0RAMAPO CATSKILL LIBRARY SYSTEM BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MAY 21, 2018 MINUTES

Transcription

1 0RAMAPO CATSKILL LIBRARY SYSTEM BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MAY 21, 2018 BOT MINUTES BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT Carla Randazzo Amthor Martha Anderson Diane Arcieri Jain Jacob Carl S. Berkowitz Helen Rados Roslyn Applebaum Hurwitz Eleanor Kassner Bernard Marone Lynn Skolnick Rosemary Cooper, Director, Library, Directors Association Representative (Left 8:00 p.m.) Anita Baumann, Vice President STAFF Ruth K. Daubenspeck, RCLS Administrative Assistant Stephen P. Hoefer, RCLS Fiscal Officer Robert Hubsher, RCLS Executive Director Grace Riario, RCLS Assistant Director & Outreach Coordinator GUESTS Charles LeViseur, Trustee, Monroe Free Library Anita Baumann, Vice President, called the Board to order in Regular Session at 6:42 p.m., at RCLS, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. A quorum was present. AGENDA Roslyn Applebaum Hurwitz moved and Carla Randazzo Amthor seconded the motion to approve the May 21, 2018 Agenda as distributed. The motion passed unanimously. (motion ) PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments. Ramapo Catskill Library System 1 of 8 May 21, 2018

2 MINUTES Lynn Skolnick moved and Diane Arcieri seconded the motion that the minutes of the April 16, 2018 meeting be approved as submitted. The motion passed unanimously. (motion ) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR S REPORT Robert Hubsher reported that the auditor from Nugent & Haeussler, P.C. of Montgomery will present their report at the next Board meeting. The building renovations are moving along nicely. Work has begun on the front walkway and door. Possibly by the middle of next month, the work will be completed. Robert Hubsher reported on National Library Legislative Day in Washington, D.C. He provided in his written Executive Director s Report links to the issues. He felt the event had a good representation from across the country and the New York delegation represented all types of libraries and all the regions of the State. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR S REPORT Grace Riario added to her written report that she donated the $500 collected from RCLS Board members in memory of Bernard A. Margois, State Librarian and Assistant Commissioner for Libraries. She was able to contribute through her husband s workplace, which matched the amount. Grace Riario attended a conference about serving the LGTB (lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual) community. She found the training very illuminating and feels RCLS member libraries can be doing a better job serving this population. Therefore, Grace Riario has scheduled training for member library staff as well as Trustees. She is working with the Westchester Library System on the project, which will discount the speaker s fees. Grace Riario wants to make the NYLA tagline Libraries are for Everyone a reality. The workshops will be held in October. On Friday, June 1, RCLS will host a Coordinated Outreach Services Advisory Group (COSAG) meeting at RCLS at 10 a.m. These meetings are mandated by the Outreach Grant to be held twice a year. FINANCIAL REPORTS A. Carl S. Berkowitz moved and Eleanor Kassner seconded the motion that the Treasurer s Report for April 30, 2018 be accepted as submitted. The motion passed unanimously. (motion ) B. Lynn Skolnick moved and Carla Randazzo Amthor seconded the motion that the Fiscal Officer s Report for April 30, 2018 be accepted as submitted. The motion passed unanimously. (motion ) Ramapo Catskill Library System 2 of 8 May 21, 2018

3 C. Eleanor Kassner had examined the Vouchers for April 2018 and moved for approval. Carl S. Berkowitz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. (motion ) D. Stephen P. Hoefer explained that during April, RCLS enrolled in Orange Bank & Trust Company s Remote Deposit Capture Program, which allows us to deposit checks directly from the Account Payroll Coordinator s desk. This will save RCLS staff s time of traveling to the bank and the funds will be deposited more quickly, thereby gaining a tiny bit more interest income. Due to our long-standing relationship with Orange Bank & Trust Company, the equipment purchase of $1,000 and monthly fee of $50 have been waived. E. Stephen P. Hoefer reviewed the 2018 Annual Conflict of Interest Statements and saw no issues to bring forth to the Board, but would like to remind the Trustees and staff that if a conflict arises throughout the year, they have an obligation to disclose it. F. Stephen P. Hoefer mentioned that RCLS was just approved for its E-rate grant application. The total for this year is $221,000. Of that amount, $36,500 is for moving fiber cable lines when a member library needs to move its fiber. RCLS receives a 64% rebate on our private fiber network costs. G. Carla Randazzo Amthor moved and Lynn Skolnick seconded the motion to approve the following budget adjustments: Increasing the budget so that John Hurley, ANSER Manager and Network Administrator, may attend Windows Server 2016 training at the Westchester Library System Continuing Education - Auto $2, ANSER Fund Balance $2, To increase the budget for the purchase of a replacement laptop for Robert Hubsher as his computer s hard drive failed. It is under warranty and will be fixed and redeployed Equipment, Furniture & Fixtures $3, General Fund Balance $3, The motion passed unanimously. (motion ) DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION REPRESENTATIVE In response to a request by the Annual Meeting and Awards Committee, Rosemary Cooper reported that she had polled member library Directors about the value of Award plaques. She reported that the majority of them value the plaques less than the monetary prize awarded. On Monday, June 18, the libraries that are interested in participating in the Fine Free Project for young adult and children, will be meeting at the Albert Wisner Public Library in Warwick to work out the details. The Directors are very encouraged by the change in the circulation rules. The transition has gone very smoothly. Starting on Friday, June 1, the courtesy renewal will take effect. Several libraries chose not to participate in this endeavor. On Saturday, September 1, the libraries hope to institute the trial period of the Fine Free Project. Ramapo Catskill Library System 3 of 8 May 21, 2018

