Pollard Memorial Library Board of Trustees

POLLARD MEMORIAL LIBRARY BOARD of TRUSTEES Minutes Meeting took place on December 7, 2022, as a hybrid meeting, both in person and via Zoom.  Call to Order o Meeting was called to order by Donna Richards at 5:33 pm.  Attendance: Present: Excused: Steve Robichaud Donna Richards, Chair Anne Mulhern, Vice Chair (Zoom) Linda Kilbride, Secretary Katy Aronoff Judith Davidson Suzanne Frechette (Zoom) Syed Hasan (Zoom) Helen Littlefield Muriel Parseghian Amy Watson  Acceptance of / Amendment to Agenda o The agenda was unanimously approved on a motion by Linda Kilbride and seconded by Donna Richards  Meeting Minutes – November 2, 2022 o The meeting minutes were unanimously accepted on a motion by Judy Davidson and seconded by Donna Richards. o Minutes need to be posted on the City of Lowell website. Steve is going for training to add things to the website.  Nomination of Officers o Thank you to board members who have completed a 3-year term, Linda Kilbride, Sy Hasan, and Mulhern, who will not continue. We appreciate your contributions and support and know you will continue to be involved in Library initiatives!! o Three board members have requested reinstatement, Donna Richards, Helen Littlefield, and Muriel Parseghian. Our two associate members have applied for vacant full-board membership. A former trustee has applied for a vacant full-board membership. We are recruiting for two (2) Associate Board members. o Katy Aronoff is the Chair of the Nominating Committee and presented the following slate for consideration to fill a 1-year term as Board Officer. Donna Richards, Chair, Katy Aronoff, Vice Chair, and Judy Davidson, Secretary. A vote will be taken at the January meeting. 1  Policy Initiative o Judy Davidson - Steve and Judy met on 11/29/22 to discuss the policy initiative the Trustees had embarked upon before he came on board. To insure staff involvement a section has been added to the Policy Management Draft presented at last month’s meeting. o They decided to use the recently revised Materials Selection Policy as a test case for the process proposed. They will present this policy to the existing library Collections committee and work the first part of the policy process through them. o Changed Governance committee designee to Governance committee. Suzanne had an issue with the committee not giving input until the end of the process. o A request to have a repository for library documents for the trustees was made.  Outside signage for the library o Helen Littlefield contacted Steve Stowell of the Lowell Historic Board. Steve Robichaud contacted Lowell DPW Commissioner Paul St. Cyr. St. Cyr said to work with Steve Stowell and his board to be sure any sign that is selected passes historic hurdles regarding the design, etc. that may be presented. Stowell has requested a time to meet at the library to brainstorm, look at locations, and next steps. o Muriel Parseghian made a motion to put up a historically correct sign outside the library, seconded by Suzanne. The motion passed unanimously.  Update on Strategic Plan Implementation – Team Reports o It was agreed that each Strategic Plan trustee supporter would report on their team efforts. o WOACE - SP Teams are in place (subcommittees) devoted to tackling the major goals of the Strategic Plan. o SPOT TEAM provides oversight of all teams – Donna (co-leads vacant and vacant) Update from the SPOT TEAM: None o WELCOME – Sy and Mulhern (co-leads Bridget and vacant) Update from the Welcome Committee: Bridget Cooley: The Welcome Group met up to discuss a couple of priority areas – first is focusing on enhancing the curb appeal of the entrance areas with trying to better track the cleanliness and welcoming atmosphere of the Merrimack and Colburn entrances (minimize trash, clean up signage on the doors, etc.). Next, we are going to focus on adding signage to clarify where people are in the building so that they have an idea of where they are and where they need to return (“welcome to the Ground Floor” signs to help with navigation around the building. We are also going to focus on helping patrons to find services and opportunities without having to ask staff (unless they want to or so that it’ll help them find things after staff provide directions), i.e., copier on the ground floor, etc. Lastly, we are going to work on safety issues related to lines of sight, general cleanliness, ensuring that spaces are more welcoming and comfortable for patrons (removing excess/unneeded materials and furniture, removing excess book carts, ensuring that we do not have blocked areas to be able to see patrons and assist if needed, etc. We have a lot of ideas, but the winter will be focused on items that can be easily implemented and help patrons feel more welcomed and aided at the library. 2 3  o OUTREACH – Suzanne and Mimi (co-leads Molly and Falicia) Update from the Outreach Committee: Molly Hancock Molly Hancock: Strategic Plan Outreach Committee Report December 2022 Outreach Committee Members: Molly Hancock, Falicia Lerow, Anastasia Sakellaris, Meghan Carmody, Suzanne Frechette, Mimi Parseghian The Strategic Plan Outreach Committee met on November 15. During the meeting, Molly shared the most recent updates regarding the Book Mobile that she was told at the previous week’s Coordinators’ meeting: Book Mobile Update Book Mobile Vendor – Farber Specialty Vehicles Work begins on the van on January 4, 2023 Projected completion date – March 31, 2023 Vehicle delivery approximately 3 weeks after projected completion date HVAC Issue HVAC system was supposed to be an “all in one” system . The company that originally was supposed to put in the HVAC is going through bankruptcy. Two Possibilities regarding HVAC 1) See if current company can install before company goes out, but what happens if there is an issue after? 