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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-05-16 Board of Library Trustees MinutesBoard of Library Trustees Minutes of Meeting - May 16, 1994 Conference Room - Reading Public Library - 6:00 p.m. ent: Mrs. Elia Marnik, chair; Mr. William Diamond; Ms. Cherrie Dubois; Mme. Robert Fields; Dr. Christine Redford; Mrs. Maria Silvaggi. Also present: Camille Anthony, Everett Blodgett, Tom Stohlman. The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. The Board welcomed Selectman Camille Anthony, liaison to the Library., Minutes: Mr. Diamond moved that the minutes of April 25 be corrected to read "hardy" and "hardier." Mr. Diamond moved that the minutes be accepted as amended. The motion passed. Financial report: The budget is in fine shape. The staff received their retroactive pay last Friday. A list of the trust funds, with any nonexpendable principal noted, was distributed. Many of the funds are for books only. It was suggested that a plaque be installed for the online catalog equipment purchased from the Noyes trust. Ms. Hanley mentioned the difficulty in establishing criteria for plaques: some donors make one-time contributions and others make generous ongoing donations. Mrs. Silvaggi asked if there was any long-term policy for spending the trust funds. Mrs. Marnik replied that the Board has been very conservative, and there is no set policy. Mr. Diamond added that the Board has been careful not to overspend and to spend the funds on long-lasting, quality items.' The Director said that a few thousand dollars are spent on reference books every year. A large capital expenditure (about $20,000) was made from the Noyes fund for catalog equipment two years ago. f tistical report: Circulation is up about 15,000 over last year, and may ik 300,000 for the year. The Library will be open on Saturday and S,.aday of Memorial Day weekend. Director's report: The new computer system will be running soon. Ms. Hanley distributed the implementation schedule. On May 23, the entire database will be copied and closed. The tapes will be sent to the software vendor, Geac, for reindexing, which will take about two weeks. During that time, the check-out desk will be using the off-line circulation system. Because NOBLE is moving to a new site, the catalog will continue to run at the old site through June 3. Library serviceshould be fairly seamless to the patron. The telecommunications system will be dismantled between June 3 and June 7.' This is the best time of year fo.r.Reading for extensive downtime. The Reading Library will come back:.:up.on June 7, with new software, a new telecommunications system, and new hardware at the Central Site. Staff have been training for weeks on, the new software. Plans for advertising include: a flyer in-house, press releases, a cable announcement, signs by the catalog terminals. Baskets of candy will be around to keep patrons happy. Publicity will stress the positive. Liaison reports: Work on the Friends' house tour has included write-ups on each house by Ms. Dubois and an article in the Chronicle by Mrs. Silvaggi. The Friends' annual meeting is June 7. They will be donating $3000 for video`* and $3000 for both summer reading clubs. Unfinished business: The Library did receive extra money at Town Meeting tar Children's Room hours. The 4.5 percent raise is built into the FY95 I -,fet. The Town's capital plan includes $21,500 for NOBLE connections. terminals are needed for staff use and for the online magazine index 1 coming next year. Because the technology is changing so fast, it is difficult to know what kind of phone line to wire. After the upgrade is in place, Ms. Hanley will determine with NOBLE what is the best to use. Mrs. r'nik asked how NOBLE's move will affect things. The Director responded service will be better because of the increase in work space; there is n~ added cost for the new property. Trustees expressed interest in attending the open house for the new NOBLE site. Also in the capital plan are funds for a new meeting room rug, and work on the Children's Room desk and storage space. - New business: 1) Ms. Hanley requested the Library be closed on June 4, the day of the parade. Mr. Fields moved that the Library be closed that day. The motion passed. 2) Drafts were received form the Engineering Department for expansion of parking space. A new lower parking lot below the heating unit was deemed not desirable by the Board. Thirty-two parking spaces were delineated on three streets, with a brick walkway up from Middlesex Avenue. The widening of the semi-circular driveway would accommodate eight to ten more spaces. Deering Street could be made one-way for angle parking. Mrs. Silvaggi recommended that things be done slowly neighbors will become amenable as they see the need for more spaces. Mr. Stohlman suggested that CPDC hold a formal review for neighbors. Ms. Dubois recommended that the hill on the School Street side be reserved for future expansion of the building. The Board approved parallel parking on Deering Street. Consensus was to add a second walkway from Middlesex Avenue. Ms. Hanley will ask DPW to check the safety of the stairs to Deering Street; if installing a railing is impossible with the stairs as they are now, the stairs should be rebuilt. Ms. Dubois asked how much of the treelawn would be taken for School Street Y' ?ding. There was no strong support at this time for 115 minute parking" s at two spaces in the parking lot. s-'Everett Blodgett asked for approval for the 350th Committee to sell books at the Library. The Committee expects that while they are distributing them to people who have already paid, others may want to buy copies. The book is expected back from the printers on May 29. Distribution may take place on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. The proceeds will be under the auspices of the 350th Steering Committee, which is a function of the Town. When the Committee disperses, the proceeds do not necessarily have to go to the Town. Mr_ Diamond moved to allow the one day operation. The motion passed. Correspondence: A note of thanks was received from Ms. Dubois for the flowers and sympathy from the Board on the death of her father. A note about the Open House was received from Tom Galvin. Renee Olson sent a card to the Board, in which she said how much she enjoyed her internship at American Libraries. She will continue as a contributing editor for that magazine and is being paid by AL to attend the ALA conference in Miami in June. The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, T~ Diane oung Assistant Director 2