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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-02-08 Board of Library Trustees Minutes : EUE1VLD Town of Reading TOWN CLERK. 0Meeting Minutes A ^ / 221 "A' t -0 @M 10: 1 $ Board - Committee- Commission - Council: Board of Library Trustees Date: 2021-02-08 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Public Library Location: Address: 64 Middlesex Avenue Session: Open Session Purpose: General Meeting Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Chair; Nina Pennacchio, Chair; Monette Verrier, Vice-Chair; Alice Collins, Secretary; Cherrie Dubois; Andrew Grimes; Monette Verrier, John Brzezenski Members - Not Present: Others Present: Amy Lannon, Director; Michelle Filleul, Assistant Director, Monica Acker Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Alice Collins, Secretary Topics of Discussion: This Meeting was held remotely on Zoom and streamed live on RCN. Public participation was available through email at rdaadmin0noblenet.ora or roltrusteeRnablenet.oro. Comments and questions were monitored during the meeting. Call to Order: 7:01 pm. I. Approval of Minutes from January 11, 2021 Correction to change the comma to semi-colon on the last page. Motion: To approve with amendments from Cherrie(Verrier/Collins) Vote: Approved 6-0 II. Public Comment Monica Acker,Troop Leader for the 5'^Grade Joshua Eaton Girl Scouts,seeks a place for drive-through cookie sales. She requested use of the library parking lot on a Sunday morning, possibly March 7`h,from 10 am-12 pm for set up,clean up, and sale. Ms. Lannon noted fire department should be notified to make sure traffic and safety issues are addressed. She recommended using the full parking lot to place orders in the back and pick them up in the front. Ms. Acker said that this would work. Ms. Pennacchio thanked Ms.Acker for coming to the meeting. She noted the library allows the Garden Club to have sales and the RPL parking lot seems like a safe alternative to grocery shops. Ms.Verrier appreciated the outside-the-box thinking and Page I 1 was asked if the Board would consider offering additional dates. Ms. Acker said she has reached out to other troops but had no response as yet. Ms. Lannon offered to speak with the fire and police departments to ensure it is safe to have the sale in the parking lot and felt the library could offer this service on Sundays from February 28 through March 28t'from 9 am-12 pm.These dates and hours would not conflict with library services, nor would there be any library staff on site. Ms. Verner asked that there be one point of contact for all the Girl Scout Troop so that the library doesn't have to take that responsibility. Ms. Acker would serve as the liaison and coordinator if other troops were interested. In inclement weather, Ms. Lannon will let the Troops know that the event must be canceled. There were no objections from the Trustees. III. Policy Review: Lending to Decertified libraries Policy Ms. Lannon reported there are no changes to this policy. However, 6 or 7 libraries may not receive their certifications from the MBLC this year, with over 50 libraries applying for waivers.The closest affected library is Stoneham. According to this policy, if a library is decertified, the library does not provide service to residents of the municipality.This applies to anything that requires a library card. Ms. Dubois asked if decertification is due to money and if it is COVID-related. Ms. Lannon said yes,the decertification is mostly due to library budget cuts that are disproportionate to other parts of the town budget. The Board of Library Commissioners is making a concerted effort with waivers so that users are not denied library services during the pandemic. Ms. Dubois was concerned about punishing a town if cuts were due to the pandemic and circumstances were out of their control. She felt a little leniency during this time seems reasonable. Ms. Pennacchio asked if Stoneham was the only library in the area that may lose its certification. Ms. Lannon said the final decisions would be in March or April. Ms. Dubois said that she'd like to revisit this policy if there is a specific incident, not theoretically. She said would like to consider a temporary provision because of the circumstances due to the pandemic. Ms. Collins also agreed with waiting before further discussion. Ms. Pennacchio asked that the Board revisit the policy at a later date. IV. Employee Vaccine and Testing Discussion Ms. Lannon said that library workers are in Group 3 of the vaccine. The library will be reopening for PC use,study areas, and browsing at 40%of capacity, and we have recommended double masking for staff.She asked if staff will receive time off for vaccinations as they may not be able to schedule appointments around their work schedule. Ms. Pennacchio asked about town plans for large-scale vaccinations. Ms. Lannon said she didn't know have details now but that the Incident Command is getting much guidance regarding the vaccine. Ms. Dubois said it is a safety measure for the staff and public and noted this is only for a short period of time. Ms. Pennacchio said she would hate to see someone not get it because they are worried about coverage. Ms. Verrier asked if the question is about flexibility with the schedules or getting paid for additional hours to receive a vaccine. Ms. Collins said one thing to consider is how difficult it is for people to make appointments. Ms.Verrier noted there should be a mechanism that balances vaccine appointments with service coverage. Ms. Lannon said that we have certain minimum staffing levels for safety reasons that would help with this.She recommended that employees notify Division Heads who will review shift coverage and that employees will be paid for appointments scheduled during their Page 1 2 regular shift. Ms. Lannon reminded the Board that employees are not required to receive the vaccination. V. Financial Update a. FY21: Ms. Lannon stated that nothing is outstanding to report in the regular budget. There were sick leave and vacation buybacks for retiring staff. The library materials budget will catch up to where it needs to be with the magazine purchases in February. b. Gifts: The library received a check from Richard and Barbara Holt, Rita and Nelson Burbank's relatives, and other smaller gifts last month. Ms. Collins asked about the investment of gift funds. Ms. Lannon said that the gifts are not in interest- bearing accounts. Ms. Lannon recommended Trustee discuss this in more depth at a future date.There are benefits to having the funds liquid and available for emergencies. However,the funds could be earning interest. Mr. Brzezenski noted more research is needed regarding both existing and potentially new trusts. VI. Director's Report - a. COVID-19: The library will reopen in-person services on Tuesday, February 16th.Spaces have been added to the ground floor to space out users and staff. Ms. Lannon reminded the Board that the number of reservations is very conservative and accounts for staff presence. b. Circulation: Circulation was down for January, which is not unusual as January is typically a higher month for digital checkouts for things like Overdrive.The drop was a little surprising and most likely due to the suspension of in-library browsing. c. Annual Town Report: Ms. Lannon thanked Ms. Pennacchio for the letter for the Annual Town Report. Ms. Pennacchio wanted to again thank the staff for all their support during this time,from the Big Return to the opening of curbside service,and the constant changes of service and to accomplish all that with being closed for ten weeks to the public, it really has been an incredible year. d. Personnel: We are very pleased to promote Andrea Hogan to Senior Library Associate, Allison Sloan's former position. Library Associate Valerie Gould Heithaus will take more hours and transition from a casual part-time position to a benefited part-time position at 20 hours per week. We have started the search process for a new 14-hour weekly Library Associate for the Borrower Services team. Page 1 3 VII. Other Business Ms. Lannon noted information on the proposed Diversity and Social Justice position is on the library's website. People with questions can be directed to the RPL website. Ms. Pennacchio said that she had some questions from the public and that it is good to have one place for people to view it. Ms. Lannon said that the next Pulse of Reading program is on February 23rd. Ms.Verner said that the Winter Warmers was great and commended the hats off to you for thinking outside the box. Adjournment: 7:51 p.m. Motion: To Adjourn(Grimes/Collins) Vote: Approved 6-0 Respectfully Submitted, Alice Collins,Secretary Page 14