2)Use another company and install a different system – Engine Driven System This system is more expensive, but the company is not facing bankruptcy. Even though engine needs to be turned on to run the System, since patrons won’t be on board, the engine won’t be turned on for long periods during stops. Council on Aging/Branch At this meeting, we decided since our current director is new and getting up to speed and the COA is currently without a director, we would pause on ideas for the branch. Task Per Bridget's request, we will be investigating what citywide festivals/activities are held throughout the year so that the Book Mobile can participate. We are to send this information to Bridget. At this meeting, we discussed new goals for the committee in 2023. New Goal Library SWAG Molly and Lori, who have lots of experience doing outreach at various city and LPS events, discussed the importance of library SWAG at these events. While staffing a library table during these events, we compete with other agencies for attendees' attention. Other agencies have professional signs and tablecloths as well as goodies with logos. These things may appear frivolous but when it comes to bringing attention to your agency, they are seriously important. These things are integral to a worthwhile outreach visit.  It was noted during the trustee meeting that in the past, Molly and Bridget have compiled lists of materials for outreach visits - goodies, tablecloths, signs, and have included information 4  about vendors and prices. Nothing has ever come of these items. Suzanne Frechette, an Outreach Committee member, is also a Trustee. She requested Molly and Bridget send these lists on to her and she will share with Trustees. Molly and Bridget did send their information on to Suzanne. Outreach Committee will think about other possible goals and share ideas at our next meeting. o ADVOCACY – Donna and Katy (co-leads Belinda and Donna) Update from the Advocacy Committee: Donna Richards Donna Richards: The Advocacy Team has been meeting weekly to finalize the Annual Report. I can report that a final sign off has been sent to the graphic designer. We really hope this showcases the library in a way to communicate the value of the library to the whole community. o CULTURE – Amy and Judy (co-leads Doug and Liz) Update from the Culture Committee: Doug Cooper Doug Cooper: Although the Culture committee has had trouble getting together for a meeting, we are in the process of creating a customer service policy and are finding appropriate training opportunities. Developing employee action survey. o ENGAGE – Helen and Judy (co-leads Dory and Alison) Updates for the Engage Committee: Dory Lewis None  Chairperson’s Report o Community event to meet/greet the new Director. I would like to see this happen with a ‘blurb’ in 5-minute read of the Sun. o I want to ‘advocate’ for a SPOT TEAM Meeting to review committee assignments and lists of what each team accomplished during year one. I have said before that I think another retreat or something for Trustees to ensure we as trustees remain on track.  Directors Report (Steve Robichaud) o Steve Robichaud prepared the December Director’s Report and distributed to trustees via email. o DPW looking at submissions for elevator repair. All material must be on hand before the project has to be on hand. This will be a three-month project. o Secondary Front entrance will be emergency exit only for right now. o Water leak in elevator repair room was repaired. There was also water in the basement. o Personnel - YA librarian still out, PT admin asst accept position, PT ref librarian, reposted, going through process. IT system support, offer made and accepted, o Bookmobile, working on budgets especially around staff, next step the money to be transferred from ARPA funds so it can be used Starting production on Jan 3, 2023. o Teenagers in the library during school hours have been a problem. Steve contacted the school and they responded immediately.  Foundation Report (Donna Richards) o The PMLF meeting took place on November 16, 2022. o Donations in response to the annual Fall Appeal have started coming in. 5  o Provided by the Foundation in FY22. 25 books recommended for young children 5 copies of "The Last Mapmaker" for STEM Kerouac @ 100 Lowell Reads Staff Appreciation Elinor Lipman Award Grab n' Go Activities Tower (1st floor) Program Display New puppets for Children's Room Wreaths/supplies for Community Program o Author Night discussions are underway. o Our next meeting is scheduled for January 18, 2023.  Friends of the Library Report (Helen Littlefield) o Next meeting is December 8th from 6-7PM. o Nothing new to report on the agenda. Bookworm donating books for refugees and there was a large print book giveaway at the Senior Center. o There possibly could be another book sale.  Old Business o  New Business o Steve Robichaud said he was contacted by an individual who wants to get married in the Library. We currently do not have a policy, but the trustees were not opposed to the idea.  Adjournment o The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 PM on a motion by Judy Davidson and seconded by Suzanne Frechette. All in attendance were in favor. o Our next meeting is Wednesday, JANUARY 4, 2023. 6