Pollard Memorial Library Board of Trustees

Pollard Memorial Library (PML) Board of Trustees – Meeting Minutes Date: The meeting took place on May 3, 2023. Location: PML, 401 Merrimack St. Lowell, MA, as a hybrid meeting, both in person and via Zoom. Opening Business Meeting call to order The meeting was called to order by Donna Richards at 5:31 pm. Attendance Present Excused Steve Robichaud Katy Aronoff, Vice Chair Donna Richards, Chair Suzanne Frechette Judith Davidson, Secretary Ellen Anstey Helen Littlefield Muriel Parseghian Amy Watson: Online Guest(s): Lisa Golden: In person Christine O’Connor: Online Miscellaneous The trustees introduced themselves to guest Lisa Golden, Director of Health and Human Services for the City of Lowell. PML falls under her department. The trustees provided her with information regarding questions she had about the trustee openings. Muriel Parseghian announced she will be bringing Armenian food for the last meeting in June. This has become a wonderful tradition for ending the year of Library Trustee work. Acceptance of / Amendment to Agenda The agenda was unanimously approved on a motion by Helen Littlefield and seconded by Muriel Parseghian. Prior Meeting Minutes approval The meeting minutes from April 5, 2023 were unanimously accepted on a motion by Muriel Parseghian and seconded by Helen Littlefield. Public Comment Period On April 25th the MMA hosted a webinar for appointed and elected officials to discuss the importance of government transparency and review developments related to the state’s public records and open meeting laws. Attorneys Lauren Goldberg and Janelle Austin of KP Law addressed the current state of each law, as well as practical considerations for municipalities given the March Supreme Judicial Court decision on the regulation of public comment at public meetings." Donna Richards listened to this webinar and described key points to the Trustees. She will send out a link so others can listen if they are interested. Steve Robichaud added a public comment period to the agenda in anticipation of completing the public comment policy. A question arose about Lowell City policies: Is there anything that all city groups have to meet in regard to public comment standards. Christine O’Connor spoke to what the City of Lowell has done to date. Current Business Approval of User Behavior Policy Judy Davidson provided a review of the changes that have been made to the document. Donna Richards motioned to adopt the revised User Behavior Policy. It was seconded by Helen Littlefield. The motion passed unanimously. The Library Director will have it distributed to staff, posted on the website, and hard copies made available at Circulation desks on all floors. Update on Strategic Plan Culture Committee (Judy Davidson/Amy Watson) The last Culture Committee meeting was held online April 10, 2023. At that meeting, Davidson and Watson were alerted to the financial issues staff faced when seeking to take advantage of the professional development offerings from regional, state, and national organizations in their field. This led to a discussion of professional development at PML and the value professional organization participation could provide to staff. Various ways of making funds available to staff for these activities were discussed. Some of the questions and areas of discussion included:  There is not a line item in the library budget for professional development.  How much money does a membership cost? What’s the variation?  Mass Library Association (2 days), New England Library Association (3 days);  What groups are of value to our staff?  Steve Robichaud reported that they had discussed the issue at the last coordinator’s meeting, and staff had raised concerns about who would receive the benefit.  Bridget Cooley, Assistant Director, had reached out to ask for feedback broadly from the staff.  There was discussion of Institutional vs individual memberships;  Ellen Anstey talked about a conference chart that they use in her workplace to plan where to go and when.  PML Foundation might also be supportive in providing these funds.  This will be part of an ongoing conversation about professional development at PML. Donna Richards asked that the Culture Committee put together a spreadsheet of the various professional organizations that a library staff member might join AND the cost associated with 2 each. The chart should include the benefits of each organization. With this information, trustees will draft a written plan and budget. Reports Chairperson’s Report Changing Trustee Meeting Date Donna Richards proposed changing the regular meeting time from the 1st Wednesday of the month to the 2nd Wednesday of the month. The change would begin in September. Our bylaws will allow us to change the meeting date at the previous meeting. Richards made a motion to change the meetings to the 2nd Wed of the month starting September 2023. Muriel Parseghian asked that we check with the other trustees who were not at today’s meeting, specifically Katy Aronoff and Suzanne Freschette. Richards agreed. The trustees agreed to take a formal vote on this issue at the June 2023 meeting. National Library Week (NLW) The NLW reception at PML was a success. The mayor spoke; Councilor Mercier stayed for the entire event, and Senator Kennedy stayed for a part. The library staff did an EXCELLENT job of describing their work—very passionate presentation. Richards asked Steve Robichaud if he could suggest a way for the Trustees to express thanks to the staff. He suggested doing a reception at a library staff meeting. They would announce it ahead of time. The Friends and Library Foundation could be asked to contribute, and the library has a Market Basket account. Opening Meeting Law and Trustee Participation in Strategic Plan committees. Richards stated that the Strategic Plan working groups are a very important place for Trustees to learn from staff. Amy Watson raised a question about Open Meeting Law and participation of two or more trustees on the Strategic Plan Committees. In discussion, it was raised that the Strategic Plan meetings are the business of the staff not the trustees. Director Lisa Golden commented that trustees cannot talk together about the meeting afterwards nor should they be front and center in shaping the ideas of the strategic plan committee. These committees are designed to reflect the views/direction of the library staff. It was noted that not all strategic plan groups are attended by two trustees. Even those that have two Trustees assigned may only be attended by one Trustee as the Trustees share responsibility for attendance at the Strategic Plan meetings. State Aid Richards reported on the state aid payments to date – 1st payment December 2022 = $152,086.85 2nd payment April 2023 = $152,951.37. TOTAL STATE AID for FY23 = $305,038.22. Suggestion: Establish Trustee Annual Planning at end of year (June annually) Richards reported there had been a suggestion Trustees participate in a planning process for the upcoming year (Sept 2023 to June 2024). This would allow Trustees to anticipate the needs of the upcoming year and to hit the ground running on new projects. 