Pollard Memorial Library Board of Trustees

POLLARD MEMORIAL LIBRARY BOARD of TRUSTEES Trustee Minutes Meeting took place on September 7, as a hybrid meeting, both in person and via Zoom.  Call to Order o Meeting was called to order by Donna Richards at 5:30 pm.  Attendance: Present: Excused: Dory Lewis, Asst. Director Donna Richards, Chair Anne Mulhern, Vice Chair Linda Kilbride, Secretary Katy Aronoff Judith Davidson Suzanne Frechette Syed Hasan Helen Littlefield Muriel Parseghian Amy Watson Guest: City Manager, Tom Golden  Acceptance of / Amendment to Agenda o The agenda was unanimously approved on a motion by Linda Kilbride and seconded by Ann Mulhern.  Meeting Minutes – June 8, 2022 o The meeting minutes were unanimously accepted on a motion by Suzanne Frechette and seconded by Judy Davidson.  City Manager update: o Elevator repair ongoing, air conditioning is working. o Mimi spoke about diversifying the board and requested ideas and support. o A question was posed about open positions? More activity means more money, more people. o The city manager will be coming to the meetings himself if possible.  Status of Recruitment for Library Director o There is an applicant who is being offered the position, but no further information was given by the city manager.  Update on status of elevator service/repair 1  o Mark Byrne has contacted Otis to do a total repair. Control panel and switches need to be repaired. o Approx cost $300,000? The money will come from city manager’s contingency fund.  Update on Strategic Plan Implementation o WELCOME – Sy and Mulhern (co-leads Bridget and vacant) o No update o OUTREACH – Suzanne and Mimi (co-leads Molly and Falicia) o Because I am also the head of youth services and summer is our busiest time of year, the Outreach committee did not meet this summer. I am in the process of setting up our next meeting for some time later this month. I did attach the last report I submitted to Dory back in June. o ADVOCACY – Donna and Katy (co-leads Belinda and Donna) o Update from the Advocacy Committee: Donna Richards -Our current project is preparing an Annual Report. We have the template, started collecting data/pictures/written a letter from the three boards and director, and contacted a graphic designer. Our aim is to have this ready for October. Letters from the three boards will be included, Graphic designer has been contacted -One goal of Advocacy is ‘to continuously gather input from residents on how the library can best serve their needs.’ It was suggested that Gimlet Software could be used for this purpose. Subsequently it is in use. -We are discussing plans for a Fall ‘tour’ for school committee members/LPS school administration. o CULTURE – Amy and Judy (co-leads Doug and Liz) o Update from the Culture Committee: No update o ENGAGE – Helen and Judy (co-leads Dory and Alison) o Updates for the Engage Committee: Dory Lewis Alison wrote up a re-consideration policy for any challenges to the library’s collection. Alison and I both attended webinars about Challenged to Library materials and reconsideration policies. These forms are now at the public desks and the await Trustee approval. We have been creating displays and ordering materials in conjunction with Library programming.  Update on Bookmobile Project o FYI – More and more libraries are getting bookmobiles. The delivery date for our bookmobile is April 2023.  Question of impact to PML from Baker & Taylor ransomware attack o Dory Lewis will address.  Chairperson’s Report o I met with the new City Manager, Tom Golden, on July 26th. I reviewed the packet prepared for the tour focusing on the need for continued financial support, strategic plan efforts, keeping the 2  bookmobile on track, and the search for a director. At that time interviews were being conducted to replace the Director. He may wish to designate another individual to represent him at this meeting but for now he said he would come to our meetings. o I will send a letter of thanks to firefighter John Bue for adding some love to our Colburn Street entrance. He provided the flowers and mulch and is overseeing this beautiful area near our entrance. He is with the Fire Investigation Unit, stationed downtown. He also maintains the flowers and area round the Firefighters' Memorial. o September is Library Card Sign-up Month, when libraries nationwide join the American Library Association (ALA) to remind parents, caregivers, and students that signing up for a library card is the first step on the path to academic achievement and lifelong learning. As Trustees we should all have unexpired library cards. o A small marathon reading of Jack Kerouac’s Big Sur to take place in October. You can sign up to volunteer to read. o Save the Date - MA Library Trustees Association Annual Meeting October 22, 2022, 10 AM- 1 PM Shrewsbury Public Library Registration link: https://mblc.libcal.com/event/9328436 Highlights include:  Presentation by Dr Martin Garnar, Director of Libraries at Amherst College, Challenges to books, materials, and programs.  Lunch with author Stephen McCauley – Author of seven novels, including Insignificant Others. His best-known novel is The Object of My Affection, which was made into a film starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd.  Trustee of the Year Award o Judy Davison sent a PowerPoint presentation - PRACTICAL POLICY MANAGEMENT: A Guide for Trustees. She created and distributed a chart ‘recommended policies’ vs. ‘existing policies. o Judy Davidson suggested that we start reviewing one policy (or a set of related policies) per meeting and would like to start with the collection development policy and the materials reconsideration policy, because according to Dory the staff is very worried about challenges--she's provided them all with paper copies to prepare them if this happens. This will show we are aware of their concerns and want to address them.  Directors Report (Dory Lewis) o September report sent to trustees via email. o Dory and Judy completed the Mass Cultural Council application.  There are restrictions, but we do not have to propose a project to apply. o There is potential for more funding. FY2023 Funding opportunities are outlined in this newsletter. Mass Cultural Council Adopts $85M Spending Plan – Mass Cultural Council. Judy has suggested the cultural facilities grant for organizations that is coming up is also perfect for PML. This will take more planning to submit, but feels the library is ripe for it. o Dory is working on a plan for the ARPA funding, $50,000. It is almost completed.  Foundation Report (Donna Richards) o The PMLF meeting took place on June 15, 2022. Officers were elected – Jamie O’Hearn is Chair, Germaine Vigeant-Trudel is Vice Cahir, Bob Gilman is Treasurer, and Tricia Kennedy is Secretary. New board members (Jacquie) Malone and Michael Breda are welcomed. 3  o Elinor Lipman award winner should be announced soon as there will be an event in October to acknowledge the recipient. o Our next meeting is scheduled for September 21, 2022.  Friends of the Library Report (Helen Littlefield) o June summer reading event went well. o Book sale one day 10/15 9-22. The library will not be accepting donations, there is no space to store the books. o The next board meeting is Oct 13th.  Old Business o It was suggested that the foundation could fund better water fountains once the water is turned back on and one with a water bottle filler.  New Business o Items for future agenda: Mulhern: Challenges need to allow for moving books not just removing and she did not like that a faceless committee made the decision and they should be known. She felt it should be called reconsideration rather than challenges. o Judy working on grants for the library. The city manager suggested reaching out to council suggesting if we get $50,000 will they match or match on second year.  Adjournment o The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 PM on a motion by Donna Richards and seconded by Helen Littlefield. All in attendance were in favor. o Our next meeting is Wednesday, OCTOBER 5, 2022. 4