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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-08-10 Board of Library Trustees Minutes a RECEIVED Town of Reading TOWN CLERK 3 Meeting Minutes :1 .— ! ' 1 , M A �1— to � 23211 SK" 22 PM 12: 09 Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Board of Library Trustees Date: 2020-08-10 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Public Library Location: Address: 64 Middlesex Avenue Session: Open Session Purpose: General Meeting Version: Draft Attendees: Members - Present: Chair; Nina Pennacchio, Chair; Alice Collins, Secretary; Chemie Dubois; Andrew Grimes Members - Not Present: Monette Verner, Vice Chair; John Brzezenski Others Present: Amy Lannon, Director; Lauren Gardner, Head of Borrower Services Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Alice Collins, Secretary Topics of Discussion: This Meeting was held remotely on Zoom and streamed live on RCN.For Public Participation was available through email at rdgadmin@noblenet.org. Comments and questions were monitored during the meeting. Call to Order 7:14 PM I. Approval of Minutes from July 20, 2020 Tabled—June minutes, not July minutes, were distributed in error. II. Financial Update FY21 The budget is all set and on track FY21. Please see the spreadsheet sent with the packet. The library received a $500 gift donated for research about Grace Abbott, a former Reading Public Library employee. The donation will be applied to local history and preservation. The fiscal year 2020 has not officially closed yet. The Town Accountant will complete this in late August or early September, which is standard. III. Director's Report a. Library Services—COVID Response Update The State is still in Phase 3 of reopening. With BOH approval, the library is working on getting ready to have people in the building. The Facilities Department has installed Lexan (similar to plexiglass but sturdier) shields around Page I i the public service desks. The library was lucky to get this work done in July before facilities needed to start ramping up work on getting the schools ready. The library hopes to have people come in the building by reservation/appointment by August 24. The library would like approval or confirmation to purchase additional equipment to make the building safer (please see packed for more detailed information): • Automatic hand sanitizer dispensers (3 units). • Rolling clear acrylic shield (8 units). • Desk shields type 1 (10 units) • Desk shields type 2 (8 units). • Student desk shields (12 units) New canopy Signage Based on initial estimates, the costs for these upgrades will be between $5,500- $8,000 depending on availability and shipping. Discussion: Ms. Dubois noted it is important to get what think we need so we can maximize the number of people who can come into the library. Ms. Pennacchio agreed and felt that this is a worthwhile investment. She also commented that it is important to order these items as soon as possible to avoid backorders, etc. The library needs to be prepared to use these for a long time. Ms. Lannon suggested using State Aid funds as there is already an account line for equipment outside the normal operating budget from the municipality. Therefore, these purchases will be easy to track.All agreed with using State Aid funds for this purpose. Pop-up service continuing on Tuesday mornings and has been popular. The library has received requests for after work hours for this service and is looking to add an evening slot. Print-from-home museum passes are available this week and a document print service where users can submit requests from home and pick up curbside. These are soft launches so that we can make sure to can safely add more services on top of the curbside appointments. Curbside services are labor-intensive, and it is important not to overwhelm staff as new services rollout. As mentioned, there is a tentative date of August 24,202(for the launch of inside services such as library pickup, notary services, computer use, coupon museum passes, study spaces, reference/research services. These will be appointment/reservation-based with the option for walk-in availability to address any barrier issues with the electronic format of booking appointments. Services will only be on the first and second floor to start. Every space has been assessed against state guidelines for maximum capacity. For example, based on square footage, the picture book room as a max capacity of 7 people. The total count will need to have one slot always available for a library employee. The library doesn't expect to open the ground floor until sometime in September, mostly to accommodate the early voting in late August. Masks will be required at all times. Restroom services may not be available, but because the maximum appointment time will be 1-2 hours, we hope they will not be in high demand. There may need to be some restroom availability in the children's room. Ms. Dubois suggested making it very clear that restroom services will not be available and explain the reason why(cleaning, safety, etc.) Ms. Pennacchio asked if pre-screening will be required. Ms. Lannon replied no, Page 12 