Russell Library Board of Trustees

RUSSELL LIBRARY A great place to be. Board Meeting Russell Library Annex Board Room Tuesday, September 11, 2018 Present: Trustees Becker, Berlind, Duggan, Hadley, Murdock, Wisneski, Zakarian, and Zawisky; Chief Public Services Officer Doyle; Library Director and CEO Burkey; Staff Member Ann Smith Excused: Trustees Nelson, Norwood, Russell 1. Call to order: Acting president Thazhampallath called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.in. 2. Public session/Comment: Ann smith remarked that staff are thrilled to have CEO Burkey leading the library. 3. Approval of Minutes: It was moved (Trustee Hadley) and seconded (Trustee zawisky) to approve the regular trustee meeting minutes of June 19, 2018. The motion passed with the abstention of Trustee Thazhampallath. 4. Executive committee vacancies: It was moved (Trustee Becker) and seconded (Trustee Berlind) that, due to the resignation of former President Markot, Trustee Thazhampallath resume his former role as president. The motion passed unanimously. The nominating committee will see if any board member is willing to serve as vice-president. 5. Administration Report -Ramona Burkey, Library Director and CEO Programs and Services • Our new, expanded/restored hours began on Tuesday, September 4 (the day after Labor Day): o Mon-Thu: 9:00a.in. -8:00p.in. o Fri: 9:00a.in.-6:00p.in. o Sat: 9:00a.in.-2:00p.in. o Sun(Oct-Mar): 1:00p.in. -5:00p.in. • We are working on getting our new and improved website up and running, with current content. It will be much cleaner, easier to navigate, and mobilerdevice compatible. One of the duties of the new Assistant Director for Public Services will be to oversee the migration to our new website. Persormel • This suminer, I met one-on-one with nearly every Russell Library staff member and got to know them better as individuals. 1'11 continue this process into the fall and will include Board members as well. • I am pleased to announce two new team members: Rachel Bulgini and Laura Ivy will join us as part-time Borrowing Clerks this week. • Phil Delegan has been promoted to full-time Clerk; we are pleased to have him here more hours each week. • I'm sorry to say that Doreen Brennan, Page, will be leaving us next week. She has accepted a full-time job elsewhere in Middletown. • We held first-round panel interviews for the Assistant Director for Public Services position last week. We will hold follow-up interviews for finalists in the coming week. Facilities • The rearrangements in the Lobby have been met with many compliments by patrons, Friends and staff. • We made much-needed repairs to the roof of 139 Broad Street this July. This will keep the building dry until we decide what to do with it. Policies and Planning • Strategic planning o Harwood Public Irmovators Virtual Lab: Sept. 27 -Nov.15 • October Board meeting: "Board Basics" presentation from ACLB • Novombcr Board mooting: FOI training from the cT Freedom of lnformation commission (cancelled per G. Thazanpallath; we will bring an FOI representative in for staff or Executive Board members when and if needed). • Save the Date: The annual ACLB conference will be held on Friday, November 2 at the University of Hartford. Communitv Engagement • Organ donation program sept. 20 • Friends of wesleyan Library -CEO Burkey has joined the Board Friends of the Librarv • The Friends are working on increasing their visibility and building awareness of what they do, with the aim of increasing memberships. They have expressed a desire to have a presence at more of our programs, which I wholeheartedly embrace. • Last weekend's 2-day book sale brought in $1,142.50, 20°/o more than last september's book sale. • Discover Books has taken over from Big-Hearted Books (Chapter 7). They are now picking up leftover books every other Tuesday morning. Other • i:a:lember that if you are an Amazon shopper, you can shop through smile.amazon.com and designate the charity of your choice Friends of Russell Library, the Russell Library Company, etc.) to receive a portion of the proceeds. Old Business: There was no old business. New Business: CEO Burkey distributed a proposed timeline for strategic planning A committee or task force will be formed over the next few months comprising members of the board, staff, and community. CEO Burkey and Trustee Thazhampallath will meet soon to decide how many  board members will be on the committee. Trustee Wisneski remarked that the last update to the community on the strategic plan was a few years ago and the board should put out a recent update. 8. Committee Reports and Recommendations: a. Finance & Audit Committee ReDort: It was moved (Trustee Berlind) and seconded (Trustee Hadley) that the 2019 Company budget approved by the Finance Committee on June 29 be approved by the full board. The motion passed unanimously. Trustee Becker reported that the committee has been analyzing the endowment performance as managed by Essex Financial Services and has met with financial officials of the Community Foundation for Middlesex County al]out the possibility of CFMC managing the Company investment. The committee will make a recommendation once the strategic plan is underway. Trustee Becker spoke with the city insurance department to see if the insured value of the library buildings and collections could be raised to more accurately reflect current values: the buildings from $9 million to $13.5 million and the contents from $6.6 million to $10.3 million. b. Policv Committee Reoort: Trustee Wisneski, Chair, reported that the Policy Committee met this summer to revise Company Spending Policy 2.8 to raise the threshold requiring two signatures on a check from $1,000 to $2,500. It was moved (Trustee Wisneski) and seconded (Trustee Berlind) to approve the revised spending policy. The motion passed unanimously. c. Facilitv Committee Report: In the absence of Trustee Nelson there was no report but board members were invited to look at the newly opened up, spacious lobby. d. Human Resources Committee Rei)ort: Trustee Zawisky, Chair, has a meeting scheduled with CEO Burkey for Monday September 17. e. Nominating Committee ReDort: Trustee Zakarian plans a meeting within the week to find replacements for Trustee Becker, whose term has expired, and for Trustee Markot, who has resigned. Trustee Duggan has joined the nominating committee. 9. Adjournment: It was moved (Trustee Berlind) and seconded (Trustee zakarian) to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.in. The motion passed unanimously. Next regular board meeting : Tuesday, October 16, 2018 6:30 p.in. Dinner will be available at 6:00. Respectfully submitted, qu en,`^J Wendy Berlind, Secretary