Pollard Memorial Library Board of Trustees

POLLARD MEMORIAL LIBRARY BOARD of TRUSTEES Meeting Minutes November 4, 2020 Meeting took place on November 4, 2020 via a Zoom conference call. Present: Donna Richards, Chair Suzanne Frechette, Vice Chair Marianne Gries Syed Hasan Linda Kilbride Helen Littlefield Anne Mulhern Sara Marks Victoria Woodley, Director Absent: Muriel Parseghian Christine O’Connor Guest: Belinda Juran  Call to Order o Meeting was called to order by Donna Richards at 5:33 PM.  Acceptance of / Amendment to Agenda o The agenda was unanimously approved on a motion by and seconded by with automatic renewal added to the agenda.  Meeting Minutes o The meeting minutes from 10/7/2020 were unanimously accepted. Sara Marks, Amy Wilson, and Suzanne Frechette were absent and abstained from voting. o There was one sentence under Library status that was incomplete.  Library Budget Status o The city has given the library two additional monies. $95,000 from the City Manager’s discretionary fund has been received. The city council also approved $180,000 from the general fund. This money has not been received as of today. This brings the funding up to 1.7% of what Victoria had requested. o Donna will write a letter to the Eileen Donahue, Conor Baldwin and Alison Chambers to express thanks from the Trustees, Foundation and Friends for the additional funding. o We need to plan for budget cuts next year.  Strategic plan o Strategic planning has been on hold due to the pandemic. Victoria is working on getting it back on track.  Chairperson’s Report (Donna Richards) o Update on Mico Kaufman estate donation: The piece is set to be delivered on 11/23/20. It is a plaster cast, somewhat fragile, needs to be put in plastic case to be displayed. Given in honor of Lowell police department  Directors Report (Victoria Woodley) o Victoria prepared the Director’s Report and distributed by email. o Grant to get programming done online. $75.000 from Senator Kennedy’s project. No information about what it can be used for. Victoria is considering ways to spend the money.  Foundation Report (Donna Richards) o Met on November 18th at 8:30am. Appeal letters have been mailed. To date the foundation has spent $3853 and have approved another $5500. The money is being used for Chromebooks, ESL library subscription, and web cams. These came off a list that the staff at the library put together. o The Foundation’s Fiscal year ends Dec 31st will look at the rest of the list. Looking at things that will help with the pandemic. The annual Appeal and Author night are the two major fundraisers. Amy asked about giving Tuesday and if the foundation did anything. The answer is no. o Next meeting Jan 21,2021 o The foundation has requested to have information at hand immediately. The staff is working to put the information together. Belinda is working on this also o Sara inquired about Kanopy and Hoopla and if can we connect with Boston public library. Vicky was looking at is Not really useful for us now Streaming service we have now Freegal is not used that much  Friends of the Library Report (Helen Littlefield) o No updates o Need a treasurer, still building  Old business o MBLC automatic renewal circulation feature.  Mulhern put together a paper of information. Suggesting that Pollard will opt into autorenewal with information to be sent to patrons. o Proposal Pollard accept autorenewal that we opt into autorenewal on November 25th with the appropriate information sent to patrons. Motion by Donna Richards and seconded by Helen Littlefield.Unanimously accepted o Framework so we would be prepared to go before the city council if needed. Sy wants to have something written down to prepare for future emergencies. Need to be stored so future trustees have access.  New Business o None  Adjournment o The meeting was adjourned at 6:25 PM on a motion by Donna Richards and seconded by Syed Hasan. All in attendance were in favor o The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, December 2,2020 at 5:30pm Minutes prepared by: Linda Kilbride November 4, 2020