Pollard Memorial Library Board of Trustees

Pollard Memorial Board of Trustees – Trustee Meeting Minutes Date: o The meeting took place on January 10, 2024. Location: o It was held at Pollard Memorial Library (PML), 401 Merrimack St. Lowell, MA, as a hybrid meeting, both in person and via Zoom. Opening Business Meeting call to order o The meeting was called to order by Donna Richards at 5:31 pm. Attendance Present: Excused: Bridget Cooley, Library Director Christine O’Connor Donna Richards, Chair Katy Aronoff, Vice Chair Judith Davidson, Secretary (on-line) Ellen Anstey Suzanne Frechette Helen Littlefield Muriel Parseghian Guest(s): Lisa Golden, Director of Health and Human Services, was present briefly. Acceptance of / Amendment to Agenda o The agenda, as amended to include a brief announcement from Lisa Golden, Health and Human Servies Director, was unanimously approved on a motion by Suzanne Frechette, seconded by Helen Littlefield. o Golden announced that a new library director had been selected. The position is going to Bridget Cooley, formerly the Assistant Director. Cooley has accepted the position and reported that she is already revising the description for the assistant director position and will submit to HR as soon as possible. The Trustees and Golden congratulated Cooley. Prior Meeting Minutes Approval o The meeting minutes from December 13, 2023, were unanimously accepted with suggested revisions to be made on a motion by Suzanne Frechette and seconded by Donna Richards. Public Comment Period o Public comment time was made available. However, there were no members of the public present to make a comment at this meeting. Current Business Vote for Officers Incumbent officers Donna Richards, Katy Aronoff, and Judy Davidson were nominated on December 12, 2023, for the positions of Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary. A motion was made to vote in this slate of officers by Suzanne Frechette and seconded by Mimi Parseghian. All attending unanimously accepted the slate of officers. Update on Strategic Plan o General discussion about the strategic plan:  There could be an opportunity for restructuring of the committees and the staff/trustee membership.  There needs to be a consideration of why some committees were more and some less successful and how we can improve in the next round.  Discussion of the ways the library is becoming more visible to the community requires a fresh look at strategic goals; eg. advocacy for City and State leaders; and bookmobile interaction with community-based organizations. o Culture Committee (Judy Davidson). The committee has not met since the last Trustees meeting. Donna Richards will attend the mid-January meeting in place of Davidson. o Advocacy Committee (Katy Aronoff/Donna Richards)  No Information o Outreach Committee (Suzanne Frechette/Muriel Parseghian)  No Information o Welcome (Ellen Anstey/Christine O’Connor)  No Information o Engagement (Helen Littlefield/Judy Davidson)  No Information. Reports Chairperson’s Report o Lisa Golden was instrumental in getting Ellen Anstey’s promotion to full board member on the January 9, 2024, City Council meeting agenda. o Lisa Golden wanted us to know she was unable to attend tonight due to the holiday schedule of the Health Department meeting. o On December 20th Amanda Standerfer, Strategic Plan Consultant, provided a proposal that details a process to refresh our current strategic plan and revive our implementation She said, “I would love to work with you again, and I am very flexible about the design of this process and the timeline. Let me know if you want to get together to chat after the first of the year. (Would be about $6,000.)” Discussion followed about the possibilities for structuring this workshop. Richards likes the idea of an evening meeting for the Trustees with dinner at the library. She believes, “More trustees could probably attend if we stuck with regular time and meetings.” o In response to the notice for the open Trustee positions posted on social media and around the library, we received 5 inquiries. All reached out for more information regarding the trustee associate member vacancies. Richards provided a copy of the by-laws (indicating we 2  were in the process of revising), the position description, and an invitation (agenda) to the January meeting. She also provided her phone number and offered to meet in person or receive a call for more information. Each person who expressed interest was sent the meeting agenda and invited to attend. Richards has not heard back from any of them yet. o MBLC - January’s Friends Sharing with Friends coffee hour is scheduled for Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at 2:00pm - 3:00pm. Maura Deedy, MBLC Library Advisory, is leaving MBLC on 1/25/24. Maura will be hosting with Rob Favini, Head of Library Advisory and Development. He’ll be a contact while a search for a replacement is made. o 2024 LEGISLATIVE BREAKFAST 02/09/24. You will be able to hear about local library issues from your elected officials and others, learn about the upcoming legislative agenda and how you can support MA libraries. The meeting will be held at WILMINGTON MEMORIAL LIBRARY There was also discussion about contacting local politicians and letting them know who from Trustees, Foundation, and Friends will be attending. o National Library Week is April 7-13, 2024. National Library Week is an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries, librarians, and library