Pollard Memorial Library Board of Trustees

Pollard Memorial Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes Date: o The meeting took place on February 14, 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 5:35 pm. Attendance Present: Excused: Bridget Cooley, Library Director Katy Aronoff, Vice Chair Donna Richards, Chair Suzanne Frechette Judith Davidson, Secretary Christine O’Connor Ellen Anstey Helen Littlefield Muriel Parseghian Guest(s): Lisa Golden Acceptance of / Amendment to Agenda o The agenda was unanimously approved on a motion by Donna Richards, seconded by Helen Littlefield. Prior Meeting Minutes Approval o The meeting minutes from January 10, 2024, were accepted with minor revisions on a motion by Donna Richards and seconded by Judy Davidson. 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 Trustee and Staff 5-year Strategic Plan Proposal for review and refresh o On December 20th Amanda Standerfer provided a proposal that details a process to refresh the current strategic plan and revive the implementation process. o There was discussion about complying with the Open Meeting Law requirement for this event. o The upcoming Trustee meeting schedule is as follows: o March 13th regular meeting o March 27th Strategic Plan Meeting for the Trustees  o March 28th Amanda will meet with staff and library will open late. o Cooley will confirm the March 27th date for the trustee retreat and March 28th for delayed opening. 3/27 is Wed. Regular mtg would be 3/13. 5:30-7:30 pm. o Cooley will get our assignments from Amanda in advance; Richards will send us—Strategic Plan, Accomplishments and Goals (4/2023); FY 2023 Trustee Plan (Amy Watson created) o There was discussion of the quality of the strategic plan process to date. It has moved PML toward patron driven model and the budget goals are reflective of the process. o Committees will be reviewed after discussion with the consultant, and as new committees are formed or the old reshaped, team expectations will be laid out. Members of the new committees will be expected to make a commitment to the work. National Library Week--April o April 10th National Library Week activities will be scheduled at various times during the day. Update on Strategic Plan: Committee Reports o Culture Committee (Judy Davidson/and another Trustee TBD) ▪ Culture Team meeting – Jan. 22, 2024 (Donna Richards attended for Judy Davidson) ▪ a goal is to implement staff training in the next few months ▪ discussed value of training documentation ▪ staff satisfaction survey results were reviewed and require further evaluation ▪ Culture Team meeting – Feb. 12, 2024 ▪ The committee discussed using the professional development template supplied by Amy Watson. ▪ Katelyn reported on the progress updating how-to guides for technologies across the library. ▪ There was a discussion of the new technologies that have been ordered or requested, as well as discussion of how the technology guides will be translated into multiple languages to meet patron’s needs. ▪ The committee selected a question about staff feedback preferences from the Staff Satisfaction Survey for discussion at the next staff meeting. ▪ The committee discussed the use of a training acknowledgement form for tracking staff training coverage. ▪ The next meeting will be held March 11 at 2:00 pm. o Advocacy Committee (Katy Aronoff/Donna Richards) ▪ Advocacy Team meeting – Feb. 13, 2024 ▪ The Committee is making plans for National Library Week. They have selected Wednesday, April 10th as the focus for PML outreach activities. • The committee discussed possible activities including a Meet-the-Director event, library tours, and community focused events. • Several suggestions were put forth. Gwen and her Community Development team will brainstorm ideas. Finalized plans will be ready in early March. ▪ In addition to National Library Week, the committee also discussed the critical need to get attention to facility needs for lighting, painting, outdoor sign, weatherization, and carpet, as well as advocate for increased FY25 budget. 2  o Outreach Committee (Suzanne Frechette/Muriel Parseghian) ▪ The team continues to meet but the Book Mobile is now off their focus. ▪ There are still requests for swag items; Bridget will work with them to get appropriate items. o Welcome (Ellen Anstey/Christine O’Connor) ▪ This committee has not met. o Engagement (Helen Littlefield/Judy Davidson) ▪ As the group tasks have evolved, this has become an all-staff committee working on collections and weeding. They have rewritten the collection development policy and deselection policy. They will re-invite trustees back onto the committee, after they have resolved these issues. At this point there was a brief discussion about the changes on the Web Site and the new color scheme. The Trustees were very positive about the new design and colors. Reports Chairperson’s Report o Update on filling board positions: Donna Richards has been working with Lowell City offices to identify the names of/and meet with the Lowell residents who have applied for the PML trustee positions. o The 2024 Legislative Breakfast was held on Friday Feb. 9th at Wilmington Memorial Library and was well attended by Trustees (Judy Davidson, Suzanne Frechette, Ellen Antsey, Donna Richards) – Foundation member Belinda Juran, and PML Friends (Lynn Ahlgren, Robin Orford, Judy Dunlap). Our thanks to Representatives; Rodney Elliott, who spoke, and Vanna Howard for their continued support and advocating on our behalf. Key message “Ask your legislators to make libraries a priority this year!” 