REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE NASHUA PUBLIC LIBRARY A regular meeting of the Board of Library Trustees was held Tuesday, March 7, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. in the Hunt room at the Main Library, 2 Court Street, Nashua, New Hampshire. Trustees present were: Arthur Barrett, Jr. Chairman Linda Laflamme Maurice Arel David Pinsonneault Kathleen Veracco Also present was Joseph Dionne, Library Director, and Thomas Corbett, Assistant Library Director, who took the minutes. The Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:14 p.m. The Board examined the bills and upon motion duly made by Mr. Arel and seconded by Mr. Pinsonneault unanimously RESOLVED: that bills in the amount of $28,631.88 be approved for payment from the regular budget and $474.35 from the fines account. It was noted that approval for the $3,390 from the Zylonis Fund for funding the Lithuanian language classes, appearing on this meeting s Bill Summary, had already been resolved at the last meeting. unanimously On a motion duly made by Mr. Arel and seconded by Ms. Veracco, the Board RESOLVED: that $660 be approved for payment to architect Al Corzilius from the Bloomfield Fund. On a motion duly made by Mr. Pinsonneault and seconded by Ms. Laflamme, the Board unanimously RESOLVED: that up to $250 be approved to pay for Franco American materials from the Avard Trust.
On a motion duly made by Mr. Pinsonneault and seconded by Ms. Veracco, the Board unanimously RESOLVED: that $256.59 from the Donations account be approved to pay Weston Woods for materials purchased in memory of Ann Warren Turning to the fourth agenda item, the Chairman asked Mr. Dionne to review their meeting with Attorney Maureen Dwyer regarding her research on how to proceed with the Chandler divestiture. Mr. Dionne noted that Attorney Dwyer felt that the recently adopted Uniform Trust Code would allow the Board to move forward with petitioning the court to change the conditions of the Will without going through the considerable expense of locating heirs, beyond what is reasonable. In the discussion that followed, the Chairman asked whether the Board as a whole felt comfortable moving forward with this divestiture. Mr. Pinsonneault pointed out that while the building has served an important role in the library s past, and is an interesting building in its own right, it currently serves only a minimally beneficial role in providing library services. The money gained from the sale of the property, and the Trust Funds that go along with it, could be much better utilized at the main branch to significantly improve overall library services in the city. Moreover, this would be in keeping with Mabel Chandler s desire to support public library services within Nashua. A discussion continued on whether to move forward with the divestiture of the Chandler branch library. It was once again noted that the location was much too close to the Main Library for it to be an effective site for a branch library. While it served an important role in providing children s library services prior to the construction of the current main library in the early seventies, it has never served an important role since, despite frequent attempts by the library s administration to find such a role. Also, limited parking will always inhibit its value as a public building. The Board finished the discussion by noting that the conditions of the Mabel Chandler s Will should help protect
the property from inappropriate use in the future. There was general agreement that the Board would like to see the building kept in its current condition and utilized appropriately in the future by whoever purchased the property. unanimously In a motion made by Mr. Pinsonneault and seconded by Mr. Arel, the Board RESOLVED: to ask Maureen Dwyer to prepare a cy pres petition to change the terms of the gifts under the Will of Mabel Chandler to enable the Trustees to sell the Chandler estate and invest the proceeds of the sale in an expansion of the main branch of the Nashua Public Library. Mr. Dionne reviewed his successful presentation to the Finance Committee seeking approval to spend $13,760 from the library s fines account to purchase a one year subscription to the Live Homework Help service provided by Tutor.com. Despite objections from a few committee members, the proposal passed. The service will start on April 1 st. Mr. Dionne discussed the City of Nashua s efforts to sell 14 Court Street. Two potential buyers have expressed interest: a non profit group who would use it in a similar capacity as it is used now; and a radio station. The building currently houses communication equipment and data lines for the fire department, which will continue to be housed there after the building is sold. The Board remains concerned over how parking associated with 14 Court Street, and currently used by library customers, will be impacted by this sale. Mr. Dionne reported on the library s involvement with the Exceptional Worker Breakfast sponsored by the Nashua Rotary West. The library recognized three exceptional members of the library staff: Linda Pilla and Karen Beaver from the Music, Art and Media department; and Judy Bates from the Reference department. Steve Butzel and Mr. Corbett also attended the breakfast, which was co emceed by Mr. Dionne.
Mr. Dionne and Mr. Corbett provided an update on the library s new wireless hotspot, which Mr. Pinsonneault took advantage of during the meeting. The Board appreciated the front page article that appeared in the Nashua Telegraph on this new service. Mr. Corbett mentioned that this service was only in the first stage, and that it would be improved and expanded over the next few months. Mr. Dionne gave an update on the recent activities of the Friends of the Nashua Public Library organization. Members handed out literature at recent library events, and will also be shadowing the library staff as they prepare for the upcoming book sale, in preparation for possibly taking over the running of the following book sale. Currently all book donations are being made to the Friends, rather than directly to the library, and proceeds from the sale of these items will stay with this organization. Mr. Dionne announced that the budget hearing for the library s FY2007 budget will be held on April 5. Mr. Dionne reported that at least one of the pieces of art stolen from the library s gallery has been recovered by the police. Carol Eyman was subpoenaed to testify at a hearing, which was postponed at the last minute. The library still doesn t know the name of the person who has been arrested in this case. Mr. Pinsonneault recommended that the library administration follow up with the officers assigned to this case to get more information. Mr. Dionne reported on the ongoing problems associated with the front doors. The springs and solenoids used to automatically lock and unlock the crash bars with every opening and closing continue to wear out. The original contractor, Ferd Construction, has recommended that we modify the crash bars so that they are unlocked once manually in the morning and locked once manually at night. The library administration will work closely with the contractor, and other related parties, to get this
problem resolved as soon as possible. In the meantime, the exterior entrance doors will be kept open whenever the weather permits. Ms. Veracco asked whether a date had been set for a joint convention between the Trustees and the Board of Alderman to re appoint Ms. Laflamme to the library s Board of Trustees. Mr. Dionne said that he would research this and have an answer by the next day. Mr. Dionne reported that a number of department heads at City Hall have been asked by the Nashua Telegraph to furnish work related email and calendars to their reporters. The City has complied, of course, but has charged back to the Telegraph the necessary fees to furnish this information. The minutes of the previous meeting of February 7, 2006 were approved unanimously on a motion made by Mr. Pinsonneault and seconded by Ms. Laflamme. There being no further business to come before the Board upon motion duly made Mr. Pinsonneault and seconded by Ms. Veracco, the Trustees unanimously RESOLVED: That the meeting be adjourned at 8:01 P.M. Attest David K. Pinsonneault, Secretary