workers play in transforming lives and strengthening our communities. “Ready, Set, Library!” is this year’s theme. Participation fell under the Advocacy group last year. Going forward, the PML Board of Trustees will be discussing who and how we will be involved to take advantage of the national momentum around this event. o The PML Library will be 180 years old as the city is facing its own bi-centennial. Can these be celebrated during National Library Week? Cooley has collected a number of random facts about the early location of the library, which could serve as the basis for a fun geographical activity at PML and/or collaborative activities with Lowell Walks and the National Park. Committee Reports Governance/Policy Committee (J. Davidson*/S. Frechette/M. Parseghian/C. O’Connor)  Two policies were distributed at the 12/8/23 trustee’s meeting (Bookmobile Policy and Art Display Policy) with the intention trustees would read in preparation for discussion and vote at this meeting.  Suzanne Frechette from the Governance Committee presented the two policies. o Bookmobile Policy. This policy passed unanimously on a motion to accept from Suzanne Frechette and a motion to second from Helen Littlefield. o Art Display Policy. Subject to a minor change of wording, Helen Littlefield made the motion to accept and Donna Richards seconded. This policy passed unanimously. o A brief discussion followed in which Cooley described how the library staff are conducting outreach to the community through activities to promote culture and art. The bookmobile is central to that work. o Cooley and staff will be procuring and installing new art display materials so that all art items can be safely exhibited. Art Committee (__________ */Ellen Anstey/Donna Richards)  Nothing to report. 3  Security/Building/Grounds (Suzanne Frechette*/Helen Littlefield)  Nothing to report. Outreach (Donna Richards*/Katy Aronoff/Judy Davidson/Helen Littlefield/Mimi Parseghian)  Nothing to report. Nominating/Personnel (Katy Aronoff*/Donna Richards/Ellen Anstey)  Nothing to report. Director’s Report Bridget Cooley prepared the January Director’s Report and distributed it to trustees via email prior to the meeting. Special discussion arose around numerous issues including: o Staff Turnover. Cooley discussed some of the issues that have promoted change including the high cost of living in this area. Ellen Anstey asked for an organizational chart to better understand the scope of positions. As of right now PML has 35 employees. The YA librarian starts next week, which will bring the total to 36. o Discussion of the appropriate use of the Reconsideration Request Form and how that might need to be tweaked as patrons use the policy. o Cooley is starting to prepare for the budget process. With Richards, they are reviewing past budgets. They will be convening the advocacy group to look at the narrative part. They want to make the narrative more cohesive, not simply a list. They will be drawing upon raw data collected in 2023, as a means of describing the needs projected for 2024. The budget must be submitted by late February. At the next meeting Cooley will share the draft with the trustees and provide information on services and deliverables. Cooley is working with the leaders of the library departments on this. o Cooley is in line to be trained on the city’s new budget software system. She will make sure that there is cross-training within the library so budget information can be easily accessed when needed. There was discussion of the importance of helping Councilors to understand the MAR and to see it as like the relationship between the School and State. There was also discussion of the number of areas the library touches on: senior citizens, migrants, homeless, showing the value of what the library is doing. The message needs to be, “We are worth the investment.” It’s important that we strategize toward the upcoming budget process. Grants o Nothing to report. PML Foundation (Donna Richards) o Donna Richards provided the following PML Foundation Report.  There was no December meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 17, 2024. 4 Friends of the PML (Helen Littlefield) o Helen Littlefield provided the following Friends Liaison Report.  The Friends have purchased one new stanchion for pointing the way to the children’s book sale area.  They are providing support to 3 artists who are doing craft activities.  New Friends’ bookmarks have been designed for dissemination.  Next meeting is 2/1/24 in Director’s Office at 5:30 pm. Old Business o NO OLD BUSINESS New Business (Announcements and Questions ) o There was a request for some instruction on the circulation statistics. Could Liz Manning or Bridget Cooley explain the meanings of the different tables at our next meeting? o It was suggested that a special coffee meeting at Dragonfly Café would be a good place to have an official goodbye to Amy Watson who has left the trustees. This could also be a place/opportunity to meet with others with library interests (Trustees, Foundation, Friends). Adjournment o The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 PM on a motion by Donna Richards and seconded by Ellen Anstey. All in attendance were in favor. o Our next meeting is Wednesday, FEBRUARY 14, 2024. Approved: February 14, 2024 TRUSTEE - Library Library Interim Director's Report - January 2024.zip Trustee Meeting notification JAN 2024.pdf DISPLAYPOLICY-Final- 1.10.24.docx Bookmobile Policy - Final - 1.10.24.docx 5