Pollard Memorial Library Board of Trustees

Pollard Memorial Board of Trustees – Meeting Minutes Date: o The meeting took place on March 13, 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 5:34 pm. Attendance Present: Excused: Bridget Cooley, Library Director Donna Richards, Chair Katy Aronoff, Vice Chair Judith Davidson, Secretary Ellen Anstey Suzanne Frechette Helen Littlefield Christine O’Connor (zoom) Muriel Parseghian Guest(s): Lisa Golden Acceptance of / Amendment to Agenda o The agenda was unanimously approved on a motion by Judy Davidson, seconded by Helen Littlefield. Prior Meeting Minutes Approval o The meeting minutes from February 14, 2024 were unanimously accepted with one revision on a motion by Ellen Anstey 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 Trustee and Staff Strategic Plan Retreat Update o Amanda Standerfer from Fast Forward Libraries will be here on Wednesday, March 27th for trustees and March 28th for staff. (We will consider this our April meeting.) o March 18, 2024 Standerfer will present Bridget and Donna an agenda for the Board and Staff retreat sessions. o The draft plan looks like 3 – 3.5 hours. The meeting will start at 5:00PM. Food will be provided, and we will be meeting in Bridget’s office. Lisa Golden will also be present at the Trustee meeting. Katie Arnoff and Christine O’Connell will not be able to attend due to other conflicts. o At the meeting, trustees will discuss: o Goal of Meeting and intended outcome. o Realign Trustee document with library strategic plan. o Those who can’t attend will be able to review the plans and have input. Update on Strategic Plan o Culture Committee (Judy Davidson/No one is a second at this time)  Culture Team meeting – March 11, 2024  They are training circulation staff on self-checkout kiosks. They are keeping track of who has finished and are using an acknowledgement form with staff.  They reviewed and selected materials to use for cross-cultural communication training with staff.  They discussed the survey about what kind of supervisor feedback staff members want.  June will be the deadline for reviewing the professional development template and tweaking it to be more library oriented.  In July the committee will conduct the staff satisfaction survey again and are reviewing those questions in preparation.  The committee selected a question from last survey to discuss in next staff meeting. “I can count on my co-workers for….” Katelyn will lead the discussion.  The next staff meeting will include: 1) training on cross-cultural communication; 2) a discussion of what is needed from co-workers; and 3) staff mtg business.  The next culture committee meeting is Monday 4/8 from 2-3 pm online. o Advocacy Committee (Katy Aronoff/Donna Richards)  Advocacy Team meeting – March 7, 2024  National Library Week events discussed.  Wednesday, April 10th is selected date for an event – National Outreach Day. No trustee meeting this day. Vision of the library going forward will be discussed. Library Director is reaching out to community groups in advance of the day. o Outreach Committee (Suzanne Frechette/Muriel Parseghian)  Swag issues are all set. The Library is figuring out how many of each kind. T-shirts will be obtained for janitorial staff to wear in public spaces/bathrooms etc. o Welcome (Ellen Anstey/Christine O’Connor)  Nothing to report. 2  o Engagement (Helen Littlefield/Judy Davidson)  This committee has been repurposed and Trustees will be invited back at a later date. Reports Chairperson’s Report o Bridget Cooley was able to verify there were no applicants for the Associate Trustee vacancies. o National Library Week(NLW) 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 regular Trustee Meeting, but is cancelled so members available can attend NLW celebration. o Salary Adjustments –All staff members, except for program directors, have received approval for their adjustment. https://www.lowellma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/27150?fileID=55263 o Kudos to the PML staff – MB wrote: from the membership meeting of the Arts League of Lowell. “I was also really pleased with the general outpouring of appreciation by those artists who have attended some of the many Library programs offered and the library employees running those programs. Many artists are hoping to become more active with the library, and some may attend Monday's upcoming Creative Writing session. Additionally, two attendees spoke with me afterward to express their thanks to the library and those employees who are involved with the Creative Writing, Crafts, and Fiber Arts programs. Please extend my sincere thanks and the acknowledgement from the Arts League of Lowell for the dedication and passion exhibited by your team members in serving the community. M.B. o There will be a ‘Member Update on State Legislation for Libraries’ on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 at 11am (online). Richards will forward the link. o Massachusetts Library Association (MLA) meeting is May 6 and 7 in Framingham. Cooley plans to attend and is asking staff if they have special interests (3-4 may attend). Doug Cooper is attending NE Technical group meeting next month. Cooley will check to see if they have institutional memberships available. She is also looking into how other libraries address paying for membership or conference participation. Committee Reports Governance/Policy Committee (J. Davidson*/S. Frechette/M. Parseghian/C. O’Connor)  4 policies in process, which need to be reviewed by library staff.  