HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-04-07 Board of Library Trustees MinutesBoard of Library Trustees
Minutes of Meeting April 7, 1997
Present: Ms. Cherrie Dubois, chair; Mr. Stephen Conner; Mr. William Diamond; Mr. Robert
Fields; Dr. Christine Redford; Mrs. Maria Silvaggi.
Also present: Mary Bastiani.
Ms. Dubois called the meeting to order at 7:08.
Minutes: The minutes of March 10 were accepted.
Financial report: $85,000 has been spent on materials thus far from all accounts (budget, trust
funds, state aid, donations). To meet state requirements, the Library needs to spend about
$20,000 more. Since this continues to be over the municipal materials budget, the Library should
pursue an increased materials budget again next year.
Report of the chair: The Foundation Board decided on its logo at its last meeting. The Board
meets on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. The Foundation is a separate nonprofit
corporation with its own Board of Directors: Gene Nigro, chair, Russ Graham, Bob Nordstrand,
Ray Couture, Cherrie Dubois, Maria Silvaggi, Arthur Knapp, and Susan Meuse. They are now
talking to people who might be in a position to support the foundation, and would like to begin
with the financial support and commitment of the Trustees. They are still waiting for tax-exempt
- status from the IRS. Mr. Diamond recommended that the Foundation explore the possibility of
accepting contributions by credit card. The Foundation Board is developing a means of permanent
acknowledgment for all levels of gifts.
The goal down the road is a one million dollar fund, with $50,000 interest income yearly. The
Foundation is looking for an articulated need from the Trustees for use of the interest income in
the short term. Ms. Hanley said that the most pressing need right now is for materials. The need
must be clearly articulated so that it is understood that Foundation funds will not replace
municipal funds. Mr. Conner requested examples of uses from other libraries who have
endowment funds. Ms. Dubois will ask for concrete suggestions at the next Trustees meeting.
Director's report: Statistical and staff monthly reports are not available, due to the early date of
this meeting. They will be in next month's packet.
Liaison reports: Dr. Redford attended the recent Friends board meeting.
Friends' report: Upcoming activities include the luncheon for author Paul Zindel, the Chocolate
Moose birthday party, a Coffee Hour program of nature slides, a guitar and oboe concert, the
house tour, and a portrayal of Amelia Earhart at the June 4 annual meeting. A nominating
committee is being formed. The newsletter went to press this week.
Unfinished business: 1) In a memo to the Town Manager, the Director had specifically
questioned three positions in the revised classification plan. As a result, the position of Technician
(Circulation) will be raised from Grade 2 to Grade 3 pending budget approval, the position of
Senior Technician (Technical Services) will be raised from Grade 3 to Grade 5 pending budget - -
approval, and the position of Assistant Director will be raised from Grade 13 to Grade 14 pending
budget approval. Ms. Hanley said that the Library should look at the issue again in a couple of
years. A town committee is studying step raises, which is a concern particularly for employees
who have worked for the Town for a number of years.
New business: The Director noted that the Library's Internet policy was written with text-only
workstations in mind. The staff will work on an "acceptable use" policy that better addresses
graphical access. Filters do not work well, because of the inadequacy in the technology. For
instance, the Library's homepage, with its Middle"sex" address, would be filtered out.
Filters may be acceptable in the Children's Room, because as certain books are included in that
collection because they are not age-appropriateness, certain Web sites would not be available in
that room. The Boston Public Library has installed filters on the workstations in children's areas.
A spokesman for the ACLU feels confident that they would win a lawsuit if filters were applied to
all Internet workstations in a library. The Board restated that the Library is not responsible for
children's use of library resources.
The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
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Diane J. Yo
Assistant Director