Pollard Memorial Library Board of Trustees

Pollard Memorial Board of Trustees – Trustee Meeting Minutes Date: o The meeting took place on October 9, 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 5:33 pm. Attendance Present: Excused: Bridget Cooley, Library Director Suzanne Frechette Donna Richards, Chair Christine O’Connor Katy Aronoff, Vice Chair Courtney McSparron Judith Davidson, Secretary Ellen Anstey Helen Littlefield Muriel Parseghian (ZOOM) Jack Moynihan Guest(s): Lisa Golden, Department of Health and Human Services Acceptance of / Amendment to Agenda o The agenda was unanimously approved on a motion by Donna Richards, seconded by Judy Davidson. Prior Meeting Minutes Approval o The meeting minutes from September 18, 2024 were accepted with revisions on a motion by Helen Littlefield and seconded by Ellen Anstey. 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 Strategic Plan Update o Bridget Cooley, Library Director, discussed the roll out of the 5-year strategic plan FY25 to FY29. She has reviewed the plan with the staff; handed out task assignments and staff have until 10/31 to make decisions about involvement. At the last staff meeting, they did a values exercise about values they wanted PML to represent, which Cooley condensed and from that created a short list for sharing back with the group (50 values were honed down to 5 summary  values). These were shared with the Culture Committee at their recent meeting and Cooley will share with the staff. o Once staff task groups are organized, Cooley will ask them to talk about the way trustees can contribute to the different groups. Richards expressed her strong feeling that trustee/staff mixing helps trustees to know staff and visa-versa; and promotes better communication and information exchange; we are not a paid board—we don’t hire and fire staff, nor are we elected—so the nature of our interactions should be supportive. Golden agreed that PML trustees advocate for the staff and staff see that. Update on Strategic Plan o Culture Committee (Judy Davidson/___________ )  The Culture Committee met on 10/7/2024 and addressed the following:  A new mission statement was drafted based on the updated strategic plan.  The committee is planning staff requested trainings for the upcoming year.  The committee reviewed the list of library values developed at the last staff meeting.  Also discussed were suggestions for improving teamwork and communication. (In November, staff will have the opportunity to take part in a "creativity challenge" and keep your eyes open for a "gratitude challenge" in the near future.)  There was no meeting scheduled for the future. o Advocacy Committee (Katy Aronoff/Donna Richards)  Bridget Cooley met with the Mayor and will be doing a presentation on the bookmobile next Tuesday (10/15/24). The Bookmobile will be on display from 6:00 pm in the plaza for councilors to admire. Friends, Foundation, and Trustees will be alerted and invited to attend.  There was some discussion of where people have seen the bookmobile in the City. Cooley reported that the Lowell Housing Authority is now getting bookmobile visits and described the bookmobile’s Halloween schedule and involvement in different organizations. o Outreach Committee (Suzanne Frechette/Muriel Parseghian)  No information. o Welcome (Ellen Anstey/Christine O’Connor)  No information. o Engagement (Helen Littlefield/Judy Davidson)  Committee no longer meets. Reports Chairperson’s Report o Thursday, October 10, 2024, 10:00am – 3:00pm – the MLA Legislative Committee is planning a one-day advocacy boot camp for librarians, trustees and other library supporters to help prepare everyone for the FY25 legislative season in Worcester, MA. o Saturday, October 19, 2024, 9:00am - 1:00pm - the Massachusetts Library Trustees Association (MLTA) will hold their Annual Conference in Shrewsbury, MA. (attending from PML will be Judy Davidson, Helen Littlefield, and Donna Richards) 2  o Bridget Cooley was a runner-up for the City of Learning Mogan Award. John Wooding, chair of the Committee making the award, said all candidates were stellar. The Patrick J. Mogan Learning City Award is presented annually to an individual, group or organization who best embodies and promotes Patrick J. Mogan’s values and beliefs about education. Committee Reports Governance/Policy Committee (J. Davidson*/S. Frechette/M. Parseghian/C. O’Connor)  Davidson made a status update. The Naming/Monument Policy and Photography/Recording Policy, which were passed by the Trustees have now been posted on the Library website.  Staff are in the process of reviewing the Child Safety Policy and Meeting Room Policy that were drafted by the Governance Committee. Felicia, a staff member is working on the Child Safety Policy as part of a class project (reviewing and synthesizing multiple policies).  On the PML website, a sub-section of the policies has been named “Service Policies and Commitments”. This is where the staff developed “Customer Service Statement” is located.  Regarding the Trustee project to organize old minutes and papers, Cooley asks that we: o Inventory all the materials we have o Identify and note any gaps or missing pieces o Scan each of the pieces we have; and, o Organize digital copies in PML’s Sharepoint area, while organizing and storing paper copies (for the moment) in the Library Director’s offices as they are now.  