4 Rosemary Cooper directed the Board s attention to an interesting article in the current edition of Library Journal on advocacy entitled Missing the Mark: Time to Refocus Our Advocacy Approach by Rebecca T. Miller, Editorial Director, Library Journal and School Library Journal. Rosemary Cooper stated that now is the time libraries need to refocus their advocacy approach. She shared with the Trustees a quote from the article, EveryLibrary s John Chrastka states, noting, among other findings, that fewer people think that if the library were to shut down, something essential would be lost down to 55% today from 71% a decade ago. What the writer is really pointing out is, that library advocacy needs to be shifted and refocused from the storytelling phase to the activism phase. Many of the RCLS libraries depend on votes every year to pass their budgets. They all pride themselves that they pass their budgets with enormous margins. Yet they certainly do not chide themselves that they have really poor turnouts of voters. Libraries that take comfort in these kinds of votes need to realize the truth about their situation. There is a connection between this and the libraries circulation rules. It is all about understanding how libraries reach out to their communities and make an impact; that they are vibrant, vital and changing. In our communities and our libraries, we have the opportunity to do that right on the ground floor by communicating how the libraries serve people and what it is they do in terms of changing their experience with the library. Rosemary Cooper has been invited by author and activist Ashton Applewhite to participate in a discussion about aging in the workforce at the Brooklyn Public Library on Wednesday, May 30. The program will explore this issue of an aging workforce and how it effects our libraries, the library staff, and the library board s interaction with the staff as it ages. This is an important issue for library boards to think about. Robert Hubsher added to Rosemary Cooper s thoughts on getting out the vote. Some RCLS member libraries brag every year that they passed their budget, but the turnouts are very low. For example, if the Budget passes with a vote of 27 to 0, that means that 28 people could defeat their budget. It would not be very hard in an environment where only 55% of the people think that if a library was closed that nothing of importance or value would be lost in their community to imagine that somebody could round up 28 of their neighbors and friends to come out and defeat the budget. We have quite a few libraries, in his opinion, which seem to think that if they go under the radar, it is going to be great. Rosemary Cooper stated that libraries are not changing rapidly enough to meet the needs of their community and remain viable, valued institution for their residents. The old stories of how great the library is are not going to move the institution forward. They need to be looking at how they do things, how they interact with people and find fresh, new ways of doing that. Robert Hubsher reported he has been working with a group of people that are trying to get a library in the unserved area of the Minisink Valley School District, an area with nearly 24,000 people. The initiative was started by the new Orange/Ulster BOCES School Library System Coordinator Diana Wendell and a couple of librarians in her schools. They are looking at the possibility of being on the 2019 school district ballot to create a school district library. The problem in the past was that the town supervisors in that area blocked the effort to try to join the Middletown Thrall Library. This new endeavor would not involve the town supervisors but rather place the responsibility on the voters of the school district. Ramapo Catskill Library System 4 of 8 May 21, 2018

