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Home My WebLink About2020-05-11 Board of Library Trustees Minutes r r ° Town of Reading Meeting Minutes Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Board of Library Trustees - Date: 2020-05-11 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Public Library Location: Address: 64 Middlesex Avenue Session: Open Session Purpose: General Meeting Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: John Brzezenski, Chair; Nina Pennacchio, Vice-Chair; Andrew Grimes; Monette Verner Members - Not Present: Alice Collins, Cherne Dubois Others Present: Amy Lannon, Director; Michelle Filleul, Assistant Director; Emmy Dove, Board of Health Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Alice Collins, Secretary Topics of Discussion: Call to Order: 7:01 pm I. Approval of Minutes from March 9, 2020 Motion: To approve the minutes as written (Verner, Grimes,) Vote: (4-0) II. Financial Update Ms. Lannon had no immediate budget issues. The library has had some difficulty coordinating with UPS and USPS for deliveries, however physical items continue to be ordered and received. The salaries are slightly under due not lack of Sunday hours and no use of substitutes. The library received the 2n" state aid payment, however trusts and investments are down. Mr. Brzezenski asked about usage for online resources, Ms. Lannon reported that the numbers are up for April and the second half of March. Collection Services staff are reviewing virtual and physical resources critically and exploring ways to increase access. Social media engagement is up including Twitter and Instagram. III. Reopening Discussion: Ms. Lannon thanked Emmy Dove, Chair of the Reading Board of Health, for joining the meeting and for all her work. Ms. Lannon has submitted a draft of the library's re-opening plan to the Incident Command Team and the Board of Trustees. The plan includes four phases starting with a pre-opening or preparation phase. Overall, the plan aligns with Governor Baker's outline for Page 1 1 the state reopening. In pre-opening, the goal is to focus on the return of 18,000 items currently checked out. Town has offered to do a large coordinated event such as what they did with the mask's giveaway at the high school parking lot. The high school event is an ideal solution as the library wants to be sensitive to traffic issues that might arise in a residential neighborhood with the first flood of returns. Currently, the library plans to quarantine materials for a minimum of 72 hours before check in. Ms. Verrier asked about transporting materials from the high school to the library. The current plan is to have town transport materials to the library either after quarantine time in the field house or the same day. This depends on availability of trucks on the date of the event. The pre-opening phase also includes processing of all new materials received to date. Following the pre-opening phase, the library's limited service phase will implement curbside pickup. Both of these phases will use limited (50%) staff working on weekly rotations. There is much work to be done to prepare for the third phase when limited public is permitted in the building. Issues include preparing the space for optimum social distancing practices, establishing browsing traffic patterns, as well as establishing use and cleaning protocols for services like computer use and study/work spaces. Ms. Verner asked if museum pass reservations could be evaluated and brought back for certain institutions. The library is working on making print at home passes available for institutions that might be open or outdoor such as the Trustees of Reservation and the Massachusetts State Parks. Mr. Brzezenski asked about plans and protocols for computer use. Ms. Lannon said that the library is considering a reservation system for computer use, as well as looking at increasing the number and loan period of technology like Chromebooks and tablets to allow more people to access technology from home. The library is also looking into the possibility of extending WiFi hotspots outside the building 24/7. WiFi is available in some parts of the parking lot during typical business hours, but extending the network and time available could provide more access to patrons who cannot afford private internet. There is concern that the parking lot could become crowded. Ms. Verrier asked about adding picnic tables outside the building, Ms. Dove said there is a concern about outdoor dining and that picnic tables might encourage unsafe gatherings. Mr. Brzezenski, noted the decisions like this will be guided by slate and local officials. Ms. Lannon is pursuing custom acrylic shields for all service desks. She also noted that while in building, all staff will be wearing masks per current health orders. Some employees have asked questions about air exchange. The library has good air exchange and a great return system because it is such a new building. The building is 40,000 square feet, and can easily handle 15-20 staff members spread over 3 floors. "ge 1 2 Ms. Lannon acknowledged that there are employees who might be caring for children or living with vulnerable population or who are vulnerable persons. She is talking with human resources director Sean Donahue about how to handle these situations. Ms. Pennacchio asked about the procedure to limit the number of people in the building. Ms. Lannon said that staff will be counting the patrons coming in the building, and that there will have to be additional supervision in high traffic and trouble areas such as the teen spot. Ms. Verner ask the staff to explore ways to resume homebound as soon as possible. Ms. Lannon will ask staff to look into partnering with town resources already working with this population such as the senior center and food pantry. Ms. Verrier shared the idea to use one stairwell as up and one as down within the library to help people avoid crossing paths. Other precautions include direction arrows and shields between computer stations. Ms. Pennacchio asked if the vendors are able to keep up with demand on hand sanitizers and cleaning supplies. Ms. Lannon said the town has provided all PPE and so far the library has received everything that has been requested. Ms. Dove said she had no additional suggestions and that the library seems to have a good plan in place. She noted that you can never eliminate risk, and that some people might have issues, however she thinks that the plan has very reasonable requests and realistic expectations. Ms. Grimes asked about the meeting rooms. Ms. Lannon responded that there are no plans to resume group meetings at the library. However, the library may be able to facilitate some meetings those who can cannot afford to have a Zoom license. Ms. Lannon invited the Trustees to a "Happy Retirement' car parade for Kathy Miksis who is retiring on May 21,2020. The library has a candidate for to replace Ms. Miksis when hiring procedures resume. This person will take on the elder services role, building on the library's relationships with Pearl St, Bear Mountain, and other assisted living facilities. Mr. Brzezenski thanked Ms. Dove for attending the meeting and giving her perspective. Adjournment 7:50p.m. Motion: To Adjourn (Grimes, Verrier) Vote: Approved 4-0 Respectfully S e ',�clr/ tt Alice Collins, Secreta Page 13