WOMM Cohort Program: The Reading Public Library applied to the Massachusetts Library System program called Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM) Immersive Training Experience. RPL was one of 4 libraries selected from of 21 applicants. This training runs from July to October 2019, and includes both in person and webinar instruction. Desiree Zicko (Communications Specialist), Michelle Filleul (Assistant Director), and Ashley Waring (Children's Librarian) are all participating in this program. Adjournment 8:29 p.m. Motion To Adjourn (Baezenski, Vernier) Vote: Approved 4-0 Respectfully SubmitAed, c n:e Collin , ecretary Page 1 3