5 COMMITTEE REPORTS A. Library Trustees Association (LTA) of New York State Martha Anderson, Representative. No report. B. Ad-Hoc Committee Board Goals/Follow-up to Board Retreat July 18, No report. C. Advocacy and Fundraising Anita Baumann, Chair. No report. D. Annual Meeting and Awards Lynn Skolnick, Chair reported that the Committee discussed the criteria for the newly created fourth award for Also for 2019, the criteria for all the program awards will allow the Committee to consider testimonials from participants. When the Committee meets to review the nominations, instead of looking at the raw number of participants that attended, the Committee plans to look at the percentage of those numbers compared to the overall population served by the library. These are just considerations that the committee is contemplating. Lynn Skolnick reminded the Trustees to bring a check to the next Board meeting for their gold sponsorship of the Legislative Breakfast and Annual Meeting, as well as their donation to the PAC. Ruth Daubenspeck found in the Hudson Valley Magazine an essay praising libraries written by Nava Atalas, a Gardiner Library patron. Ruth Daubenspeck suggested inviting Nava Atalas to be a Library Champion at the Legislative Breakfast and to attend 2019 NYLA Library Advocacy Day. Grace Riario reported that she had contacted the Resorts World Catskills casino to ask them if they could provide us with a bus for transportation to the casino after the Legislative Breakfast. They said no to the bus, but are looking at other options. E. Board Development / Nominating Jain Jacob, Chair. No report. F. Bylaws /Policy Review Carl S. Berkowitz. No report. G. Facilities Eleanor Kassner, Chair reported that the Committee will be meeting next month. H. Member Library Trustee Outreach and Orientation Helen Rados, Chair. No report. I. Personnel and Finance Bernard Marone, Chair. No report. J. Plan of Service Review Roslyn Applebaum Hurwitz, Chair reported that 25 member libraries completed the Plan of Service (POS) Survey. She felt RCLS received rave reviews. The Committee prepared a report from the survey findings and RCLS responses, which has been shared with the member library Directors. Ramapo Catskill Library System 5 of 8 May 21, 2018

6 UNFINISHED BUSINESS After continuing to examine ideas for the upcoming Board Retreat in July, the Trustees decided on an afternoon visit to the newly renovated Highland Falls Library and to discuss a topic over dinner. NEW BUSINESS For informational purposes, the Nomination of RCLS Trustees Memo was presented. Three seats one each in Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties need to be filled at the Annual Meeting. PUBLIC COMMENTS Charles LeViseur commented that the RCLS Board discussed the decline in attendance at library events and that the Monroe Free Library is experiencing the same problem. Grace Riario had noted looking at this the same way as looking at the brick and mortar retail shops. More items are being bought online and less people are going into the brick and mortar stores. That is why a lot of those stores are closing. However, the public does not have anywhere to go and inspect merchandise before they buy items cheaper online. Libraries are always going to have some type of footprint; it is just the size of that footprint that is being debated. The public wants to know what libraries are giving them that Google cannot give them. You can counter that line of thinking with programs, which Google cannot offer. Robert Hubsher commented that because he started off in the private sector, he talks about market share. The largest market share growth for public libraries going forward will be virtual users. These are people who may never step into a library building, but still have needs that libraries could meet. We have to embrace virtual technology. We need to create the physical space to do the kinds of things that Charles LeViseur is talking about, but we also have to have a parallel virtual space where we can engage our public in conversation and as a means of offering services. We cannot keep operating the same old way and expect things to change. EXECUTIVE SESSION Lynn Skolnick moved and Carla Randazzo Amthor seconded the motion to go into Executive Session to discuss CSEA contract negotiations at 8:33 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. (motion ) Roslyn Applebaum Hurwitz moved and Bernard Marone seconded the motion to reconvene in Regular Session at 8:50 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. (motion ) Carl S. Berkowitz moved and Eleanor Kassner seconded the motion to authorize the Executive Director to approve a contract with CSEA based on the memorandum that he shared with the Board in Executive Session. The motion passed unanimously. (motion ) Ramapo Catskill Library System 6 of 8 May 21, 2018

