Russell Library Board of Trustees

RUSSELL LIBRARY A great place to be. Board Meeting Russell Library Hubbard Room Tuesday, December 4, 2018 Present: Trustees Becker, Berlind, Hadley, Murdock, Nelson, Norwood, Russell, Thazhampallath, Wisneski, Zakarian, and Zawisky; Library Director Burkey; Assistant Director for Public Services Dattilo; Staff Member Ann Smith; President of the Friends Howard Rulnick Excused: Trustee Duggan 1. Call to order: President Thazhampallath called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.in. 2. Public session/Comment: Ann smith announced that beard members were invited to come to lunch with the staff on Wednesday December 5 from 12-2 p.in. in the annex building. Friends' President Howard Rulnick armounced that the Friends had just approved a $ 12,000 donation for children's and adults' programs, and he urged all board members to join the Friends of Russell Library. 3. Approval of Minutes: It was moved (Trustee Norwood) and seconded (Trustee zawisky) to approve the regular trustee meeting minutes of October 16, 2018. The motion passed unanimously. 4. Administration Report -Ramona Burkey, Library Director Programs and Services • The loth annual Middletown International Film Festival was a great success. • Immigrant Artists Series continues through December 16 with various events, performances and exhibits. Personnel • Our new Assistant Director for Public Services, Mary Dattilo, began work on Tuesday, November 13. She is spending a lot of time getting to know staff, departments, and colleagues around the city. • The new officers ofAFSCME Local 1303-85 are as follows: o President: Gail Thompson-Allen o Vice president: Cathy Ahem o Treasurer: Linda widlansky o Secretary: Arm smith • Thank you to Board members A. Becker, W. Berlind, J. Hadley and T. Zawisky forjoining Library staff in contributing to this year's Middletown Community Thanksgiving Project. Together, we provided ten full turkey dinners for families in need! • Staff are currently running a Mitten/IIat/Scarf Drive. Please feel free to drop off items in the bin in the Lobby by December 12. Facilities  • The city ofMiddletown has generously agreed to fund our LED lighting upgrade, which will commence in December and should be complete by the end of January. • We are still working on securing a 40% match for our Managed Wireless project, 60% of which will be paid from a Federal USAC E-Rate grant. Policies and planning Strategic Planning o I completed the online Harwood Public Innovators Virtual Lab in mid-November. Communitv Engagement/Meetings I attended the following (does not include internal/staff meetings): o Career center Ribbon-Cutting o Advisory council for Library planning and Development (ACLPD) o LION Board meeting o Amazing Grace Community Soup Supper (as a "celebrity server") o City Directors meetings o CT Library Association Board meeting o Immigrant Artists Exhibit reception o Chamber of commerce breakfast meeting: "Honor Our Veterans" (speaker: Kevin Brown, Mohegan Trial Council and Retired U.S. Army Colonel) o Chamber of commerce women's Business Alliance meeting o Common council meetings o Chamber of commerce central Business Bureau meeting o Workshop: "Stand out Every Time You Talk" o "Books and Brews": Russell's book group at Stubborn Beauty Brewery o "Bridge to Brilliance" Kickoff at snow school o "Immigrant cookbook" program o Friends of the Library budget meeting Friends of the Library • The Holiday Book sale netted $1,440.00, a l6% increase over last year's Holiday sale. Congratulations to our hard-working Friends! • Friends approved a spending plan for $12,000 to provide children's a adult programming Library Director Burkey took this moment to thank Trustees Thazhampallath and Zakarian for their service to the libray and presented them each with a poinsettia plant. Old Business: There was no old Business. New Business: a. Assistant Director for Public Services Mary Dattilo was introduced to the board. She comes to Russell Library from the Cheshire Public Library and has been involved in every aspect of running a library. She told the board she is leaming about the departments and their interaction, and will be working on how Russell Library interacts with the community. She is developing the library's new website. b. Board retreat: (This discussion took place at the end of the meeting, after the departure of resigning board members Thazhampallath and Zakarian.) The retreat is scheduled for Saturday January 12 from 9 a.in. to 12 noon in Olin Library on the Wesleyan campus. Library Director  Burkey listed several questions that the board will be addressing, including the following: who and what we are as an organization; what is our mission; what is the purpose of a public library; what is Middletown now and what can it be. Mike Bums will facilitate the disoussion. c. A list of dates for board meetings in 2019 was discussed. Trustee Norwood suggested that a January 2020 date be added to avoid calling a special meeting. It was moved (Trustee Hadley) and seconded ITrustee Berlind) to approve the list of dates with the amendment that February 19 be changed to February 12 to accommodate public school vacation. The motion passed unanimously. Other Business: It was moved (Trustee Thazhampallath) and seconded (Trustee Nelson) that an item be added to the agenda under Other Business to appoint Trustee Wisneski as Vice President. The motion passed with the abstention of Trustee Zakarian. Committee Reports and Recommendations: a. Finance & Audit Committee Rei3ort: Trustee Becker reported with 34% of the year gone by, income in the Company budget is a bit behind, which is normal; in the city budget expenses are a bit ahead due to many purchase orders that come early in the fiscal year. The endowment is down $50,000 and stands at a total of $1,229,289 due to a drop in the stock market. b. Policv Coininittee Report: Trustee Wisneski, Chair, reported that there will soon be work to do. A plan must be made for succession of officers on the board. c. Facilitv Committee Report: There was nothing new to report. d. Human Resources Committee Report: Trustee Zawisky, Chair, reported that there will be a meeting soon to design a performance evaluation for the Library Director and CEO. e. Nominating Committee Resort: Trustee Hadley, speaking for Chair Duggan, reported that there will be a meeting with the mayor to discuss names of city-appointed trustees. The committee will have to speak to nominees about the duties of a board member. There are 3 vacancies among city-appointed members and one among Russell Company elected members. f. Strateric Plan: Trustee Wisneski, co-chair of the strategic planning committee, reported that Library Director Burkey had given committee members a detailed outline of the tasks to be done for the plan. The previous plan was more operational; the next plan be more aspirational, examining what Middletown should be as a community and how the library can help achieve the goals. 9. Adjournment: It was moved (Trustee Nelson) and seconded (Trustee Berlind) to adjourn the meeting at 7:45 p.in. The motion passed unanimously. Next regular board meeting : Tuesday, January 15, 2019 6:30 p.in. Respectfully submitted, \trt"\zho\ fr'\ a,".\f,-\ Wendy Berlind, Secretary