Minutes of Meeting November 1, 2010

Transcription

1 PEABODY INSTITUTE LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Minutes of Meeting November 1, 2010 The meeting was called to order by Board President Don McAllister at 7:35 pm. President McAllister noted the meeting was being recorded stenographically by Recording Secretary Allison Lytle. As there was a quorum present, the roll call was taken: Present Don McAllister Wes Merrill Jerry Bellew Anne Quinn Martha Cavanaugh Richard Shruhan Nancy Sue Keller Absent Maria Dakos Margaret Tierney David Hallinan Ted Quinn Also present was Library Director Martha Holden and Recording Secretary Allison Lytle. Approval of minutes from previous meeting A MOTION was made by Martha Cavanaugh to accept the minutes of the October 4, 2010 meeting as presented. The motion was seconded by Wes Merrill. A vote was taken. All in Favor:. Any Opposed: No. The motion was unanimously approved Receipt of Communications President McAllister stated there was no communication on which to report. Report of the Library Director Staffing: Library Director Martha Holden reported custodian John Baron had started full-time to replace Jack Modini, who retired in September. Director Holden stated Mr. Baron had several years of custodial experience with the Library and had landscaping experience as well. Director Holden reported that, on behalf of another City employee, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) started the grievance process and requested information regarding that position. Director Holden reported that Personnel Chair Nancy Sue Keller was aware of the specifics of that situation. Director Holden reported Assistant Reference Librarian Unelia Videira had resigned her 14-hour a week position and subsequently accepted the position of Sunday Reference Librarian, replacing Dick St. Pierre, who had recently resigned. Director Holden stated Ms. Videira had many years of experience with the Library and was competent to be in charge of the building on Sundays. Director Holden reported she met with the Mayor for vacancy review for both vacant positions (part-time custodian and 14-hour reference position). Both positions were on hold pending the 1

2 ballot question results the following day; but, Director Holden stated, she expected to be able to fill at least the reference position fairly quickly. Buildings & Grounds: Director Holden stated that from an operational standpoint, the construction project at the Main Library was going well. The ceilings were being framed and dry-walled, and that week s work would include taping and sanding. Director Holden reported the work on the Second Floor chase in the Sutton work area also started that week, as would supportive framing in the attic to precede the cutting of the roof for the new dormer. Director Holden reported Nancy Barthelemy s workspace shifted a bit to accommodate the new phase of work. The next Building Committee meeting was scheduled for Thursday, November 4 th at 5pm. Director Holden reported that morning she had met with Clerk of the Works Louie Karamas and painting subcontractor John W. Eagan s project manager Gail Alario to discuss paint options for the main lobby interior. Director Holden reported architect David Torrey provided some drawing to give us an idea of how the Library might want to use our historical palette to enhance some of the architectural detail of the room. Sketches were available for the information of the Trustees. Director Holden reported the carpet was in stock at the installer s warehouse and had a sample of that for the Trustees information as well. Director Holden reported the Library had received a substantial number of complaints with regard to the Wallis Street parking lot. Although that was a municipal lot, open to all visitors to downtown businesses, there was a Library Parking Only at the entrance. Director Holden reported that visitors to the Library, particularly now that the Library ran successful morning adult programs, were greatly inconvenience by the one-hour limit; which led to the complaints. Director Holden explained that as the signage linked the Library to the parking, people assumed the Library set the parking policies and collected revenue. Director Holden reported she asked the Department of Public Services to remove the sign, which they did, and would contact appropriate city officials to determine how the Library might discuss whether they could extend the time limits slightly. Director Holden stated she would not be in favor of more than 90- minutes as that would encourage downtown workers and nearby residents to use the spaces for other than the intended use. Director Holden reported she approached Karen Sawyer, Peabody s Community Development Director, to see if the city might consider relocating the Farmers Market to the Library courtyard next summer. Director Holden stated that was an idea that she and her staff had discussed on many occasions over the past year. At the same time, the city had been trying to increase the street visibility of the market. Director Holden reported both Ms. Sawyer and the Mayor liked the idea. Director Holden stated that might also provide the Library with an opportunity to promote healthful living through related education programming. Director Holden stated that, with the Trustees approval, Library staff would continue to work on developing that idea. Director Holden reported Trustee Richard Shruhan, who was chair of the Buildings & Grounds Committee, would have a key to the building to set up polling for Thursday s election. Director Holden reported holiday hours for November were as followed: Thursday, November 11 th : Closed Wednesday, November 24 th : Library closed at 5pm Thursday, November 25 th : Closed for Thanksgiving Friday, November 26 th : Contractual closing, day after Thanksgiving 2

