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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-04-12 Board of Library Trustees Minutes RECEIVED 491 TCNN CLERTown of Reading READING, M . Meeting Minutes �•#21 JUN 16 PN 3: Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Board of Library Trustees Date: 2021-04-12 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Public Ubrary Location: Address: 64 Middlesex Avenue Session: Open Session Purpose: General Meeting Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Chair; Nina Pennacchio; Monique Pillow-Gnanaratnam; Cherrie Dubois; John Brzezenski; Andrew Grimes Members - Not Present: Monette Verner, Vice Chair Others Present: Amy Lannon, Director; Michelle Filleul, Assistant Director, Jamie Penney, Head of Collection Services, Ed Ross, Finance Committee Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Andrew Grimes, Secretary Topics of Discussion: This meeting was held remotely on Zoom and stmamed 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 and Welcome 7:03 I. Board Secretary Election Ms. Pennacchio stated that a new Secretary needs to be elected with Alice Collins'term ending. Ms. Lannon noted that the role of the Secretary is to submit the minutes to the Town Clerk. Usually, the Trustees appoint the full slate of offices at the June Board of Trustees meeting. However, there was an oversight from this past June. We can technically run April and May meetings without the Secretary, or we can have someone take the position temporarily. Mr. Grimes offered to take on the position. Motion: To appoint Andrew Grime as the Board of Library Trustees Secretary (PennacchiWDubois) Vote:Approved 4-0 ll. Approval of Minutes from March 8, 2021 Motion: To approve minutes from March 8, 2021 (Gdmes/Brzezenski) Vote: Approved 4-0 III. Public Comment: No public comment. Page I 1 IV. AAPI Statement of Solidarity for consideration Ms. Lannon asked if the Board would put forth this statement along with the library staff. Ms. Dubois, Mr. Brzezenski, Ms. Pillow-Gnanaratnam all voiced support for the statement. Motion: To adopt the AAPI Statement of Solidarity"(Duboi&18rzezenski) Vote: Approved(4-0) V. Collection Development Policy for Review Ms. Penney, Head of Collection Services, explained how and why we select items for the collection. The policy hadn't been updated in a while and should be updated regularly. Best practices require a collection development policy. The significant changes included the addition of digital resources, a section on world languages, and what languages are spoken in the Reading community. We removed very detailed documentation that belongs in the procedures document, not the policy. This policy will help us defend material if someone challenges the material in our collection. Mr. Brzezenski asked about other major changes to the policy. Ms. Penney explained in addition to removing procedural language and expanding format and media of collection, most changes were grammatical. This document assists librarians to make decisions about what material to add to the collections. Mr. Brzezenski asked about collection turnover. Ms. Penney stated that the physical collection is stable, with the most growth in the digital collections where space is not a concern. Ms. Lannon added that librarians also use industry standards and guidelines for maintaining each section of the collection. She also noted the largest dropping in circulation has been in the Music CD collection, with many people moving to streaming platforms. Ms. Lannon and Ms. Penney regularly meet to review the budget and decide on allocation for each budget line. Ms. Pennacchio asked about the change in terminology from young adult to teen. Ms. Penney stated that YA is a popular term in the library world. Ms. Pennacchio likes the changes. It makes the policy cleaner but gives the library staff a little more leeway and more flexibility and longevity. Ms. Penney gave credit to Collection Services Librarian Kathryn Geoffrion Scannell for all her work on this collection policy. Mr. Grimes asked if there had been any issues with the Dr. Seuss books. Ms. Penney stated that we had already de-accessed the books that his estate is no longer publishing. Ms. Dubois asked if we should vote on it tonight or move it to the next meeting? Do we vote on both the Challenge document and the policy together, or should they be voted separately? Ms. Pennacchio asked the Board to vote at this meeting. Motion: To adopt the Reading Public Library Collection Development Policy as presented. (GnmesiDubois) Vote:Approved(4-0) VI. Community Partnership Update: Little Free Library &Food Pantry In partnership with the Reading Food Pantry and in line with the Reading Public Library Mission, the RPL will be running a food pantry for May and as part of the summer reading program. Food donations may be dropped off at the library and then transported to the food pantry weekly. The Little Free Food Pantry plans are on hold as the Reading Food Pantry regroups. VII. Holiday Closings: Juneteenth, June 19, 2021 Ms. Lannon reminded the Board that effective this year that Juneteenth is a state holiday. The Board of Trustees approves of the holiday closings for the subsequent year in June. According to the state, if a holiday falls on a Saturday, it is observed on the Saturday. The Trustees have the discretion to