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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-01-11 Board of Library Trustees MinutesBoard of Library Trustees Minutes of Meeting - January 11, 1999 a s - Present: Ms. Maria Silvaggi, chair; Mr. Stephen Conner; Ms. Cherrie Dubois; Ms. Donna InDelicato; Dr. Christine Redford. Absent: Mr. Richard Ogden. Also present: Peter Brown, Corinne Fisher. Ms. Silvaggi called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Minutes: The minutes of December 14 were accepted. Director's evaluation: The evaluation was approved as written up by Mrs. Silvaggi. Financial report: State aid appears in the report, and was used for some of this month's bills. Statistical report: Mrs. Silvaggi would like to see five- and ten-year comparisons for the materials budget and usage. They will be prepared for the next meeting. December was a record month for circulation-the second time the Library lent over 20,000 items in a December. Although circulation is down, it seems to be on the upswing for the year. Report from the Chairman: Mrs. Silvaggi complimented the Friends newsletter. Mr. Brown reported that the Friends have probably already achieved their goal of $8,000, with about 225 donor units (families or individuals). A significant number of people joining want to get involved personally. At the Selectmen's meeting for budget review, the Director identified a theme that it would be well for the Board to adopt: to meet a minimum standard, we should not be using our discretionary funds. A reporter for the Advocate called Ms. Hanley for an article on the state aid requirements for materials expenditures. She emphasized the Library's need to support the curriculum frameworks. The budget included requests for funding for three new programs: added librarian hours, materials, and overlap time for the new head of circulation when Mrs. Alworth retires. The Town Manager tends to like to offer increments of the new programs to the Library, but Mrs. Silvaggi doesn't want these three to be funded in increments. Director's report: An article in American Libraries rated public libraries, and offers an objective way to look at what libraries do. Lexington, MA was ranked number eleven in the 10,000-99,999 population category. Reading is in the ninety-eighth percentile. Ms. Hanley will get the number for the libraries that we use for salary comparisons. A survey of Internet connectivity shows that 71.9% of all libraries with Internet connections don't use filters. The Director also passed around a report of interlibrary loans received from outside of NOBLE during the month of December. Ninety-seven requests were processed, ranging from music scores to educational research. The report demonstrates the range of needs that residents have. Ms. Hanley was in D.C. this past weekend for a meeting of ALA's Legislative Committee. She was briefed on issues from copyright to funding for school libraries. Friends report: Mr. Brown is meeting with a coffee vendor this week. The country store did well: most of the books sold. The Friends might like a permanent space to sell seasonal items. They are probably not making money on the sales of merchandise, but should be able to. Continuing education: Corinne Fisher presented the report of the Children's Division. The Internet has become a way of life, and requires a lot of time, such as looking for useful sites for assignments and helping students to find the color pictures that teachers require. Reference questions are up by only three percent, but they are more time-consuming now than they were in the past. An orientation for new teachers at Eaton drew a good response. The librarians also met with the elementary media specialists individually. Programming has increased; attendance has gone up fifty percent. There is a huge demand for programs for the under-two age group. Ms. Fisher wishes that the Library opened at 9 o'clock to accommodate these early morning needs. Rachel Baumgartner finished her MLS degree in December. She is the tech guru in the Children's Room. Ms. Fisher lauded the entire Children's Division staff. She is currently interviewing for two pages. Saturday staffing is an issue. There is one librarian scheduled every Saturday, along with a page. It is difficult to leave the page in charge during lunch hour. Saturday would be a great day to do programs, especially for school age children, yet she doesn't want to burn out the staff she has. These are among the reasons behind the request in the FY00 budget for more librarian hours. More and more teachers are calling to request deposit collections. This is a service many libraries don't provide. In terms of circulation, audiobooks went through the roof. A lot of money was put into that collection last year. Mr. Brown said that the Friends want to direct money for children's programming or materials. He requested more board books. Ms. Fisher thanked the Board for her opportunity to go to the Public Library Association conference last year. She would like to attend ALA's pre-conference in June on planning and statistics for children's services. Liaison reports: Ms. Hanley will try to schedule a staff meeting during the summer, so that Ms. Dubois can attend one as staff liaison. Unfinished business: Updates to the budget, with the capital requests reorganized per the Town Manager, were in the each trustee's packet. The Selectmen were very complimentary about the Library's budget presentation. Board members were asked to list their top eight priorities from among the goals developed at the staff day, and send them to the Director by the end of the week. New business: There is a plaque in the former music room in the names of Eugene and Mary Louisa Nigro. This plaque will be moved down to the new audio-video area. Eugene A. Nigro is making a donation for furnishings for the new area. He would also like to keep the Nigro name on the main floor room. The Nigro family gave $18,000 to the Library when it moved into the new building-more than any corporation or family. They continue to give thousands every year. The Board authorized Ms. Hanley to suggest a donation of up to $3,000, with a part of it to go for large print books. The audio-video area will be dedicated on Friday evening, April 9. Board members suggested that the wish list be updated by the Board with the help of the staff. The meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m. Diane I Young Assistant Director