7 PRESIDENT S COMMENTS Anita Baumann had no further comments. BOARD DISCUSSIONS / COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE The Board had no discussion. CORRESPONDENCE A. Note dated April 2018 from Peggy Johansen, Director, Mamakating Library to Grace Riario thanking her for giving customized Trustee training at the library. B. Letter dated April 22, 2018 from Carol Uzzo McCrossen, Director, Moffat Library of Washingtonville to RCLS Board of Trustees thanking them for all that they do for RCLS and its member libraries. She also expressed her thanks for the RCLS staff and the help they provide. C. Letter dated May 8, 2018 from Janet Murphy, Volunteer Services, Corrections and Community Supervision to Grace Riario expressing their appreciation for books and repair tape donations. D. Note received May 17, 2018 from Lisa Lindle, Manager, Grassroots/Advocacy Outreach and Kathi Kromer, Associate Executive Director of the ALA Washington Office thanking Robert Hubsher for his hard work as a National Library Legislative Day delegation leader. TALKING POINTS Stephen P. Hoefer pointed out to the Board that the RCLS 2017 Statistics, compiled from the member libraries State Annual Report were in the Board packet. The statistics are also available on the RCLS website as a PDF and Excel spreadsheet. Welcomed Charles LeViseur, Trustee of the Monroe Free Library. He discussed the progress the Monroe Board has made and thanked RCLS for its help. Discussed the upcoming workshops on prevailing wage and eligible construction projects held on May 22 and May 23. Rosemary Cooper, Directors Association Representative reported the Fine Free children s and young adult materials trial will start September 1. She also discussed refocusing our advocacy approach and shifting not only locally, but statewide. Discussed the retirement of State Senators William J. Larkin, Jr. and John J. Bonacic. The Board is thankful for their library advocacy over the years. The Plan of Service Survey participation increased this year over the previous years. The answers gave valuable feedback from the member libraries that responded. Ramapo Catskill Library System 7 of 8 May 21, 2018

8 ADJOURNMENT Carl S. Berkowitz moved and Eleanor Kassner seconded the motion that the meeting adjourn at 8:59 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. (motion ) MOTIONS Approve May 21, 2018 Agenda Approve April 16, 2018 Minutes Approve the Treasurer s Report for April 30, Approve the Fiscal Officer s Report for April 30, Approve the Vouchers for April Budget adjustments Approve going into Executive Session at 8:33 p.m. to discuss CSEA contract negotiations Approve to reconvene into Regular Session at 8:50 p.m Authorize the Executive Director to implement, if possible, the memorandum that he shared with the Board in Executive Session Adjournment Ramapo Catskill Library System 8 of 8 May 21, 2018

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27 RAMAPO CATSKILL LIBRARY SYSTEM BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING JUNE 18, 2018 BOT FISCAL OFFICER S SUMMARY OF ACTIVITY BOARD INFORMATION The 2019 Board Travel Request Form is included with this month s packet. I ve added amounts for Trustees whom request mileage reimbursement for regular Board meetings; listed the most common library conferences, dates and anticipated cost so that you only need to identify what conference you plan to attend, and please list any other travel and cost that you are considering for Please complete this form and return to Stephen by June 30, For newer Trustees, I thought it might be helpful to have a list of what the acronyms stand for.: PLA = Public Library Association, a division of ALA LTA = Library Trustee Association ALA = American Library Association NYLA = New York Library Association LARC = Library Association of Rockland County WLA = Westchester Library Association BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS Debit Credit Increasing the budget to receive a 25% initial payment on a $15,000 Special Legislative Grant from Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther to support Summer Reading Programs for libraries within her district Grant-in-Aid - expense $3, Grant-in-Aid - income $3, Fiscal Officer s Report June 18, 2018

28 RAMAPO CATSKILL LIBRARY SYSTEM 2019 BOARD TRAVEL BUDGET REQUEST Please indicate the conferences you would like to attend in An estimated cost is provide for the full event; however, if you intend to share cost with member libraries or not attend the entire conference, make a note so the budget may be adjusted. Feel free to add an event, workshop or meeting not listed and return this form to Stephen by June 30, All Local Meetings 10 Board meetings, Annual meeting and local travel Estimated Cost PLA Every other year Lobby Day Washington LTA????? May 2019 April 2019 ALA Washington 06/20/19-06/25/19 NYLA Saratoga 11/13/19-11/16/19 LARC-WLA Conference Other Other??? Total $$$ Description Travel May 2019 $ 1,500 $ 500 $ 3,000 $ 1,500 $ 500 CARLA AMTHOR?? $ - $ - MARTHA ANDERSON DIANE ARCIERI - - ANITA BAUMANN - - CARL BERKOWITZ Summer elected offical visits 500 ROSLYN HURWITZ - - JAIN JACOB?? 225 1, ,000 ELLIE KASSNER BERNARD MARONE?? - - HELEN RADOS?? - - LYNN SKOLNICK - - Notes BUFFER 525 1, ,000 BOT MTG FOOD 1,000 $80 + $55 $ 2,500 Travel - Board Travel - Board/Prof. Dev. $ 4,500 $400 Decrease $50 Decrease 2017 Actual = $1, Actual = $4,652 1) It is recommended that at least one RCLS Trustee attend the Washington DC Lobby Day. 2) In 2006 a cap of $13,500 was designated by the Personnel & Finance Committee for Board travel and meetings. 3) The July Trustee retreat has a budget of $1,200 under Continuing Education - RCLS Programs. Note to Stephen: 6/8/2018