close and open the library on the Friday to observe the holiday if they wish. Ms. Lannon noted that Saturday holidays are complex Page 1 2 1 with scheduling and staffing. Ms. Pennacchio said at that time of year, students are often looking for space at the library. Ms. Lannon noted that this issue only comes up every seven years or so. Ms. Pennacchio asked if anyone has a strong opinion. Mr. Brzezenski asked what we did with Veteran's Day when it falls on a Saturday. Ms. Dubois commented that closing would be more equitable with town hall practices where they are only open four days per week. Ms. Lannon recommended moving ahead with closure on Saturday, June 19 for now. Ms. Pennacchio suggested checking in on the matter in May. VIII. Financial Update FY21: No outstanding issues to report: Thank you to Ed Ross for approving the FY22 budget for the fiscal year 2022. We are running low on salaries because our Sunday hours are shorter and we had a lot of turnover and retirements. We will meet our annual material expenditure. FY22: Town Meeting will be on Monday, April 26, and Thursday, April 29 will be the budget discussion, the salary budget may be challenged specific to the Equity position. Again,the budget was presented to the Select Board and the Town Manager approved it and expenses recommended by the Finance Committee on March 17, 2021 . Ms. Lannon thanked Monette and Nina for accepting a $1000 donation from North Shore Bank. IX. Director's Report a. COVID-19: Employees are receiving vaccines as they are made available according to State guidelines. Until employees who wish to are fully vaccinated, we will continue with expanded but not complete in-person services. We hope to move to no appointments for browsing but will keep appointments for study desks, PCs, and materials pick up. All returned materials will continue to be Quarantined for 24 hours, and while the face-covering policy is in force, there is no eating or drinking in the library. We hope to have soft seating back by summer reading.This is all dependent on the trends with vaccines and the weekly COVID-19 reports. The first step is no appointment browsing; the second step is being able to stay and be seated. We are working on bringing back in-person programs. The library is working on getting two canopy tents installed on the School Street lawn from late June to early August for summer reading events. Ms. Lannon will present the plans for a DRT review. The plan is for either 15'x15' or 20'x20' tents. The library will use the donation from the North Shore Bank for the rentals. The library expects to have a final plan, proposal, and permit applications by the May 2021 Trustee meeting. b. Buildino and Facilities: The Reading Garden Club has received a grant and will be beautifying the planters on the parking IoUentrance side of the building. They will buy and install them for the first three weeks to ensure plants are established. c. March Snapshot: Ms. Lannon stated that we had a very busy month, with over 900 appointments, circulation was 82% of 2019 use. The Borrower Services staff has been outstanding. Ms. Pennacchio stated that it is nice to see a friendly face at the library. Ms. Dubois noted that you can almost always get the item the same day that you call. Ms. Lannon expects the bagstpre-checkout service will end sometime this summer. The service was popular, and we are looking at automated lockers for outside the building that will meet these needs. The staff Page 1 3 with virtual programming, and librarians are excited I are doing a phenomenallob p g g, for in-person programs. d. Personnel: A new high school page has started and is taking over hours from one of our pages.The library is pleased to welcome Lindsay Mancuso as our newest Library Associate on the Borrower Services team. Lindsay will be working an average of 14 hours per week. The complete classification and compensation information is available on the Town's website. e. Professional Development: Every employee does professional development. Selected list: i. Staff meeting: Human resources benefits and policies presentation. ii. Accessibility: What it is and why it is essential for some but beneficial for all iii. Blue Marble Librarians Meeting: CREW environmental group, discuss program ideas for Climate Preparedness iv. Break Barriers: Get Kids Talking about Bias v. Civil Legal Justice Services in Libraries vi. Cybersecurity (Town-wide) vii. Effortless and Effective Diversity Audit: iCurate and inclusive 101 through Ingram web training viii. Hate Crimes in Massachusetts ix. The Collection Lifecycle X. Other Business Ms. Lannon stated that someone on the Board asked when we could meet again in person. She is waiting to hear from Bob and the Board of Health. The target date would be June 2021. Ms. Lannon thought the Board could meet in the community room with social distance protocols. This requires some coordination with RCTV and Town IT to incorporate Zoom. Mr. Grimes asked about the 24-hour quarantine of material because the CDC stated that it does not live on surfaces. Ms. Lannon said the library is waiting for updated MBLC or state guidelines. Once the quarantine is no longer required, the patrons and can use the automated return. Adjournment 8:16 p.m. Motion: To Adjourn (GdmesiPennacchic) Vote: Approved 4-0 Respectfully Submitted, Andrew Grimes, Secretary Page 14