Verification of process – The Director/Asst. Director are determining what other policies are needed at PML. They will begin the drafting of these new policies at the library end and come to the Governance Committee after library staff have worked them through to find wording with which they are comfortable. Art Committee (__________ */Ellen Anstey/Donna Richards)  Nothing to report. Security/Building/Grounds (Suzanne Frechette*/Helen Littlefield)  Judy Davidson asked if we could consider "feather banners" for the library to be used until (and in addition to) a formal sign being completed. Cooley reported the library does have a banner now, but she will ask the Historic Commission about the policy for items like feather banners. 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 October Director’s Report and distributed it to trustees via email prior to the meeting. Special discussion arose around numerous issues including: 3   Lowell Reads is up and running. 26 attended the afternoon reading time, which is unusually high. Restaurant Crawl is active now.  Cooley describes the banned book panel at Lala books in which she participated, and the kind of questions the public had.  Bookmobile attendance good and includes new activities.  2 new staff have come on board.  Elevator repair is done.  Lighting will be completed in January.  Replacing the security guard is the most complicated problem right now. All matters related to the former company providing the guards have been concluded, but there has been no replacement made yet. The importance of securing a guard cannot be understated as Monday night someone hid in the building overnight, and it was caught on the security camera, prompting Cooley to ask again for support from the City. Police will be requested to do a walk through in afterhours if something strange like this happens again.  10/19/24 Cooley will be leading a Lowell walk outdoors in the community about library and literacies. Grants Informational pieces forwarded to Director included: o Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) - October 22, 2024 o Emergency Solutions Grant Program (ESG) - October 29, 2024 o The Mass Center for the Book (MCB) is piloting a Mass Book Awards Speakers Bureau that will fund visits to libraries, cultural centers, historical societies, and community groups by recent Mass Book Award winners. YA Librarian, Claire Day, is working on an application now to bring a YA author to PML. o PLA Digital Literacy Workshop Incentive from AT & T. o Cooley explains that the library has been approached by “Kids and Technology” to be a partner in a five-year grant that, if received, will provide the library with funds for a number of planned improvements. o OCLC awarded IMLS grant to develop free online continuing education program for public library staff through WebJunction courses. Cooley says staff are using the WebJunction courses now, she encourages those who want library degrees and certification to do one a month. PML Foundation (Donna Richards) o Donna Richards provided the following PML Foundation Report.  Because of a trustee meeting schedule change, Richards already reported the most recent PMLF update.  The Lipman Writing Award event is scheduled to take place in the Library’s Community Room on Thursday, November 7 at 6:00PM . Eleanor Lipman’s comments will be recorded and sent to us to share with attendees. She will be coming to Lowell for a talk and signing event in early 2025 in conjunction with her upcoming book release.  The next PMLF meeting is Wednesday, October 16, 2024. Friends of the PML (Helen Littlefield) o Helen Littlefield provided the following Friends Liaison Report. 4   Meetings are now on Saturday morning at 9:15-10:30. Next meeting is this Saturday. 10/12/24. Old Business o There was discussion of the A.I. system, Claude.ai, followed by a spirited discussion of what role AI should play in the library. How would it support staff? Do we have a responsibility to provide it to patrons? How would they want to use it? It was agreed that there needs to be a thorough review by library staff of A.I. products (possibilities and potential complications), before we move forward. o Some discussion of the Lowell Innovation Corridor—how PML might be involved and who might be good partners in making that connection. The Library Director is reaching out to ?? Yovani Baez-Rose in the City Planning Office for more information. There was also discussion about a proposed street change on nearby Father Morisette Blvd that is believed to be related to the development of the Innovation Corridor concept. Cooley reminds the trustees that the library is the place where all public proposals can be viewed, as opposed to sending copies out as the city used to do. Public proposals are held at the reference desk for a year. New Business (Announcements and Questions) o NONE Adjournment o The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 PM on a motion by Donna Richards and seconded by Ellen Anstey. All in attendance were in favor. o Our next meeting is Wednesday, NOVEMBER 13, 2024, in the director’s room. Trustee Mins Goal-Based Director TRUSTEE - Library 9-18-24-FINAL.docx Report - October 2024.docx Trustee Meeting notification OCTOBER 2024.pdf These minutes were approved by the Board of Trustees at the November 13, 2024 meeting. 5