HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-03-18 Board of Library Trustees MinutesBoard us cc
Minutes of Meeting; - March 18, 2002
Present: Stephen Conner, chair; Donna InDelicato; Roberta McRae; Fugene; i~grc Richard
Ogden; Maria Silvaggi. Also present: Bob McLaughlin. 5.
Mr. Conner called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. w~ 5 20 P 4: (}q
Celebration Committee appointment: A motion to appoint Bob McLaughlin to the
Celebration Committee for a three-year term passed unanimously.
The Board paused to appreciate the four years of service of outgoing Board member Ms.
InDelicato.
Minutes: The minutes of February 11 were accepted. Questions were raised about the course
of events if a town employee is elected to the Board.
Financial report: Concerning the $2,554 unforeseen expenditure due to an employee's
retirement, the Town Manager has already spoken of a reserve transfer to the Board of
Selectmen. Ms. Lynn will confirm for the Board how this transfer will happen. The personnel
budget is very close, given staff development time that must be funded.
ROC funds are in the negative; the state has been very slow about sending out checks. There
is still $25,000 to come this year for the ROC account. The Book Group Gala was funded
from the donations account, as are all programs.
Statistical report: Circulation was down a little from February of last year, as was number of
days open.
Chair's report: Minor changes have been made to the state aid requirements. Copies of the
revised information will be sent to all trustees. The Acting Governor's budget includes severe
cuts for libraries on the state level. Ms. Lynn suggested that the Board wait and see what
develops before contacting legislators.
In preparation for Town Meeting, the Board discussed its philosophy about overrides and
response to residents who support additional funding for the Library. The need for an override
was narrowly averted this year when the Selectmen came up with just enough money to allow
the Library to meet the certification requirement. Consensus was that restoring services, and
increasing the budget, whether by override, at Town Meeting, or otherwise, is best done in a
context that is planned and respectful of other Town needs.
Ms. Lynn reported that other area libraries are beginning to experience budget problems:
Chelmsford will lose Sundays and reduce the hours of its branch by half, North Reading will
lose Sundays and perhaps another day each week; Newton risks closing its four branches if an
override is not passed.
Security: Mrs Silvaggi feels strongly that the building security needs must be attended to
immediately. Some changes were recommended by the Police Department last year; some are
needed due to equipment wearing out. The Town Manager has been looking for funding for
several months now. The Director will arrange a meeting between him and some of the
trustees to see if he will move forward on this. The cost is under $4,000. Ms. Lynn had
included it in the capital needs list for FY03, but the capital budget for the entire town is
$25,000.
Director's report: The Friends will be funding, she wireless network installation, a
subscription for an electronic book ordering resource, redesign of the Web site, new chairs for
the conference room, and a year's subscription to the Chapter-a-Day e-mail book club. The
last is a promotional tool through which patrons can receive a short section of a new book via
e-mail for a week, and then have the opportunity to reserve the Library's copy.
Michael Colford and Corinne Fisher are attending PLA. Mr. Colford is also the co-chair of the
MLA conference, scheduled for May 1-3.
Ms. Lynn and Mr. Nigro attended the Legislative Breakfast on March 1. Mr. Nigro felt it was
difficult to lobby effectively, with the current financial condition of the state.
The Director's evaluation is due soon after next month's meeting. Trustees are asked to bring
their drafts to the April meeting, when they'll be consolidated for the final version. Ms. Lynn
will mail out the staff s evaluation of her when it's ready, for those who want to refer to it.
Information on sex offenders living in town has been posted in the Library, as in other Town
buildings.
Internet demonstrations: Patron are able to access their accounts over the Web, reserving
and renewing materials, and seeing what they have checked out. Overdue and reserve notices
can be received via e-mail instead of phone or mail, saving staff time and postage.
The Reference-on-Call librarians are now participating in a nation-wide twenty-four hour
reference service via the Web. Any person can have a live exchange with a librarian to get a
question answered. The librarian can use "push technology" to send a Web page to the
patron's computer. ROC will be a provider during the Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday night
hours. NMRLS is paying the cost. If and when the ROC contract ends, the Library will need
to decide whether to continue the service. Participation currently costs $300 per month. Dee
Brennan is writing a grant proposal for a prograrn like this entirely within Massachusetts, so
another possibility is that Reading will be able to participate locally at a lower cost.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m.
~Lal~a -
Diane J. Y n
Assistant Director