3 Programs: Director Holden reported the Picturing America art and history series grant went extremely well despite the uncertainty over building access. Lectures were held in the Trustees Room and hand-on art classes were held on the Second Floor. Director Holden reported the Library s patrons were asking for more of that type of programming and Adult Services Librarian Kelley Rae Unger had proposed an ambitious Winter/Spring programming schedule that would support those requests. Ms. Unger would be working on the details of her January June 2011 programming over the next month or so. November Adult Services were as followed: November 3 rd : Rebecca Hains Concert, 7pm, at the Wiggin Auditorium. November 8 th : Film Discussion Group, 7pm. November 9 th : Qigong Workshop, 6:30pm. November 17 th : Gwnfyd Concert, 7pm, in the Sutton Room (postponed today due to illness, will reschedule). November 29 th : Pastel Painting with Greg Maichak, 1pm, South Branch Library. Director Holden reported all three locations would run a complete schedule of children s programs through the month of November. Director Holden reported that on Saturday, October 23 rd, Hannaford Supermarket awarded the Library a $1,000 grant for a Summer 2011 children s program, Rebound & Read. The program would combine three elements recreational basketball, summer lunch, and summer reading assistance. Director Holden reported the Library would partner with the Recreation Department to plan the program which was targeted to middle school students. Young Adult Librarian Melissa Rauseo wrote the proposal. Budget: Director Holden stated that she would ask the Trustees to approve the re-allocation of approximately $14,000 in unused utility funds allocated from state aid funds last year to purchase new furniture for the main lobby in preparation for the Library s reopening at the end of the year. Director Holden stated she would like to purchase new public service desks (Circulation & Information) and supplies to reconfigure the Library s magazine collection. Director Holden reported the Library did not use the utility funds last year as the Library ran under its anticipated budget in that category. Director Holden provided the Board with images of the furniture she was proposing to purchase. Trustee Information: Director Holden extended her congratulations to Trustee Ted Quinn who was recently promoted by the Peabody Fire Department from Lieutenant to Fire Captain/Training/Safety. As there were no additional questions from the Board, a MOTION was made by Wes Merrill to accept the Director s Report as presented. The motion was seconded by Anne Quinn. A vote was taken. All in Favor:. Any Opposed: No. The motion was unanimously approved. Reports of the Committees AUDUBON PRINTS: Committee Chair Jerry Bellew stated there was nothing new to report from the Committee. FINANCE: As Treasurer Margaret Tierney was not present, there was no report in addition to the budget report of the Library Director 3

4 POLICY REVIEW: The Board discussed the change proposed by Library Director Martha Holden to the Museum Pass Program as discussed at the previous meeting and distributed prior. Director Holden reminded the Board about the policy change and reasons for its proposal. Director Holden explained the Library had had problems with patrons refusing to show up to pick up passes. In the meantime, the Library would turn potential borrowers away. Director Holden stated the Library had approximately 20 no-shows a month. Therefore, Director Holden was proposing to bar a patron from using a museum pass for 45 days following two consecutive no-shows. Director Holden stated most area libraries had such a policy and most of their policies actually barred patrons for longer periods of time than what she was proposing. Director Holden explained that change was proposed in order to provide the broadest access to passes possible for the Library s patrons. Director Holden reported the automated system Library Insight would automatically take care of that for the Library. The Board agreed to vote on the issue during the New Business of the Board. LIAISON TO FOUNDATION: Liaison Anne Quinn reported the Peabody Institute Library Foundation Board of Directors had held their annual meeting on October 5 th where they elected the Board and Officers. Trustee A. Quinn reported the following Officers were elected: President Tom Walsh Vice President Don McAllister Treasurer Richard Tranfaglia Clerk Darryl Ann McCarthy Trustee A. Quinn reported Starry, Starry Night raised $3,687, with the expenses only totaling $565. Trustee A. Quinn reported the Foundation s balance was around $18,000 and the Board continued to discuss additional ways to raise funds. Trustee A. Quinn reported Director Holden and Director D. McCarthy were working on a donation envelope to have available for interested donators. Trustee A. Quinn stated the Board also discussed adding Directors to the Board to represent other constituencies such as Starry, Starry Night donors or George Peabody Medal winners. President McAllister reported the Foundation also had made the recommendation to approach Library Trustee Maria Dakos to invite her to join the Board of Directors of the Foundation. President McAllister reported it was necessary for the Foundation to invite another Trustee to join the Foundation Board in order to be in compliance with its bylaws. President McAllister stated he felt Trustee Dakos would be a great fit for the Foundation as she had always been very active in fundraising. PERSONNEL: There was no new report from the Committee. FUTURE PLANNING: There was no new report from the Committee. LIAISON TO THE FRIENDS OF THE PEABODY INSTITUTE LIBRARY: Liaison Martha Cavanaugh submitted the minutes from the June and September Friends of the Peabody Institute Library meetings for the record. LIAISON TO THE PEABODY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: Liaison Jerry Bellew reported the Historical Society would be hosting a speaker at the Firehouse on November 10 th at 7pm who would discuss potteries in old time Peabody. BUILDINGS & GROUNDS: Committee Chair Richard Shruhan stated there was nothing to report in addition to the report provided by the Library Director. 4