as there are privacy issues. All employees complete health screening forms. However, there are privacy and legal issues in asking the public to do this. The library is still waiting for additional state guidance on this. The current goal is to start slow because there are a lot of unknowns need clarification from the state. The appointment software allows you to assign the seats, and also open and close seats as needed. It also permits people to check in or check out on their phone. This service will require dedicated staff time to manage. The biggest staff concern is with dealing with the public, specifically mask compliance. The library plans to offer masks, and also have signage that saying masks are required. Ms. Collins asked about shields. Ms. Lannon replied that the library would not open to the public until all safety equipment, including shields, are installed. Many of the items listed are in stock are expected to arrive in then next week. b. Personnel The library has had 29 applications for the children's librarian position. It's a full- time position and highly desirable. The hiring team consists of Oliva McElwain, Cate Zannino, and Lorraine Barry. They are working together to find just the right person to fit the Children's Room team. Susan Haggerty retired on August 5, 2020. Susan was a part-time library associate. The library is currently filling the hours internally. Library Associate Suzy Axelson has increased her hours 20 hours a week and taking on the part- time benefits position of Susan had. However, there will have to be one hire to fill some of the hours. The library completed a successful summer internship with Olivia Blumenshine. A rising junior at Washington University in St. Louis, Ms. Blumenshine worked with Ms. Lannon and Ms. Carla Pennacchio, Head of the English Learners program for Reading Public Schools. The projected included a survey-for these families that was available both in print and online, and in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. This customized survey was designed to get a sense of how this audience viewed the library, what they are looking for in the community, and whether they feel welcome. Ms. Blumenshine also created a "Welcome to your library" picture book told from Chumley's point of view that was custom printed in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Those who responded to the survey will receive a printed copy, and there is an electronic flipbook version available as well. Outside of that project, Ms. Blumenshine also completed five informational interviews with librarians who have had various roles and experiences working in public libraries. Collection update. The library is in the process of finishing ARIS, Financial Report, and State Aid application. Physical circulations are on the rise. In general, 46% of materials circulated are adult, 8% teen, 45% children's, andl% other. While overall circulation is down, this content spread is on par with our normal circulation statistics. These types of statistics help guide our collection development. The library has increased spending on online materials, particularly the Overdrive service, which has seen an increase in usage 70-80%. Digital circulations for July 2020 were 4,461, and money is being well spent. c. Strategic Plan Update Page 1 3 The strategic plan consultants distributed a different survey for the general Reading community that resulted in 723 respondents. The survey was purely digital, and this was a good response. The consultants are coding responses now and will report back.There will be three meetings where up to two trustees may be present. The first meeting is on August 27"and will be a broad group of community stakeholders plus library staff. The meeting will cover methodology, trends, and feedback. The goal is to have about 12 members of the community plus trustees and library staff. Meeting 2 will be just library staff and trustees, and will take an in-depth look at the market segmentation. Meeting 3 will include a combination of attendees from the first two meetings and narrow down the focus areas for the next 3-5 years. The goal is to have a draft strategic plan by October 1, 2020, IV. Other Business Ms. Collins asked about staff morale. Ms. Lannon reported that staff members are anxious about having people back in the building. The entire team is working to mitigate risk as much as possible. There have been some technical challenges, such working with shared phones. The IT department procured headsets, but they didn't work with our equipment which was frustrating. Sharing equipment with other people is difficult and another source of anxiety. Returning to a somewhat regular schedule has helped the staff, providing a small amount of normalcy. Ms. Lannon also noted that the library is looking to the fall-to see what support the public schools might need with their hybrid model, as well as meeting the needs of so many college students who will be studying from home. The focus will be on education at all levels. Adjournment 8:05 PM. Motion: To Adjoum (Cherrie Dubois/Andrew Gnmes) Vote: Approved 4-0 espectfully Submitted, Alice�Coll s, Secretary Page 14