3 A discussion included such items as: the goals for a planning discussion, possible involvement of the Trustee committees; who would want to lead the effort; what kinds of goals would trustees consider. Richards asked everyone to come back to the June meeting with ideas on how this might work. Trustee Advocacy: Returning to discussion of the National Library Week reception, trustees discussed the ways Lowell voters could be more engaged in advocating for the library. Muriel Parseghian mentioned that in the past a non- partisan pre-election meeting had always been held in the PML Community Room, which no longer happens. Someone suggested engaging the “Lowell Votes” organization. Committee Reports Governance/Policy Committee (Judy Davidson) This was not made as a formal report as the announcements and discussion issues contained in this report had already been shared earlier at different parts of the meeting. These mentions included:  Materials Selection and Materials Challenge Policy are posted/or being posted to the PML website.  Public Comment Policy has been drafted and forwarded to Director to review with staff.  A template has been created that guides formatting policy materials.  The policy review process is working as follows – o rough draft (Governance Committee develops) sent on to Director and Staff o Director and staff review (Director incorporates feedback in a next-level draft and submits to chair of Governance Committee) o Governance Committee review (Open public meeting in hybrid format); next level draft incorporates this feedback – o Trustees review officially in open meeting; vote; amendments incorporated – o Post approved policy to Website and place hard copies at library circulation desks  Policies for Photography, Privacy, and Meetings/Library Space are critical and next in line for development.  Thank you to Steve Robichaud for the shout-out acknowledging the work of all involved in bringing PML policies up to date. Art Committee (Amy Watson/Donna Richards) Richards reported photographer Kevin Harkins (selected from all bids) was contacted by Bridget Cooley to photograph portraits for the joint venture to be held at Lowell Cemetery. The date has been moved from Fall of 2023 to Spring of 2024. They continue work on the Audubon prints care/storage project– Linda Kilbride was given an inventory of all artwork from Rosemary Noon; she is putting it in an excel file. The committee is considering seeking out an intern from UMass Lowell to assist on the project. Director’s Report Steve Robichaud prepared the May Director’s Report and distributed it to trustees via email. There is a link to the full report at the end of the minutes. Key points of the discussion of the director’s report include: 4 Elevator The elevator problem has been going on for seven months and the work has not commenced. Golden suggests she and Robichaud meet with the city manager to thrash out this problem. There is concern about the elevator among some city councilors and they are considering submitting a motion at an upcoming city council meeting. Vanna Howard, State Representative, has been consulted regarding how this problem might be solved. City of Lowell Technology Break-In All city technology was closed down when hackers were discovered attacking the city network. At the present time city employees cannot work on the city/MUNIS system. Fortunately, the library has its own network. It could take as long as a month to repair the damage from the digital break-in. The city made paying employees a top priority, setting up temporary stations with access to the MUNIS system in City Hall. Individual department leaders had to go to city hall and input the critical payroll information. No purchasing/PO’s/payment/ or budget checks can be made while MUNIS is down. This has also stalled the process for budget approval in which the city council is currently involved. The city will be creating workarounds (like what they did for employee payment) that will come soon. Again, individuals will have to go to city hall and work on a few computers at designated times. Signage The banner identifying the library has been installed. Steve Robichaud reached out again to Steve Stowell at the Historical Commission for the information he promised about more permanent lettering to go on the building, but Stowell does not have the information yet. Personnel They had a good slate of candidates for the Coordinator of Community Planning position. Three candidates were selected for on-site interviews, and the library committee has a candidate with whom they would like to move forward. Steve Robichaud will be submitting the forms ASAP. They are still hiring part-time custodians. Currently one of the two positions are filled, leaving one position open. One prospective candidate is on hold as Human Relations waits for information on his application. The part-time Administrative Assistant submitted her resignation. Robichaud will begin a search for this position immediately. Book Mobile Robichaud described the problems that have arisen with the City’s Finance Department as he has tried to ensure the book mobile positions are included in the 2024 budget. The funds are secured, and the book mobile is going to be delivered very soon, so it is crucial the problems get resolved. Muriel Parseghian asks to go on record: Parseghian expressed her strong disappointment regarding the city’s support of the book mobile project. Director Lisa Golden suggested that discussion of the book mobile be included on the agenda of the meeting Golden and Robichaud will schedule with the City Manager. PML Foundation (Donna Richards) o Meeting was held on April 19, 2023. o Finalized plans for Annual Author Night to be held on May 4, 2023. 5  o The PMLF approved the change in color of their logo. We will now have coordinated branding with the library !! Merrimack blue is the official color. o The next meeting is May 17, 2023. Friends of the PML (Helen Littlefield) o Helen Littlefield provided the following Friends Liaison Report.  Book Sale volunteers needed- Contact Kerry Craven at volunteer@friendsofpml.org: o book drop offs every Saturday from 10-12 from April 29th to May 20th o set up May 27th, May 30th, and May 31st o breakdown June 3rd at 2pm  Book Sale: June 1st – June 3rd Next meeting of the Friends will be held on June 6 at 6:00 pm in the library director’s office. Old Business There was no old business. New Business Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:11 PM on a motion by Donna Richards and seconded by Helen Littlefield. All in attendance were in favor. The next meeting of the PML Trustees is Wednesday, JUNE 7, 2023. Documents Cited in the Minutes: Library Director TRUSTEE - Library Report to Trustees 05_2023.docx Trustee Meeting notification MAY 2023.pdf UserBehav-staff-jd-g ovC dr trustee.docx 6