5 A MOTION was made by Martha Cavanaugh to accept the reports of the Committees as presented. The motion was seconded by Wes Merrill. A vote was taken. All in favor:. Any opposed: No. The motion was unanimously approved. Unfinished Business Trustee Shruhan inquired as to the status of the proposed diagram for the Library set up postconstruction. Trustee Shruhan inquired as to whether or not the Director was still working from the same diagram that was distributed at a previous meeting. Director Holden stated she believed the set up would remain relatively the same as was proposed previously, however the final set up would not be determined until all of the work was completed. A MOTION was made by Nancy Sue Keller stating that the Trustees would defer to the discretion of the Director and her staff on setting up the Library post-construction. The motion was seconded by Richard Shruhan. A vote was taken. All in Favor:. Any Opposed: No. The motion was unanimously approved. President McAllister reported that Murray s Masonry had begun work on the cleaning of the George Peabody gravesite. President McAllister reported the project would be completed in a couple weeks. New Business A copy of the Annual Report was provided by the Library Director. The report summarized the activities of the Library over the previous year. Director Holden reported the Library was working on redoing the website in order to provide better information and service. A MOTION was made by Martha Cavanaugh to adopt the changes to Museum Pass Policy as proposed by the Library Director. The motion was seconded by Nancy Sue Keller. A vote was taken. All in Favor:. Any Opposed: No. The motion was unanimously approved. A MOTION was made by Nancy Sue Keller to approve the reallocation of $14,000 in unused state aid funds to purchase new furniture for the main lobby. The motion was seconded by Richard Shruhan. A roll call vote was taken. Don McAllister Wes Merrill Jerry Bellew Anne Quinn Nancy Sue Keller Martha Cavanaugh Richard Shruhan The motion was approved 7 votes to none opposed. A MOTION was made by Nancy Sue Keller to approve the expenditure of up to $1,000 to organize a staff holiday party to be set up by the Library Director and Assistant Library Director. The motion was seconded by Wes Merrill. A vote was taken. 5

6 All in Favor:. Any Opposed: No. The motion was unanimously approved. The Board discussed where to hold the December Trustees meeting, which was traditionally held at a restaurant that had donated to Starry, Starry Night as a thank you for their support. A MOTION was made by Nancy Sue Keller to hold the annual Trustees holiday meeting at Su Chang s. The motion was seconded by Martha Cavanaugh. A vote was taken. All in Favor:. Any Opposed: No. The motion was unanimously approved. The Board discussed who to invite to the annual holiday meeting. The Board agreed to extend invitations to Library Director Holden s husband, Clerk of the Works Louis Karamas, the Mayor and his wife, The President of the Peabody Institute Library Board of Directors, the President of the Friends of the Peabody Institute Library, and Assistant Library Director Gerri Guyote. As there was no additional business to come before the Board, a MOTION to adjourn was made by Anne Quinn and seconded by Martha Cavanaugh. A vote was taken. All in Favor:. Any Opposed: No. The motion was unanimously approved. The meeting was adjourned at 8:50pm. Submitted by, Allison M. Lytle Recording Secretary 6