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. Wednesday, April 10, 2024 is a Trustee Meeting but Richards suggests we leave it free for a NLW celebration. o The Mass Board of Library Commissioners will be meeting at PML on Thursday, May 2—10-12; 10 members will attend in person and on zoom. It is an open meeting. Trustees and Library Foundation are encouraged to attend, and we can invite other libraries in our regional area. Doors will open at 9:30. o John Descoteaux is a new member of the City Council and has said he is open to meeting with the PML trustees and learning about the library issues. There is a proposal that we invite him to the April meeting. Committee Reports Governance/Policy Committee (J. Davidson*/S. Frechette/M. Parseghian/C. O’Connor) ▪ Library Director and Coordinators have three policies under review. ▪ The Naming/Recognition policy will be on the fast track—We have an initial draft, as well as examples of policies from other libraries. We will merge these, develop our own policy and send to Director and coordinators for their review. 3  ▪ Davidson and Parseghian need to set a meeting with the library director and get to work on organizing the old files in the Director’s office. ▪ The Library Director has asked the City Law Department to review the recently adopted policies. Art Committee (Ellen Anstey/Donna Richards) ▪ Repair of the broken picture frame on the first floor is complete. As soon as Richards approves the repair, the artist will send the bill to the Library Director for final payment. Security/Building/Grounds (Suzanne Frechette*/Helen Littlefield) ▪ The Library Director will reach out to Steve Stowell to see if there are limitations on paint colors in the Library with a goal to making spaces brighter and more welcoming. Focus on brightening stairwells, teen area, Community Room. 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 o 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 Cooley will be meeting with Paul St. Cyr, Director of Buildings, next week to talk about the many building issues and create a strategy for building repair. o Cooley reported on the State’s new request for local libraries to report on informal challenges they are receiving to their materials or programming. o There has been an increasing number of teen patrons in the library throughout the day during school hours (up to 30 on one day in question). Cooley is trying to work with Lowell High School on this issue. The teens may or may not be LHS students, in that event she wants to consider outreach and programming they might need. o Cooley did a walkthrough of the Circulation Statistics report, as previously requested by the trustees. This was followed by discussion of the data the library might collect in the future and the need for a sub-committee that would look at using data to better understand PML’s impact on the community. Director Cooley and Trustee Parseghian will take the lead on this idea. Grants o There were no grants to be reported. PML Foundation (Donna Richards) o Donna Richards provided the following PML Foundation Report. ▪ The PMLF met on Wednesday, January 15, 2024. ▪ Allegra Goodman has been selected as the featured author for the annual Author Night event which is scheduled for Thursday, May 9th. 4  ▪ Jacquelynn Coles previewed a website the Outreach Committee created for the PMLF and requested our input. The goal is to go live this Spring. ▪ The next PMLF meeting is Wednesday, February 21, 2024. Friends of the PML (Helen Littlefield) o Helen Littlefield provided the following Friends Liaison Report. ▪ The Friends met on 2/1/24. ▪ They have renewed two museum passes. ▪ They have also purchased a new stanchion for directing traffic to the Children’s Sale section. ▪ They have provided funding for 3 artists who will be presenting programs during the spring. ▪ The Friends are waiting for new book carts that were ordered for sale materials; Currently these are not in stock. ▪ June 6-8 are the dates for the Book Sale; Book collection dates are Saturdays, 5/11, 5/18, and 5/25 leading up to the sale. ▪ The Friends’ next meeting is April 11th at 6:00 pm in the Library Director’s office. Old Business o There was no old business to discuss. New Business (Announcements and Questions) o Richards announced a plan to connect with the Worcester Library Board of Trustees to follow up on two key issues we have discussed at PML: 1) the Worcester By-Laws and related organizational strategies; and 2) Worcester’s development of public libraries in schools (One City, One Library program). We will start this conversation with a zoom call to the Chair of the Worcester (and other trustees) that will include Richards, Davidson, and O’Connor. Adjournment o The meeting was adjourned at 7:33 PM on a motion by Donna Richards and seconded by Judy Davidson. All in attendance were in favor. o The next trustees meeting will be MARCH 13, 2024. Approved: March 13, 2024 5