The Naming policy was drafted and sent to Library Director  Archiving and By-laws project are in process. Art Committee (___*/Ellen Anstey/Donna Richards)  Nothing to report. Security/Building/Grounds (Suzanne Frechette*/Helen Littlefield)  Nothing to report Outreach (Donna Richards*/Katy Aronoff/Judy Davidson/Helen Littlefield/Mimi Parseghian)  Nothing to report. 3  Nominating/Personnel (Katy Aronoff*/Donna Richards/Ellen Anstey)  Nothing to report. Director’s Report o Bridget Cooley prepared the March Director’s Report and distributed it to trustees via email prior to the meeting. o Cooley prepared a new ‘Director’s Report’ format for reporting to the Trustees/City Administration for discussion. She would like us to consider moving to this format as it ties to our Strategic Plan and other library goals. It will allow her to give more regular updates as to how we are focusing on achievement in these areas.  Most members like this form. We discussed the ins and outs of how to tweak a report system. We want to focus on the most meaningful data and information about the functioning of the library. This report is included as part of the Trustee minutes that are posted on the city web site. o Cooley reports that the new Young Adult Librarian is fantastic. She has done a huge amount in 8 weeks; signed up 40 kids for library cards at Lowell Tech. o Listening sessions for the book mobile were very useful. This is how library staff learned about the “Center for New Americans.” o Library staff will be updating the Outreach plan to make sure it is aligned with the activities currently planned. o Library staff will be meeting with CTT about ICC work. (New immigrants at the Inn and Conference Center). o Cooley wants to celebrate the fantastic work the staff is doing. She realizes many people have been doing significant work without recognition. o There has been increased teen presence in the building. The staff hasn’t worked with teens for a while because of the lack of a YA librarian, so they are rebuilding knowledge of who teens are and what they need. o Regarding the elevator: Supply chain issues are causing the delay for the repair to begin. o Discussion of Lands and Buildings Department: They are in the process of developing a tracking system for requested repairs and projects. Carpeting, weatherization, and elevator, —all fall under this umbrella. o Many repair problems found inside the building are related to the outside of the building and those problems must be fixed for complete internal restoration to occur. o Lowell Forward Plan: Library and Health and Human Services directors are looking at ways they can tie in with the goals that have been outlined in the report. The process for developing the plan was run by DPD and, thus, emphasizes economics and housing. Grants o No information to report. PML Foundation (Donna Richards) o Donna Richards provided the following PML Foundation Report.  The PMLF met on Wednesday, February 21, 2024. 4   The meeting consisted of committee updates on ongoing initiatives. The most significant projects right now are plans for Author Night May 9th, finishing touches on the PMLF Website, and the Eleanor Lipman Award.  PLEASE GET THE WORD OUT - The PMLF established The Elinor Lipman Award for Writing, a competition for fiction and creative nonfiction written by a current resident of Lowell, a current student at the University of Massachusetts Lowell or a current student of Middlesex Community College. This award honors Elinor Lipman, a distinguished, prolific, and much-loved author born and raised in Lowell, by awarding a prize of $1,000. Submissions opened February 19th and are welcome on or before 11:59 pm EDT, May 24, 2024. See the PML website for complete eligibility and submission guidelines.  The next PMLF meeting is Wednesday, March 20, 2024.  Ellen Anstey sent out a flyer about the Lipman Award to all of us that we can share with others. Friends of the PML (Helen Littlefield) o Helen Littlefield provided the following Friends Liaison Report.  The Friends meet every other month—last meeting was February. The Sub-committee met in between.  The Friends’ next meeting is April 11th and they will be talking about June book sale. Old Business o Bridget waiting for Steve Stowell to provide sign companies that can build the kind of sign we need. Installation is the sticking point. New Business (Announcements and Questions ) o Question about the junk trees and Japanese knot weed growing on the side of the building. These need to come out before they cause damage to the building. o Cooley raised issues related to new meeting spaces; closing off teen space. Examining the dead spaces in the building and how they might be reused. o Cooley had a request from a patron who wanted to videotape her daughter in the library for a social media feed that will be monetized. Cooley explained that we do not allow for-profit activities in the building. In addition, the videotaping would interfere with the general operation of the library, which is also not allowed. Adjournment o The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 PM on a motion by Donna Richards and seconded by Helen Littlefield. All in attendance were in favor. o Our next meeting is Wednesday, MAY 8, 2024. Approved: March 13, 2024 5