Library Board

MORGANTOWN PUBLIC LIBRARY Approved 01.15.2020 Minutes of the Regular Meeting December 18, 2019 Present: Absent: Also Present: Others Present: Sue Carpenter Meredith Hartery Sarah Palfrey Judy Panagakos Sarah Scharf Penny Pugh Linda Durfee Call to order The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Morgantown Public Library convened at the Morgantown Public Library on December 18, 2019. The meeting convened at 9:14, Sue Carpenter, President presiding, Sarah Scharf, secretary. Approval of the Minutes of the November 21, 2019 Regular Meeting  Judy Panagakos moved that the minutes be accepted as corrected. This motion passed unanimously. PUBLIC FORUM  None CORRESPONDENCE AND COMMUNICATIONS  None REPORTS OF COMMITTEES/OFFICERS A. President - None B. Treasurer o Financial statements as of December 13, 2019 were presented and discussed. o It was noted that the Unrestricted Gifts – Bequests line item was negative because that gift money was moved into the Wells Fargo account. o Branch budgets are staying on track. o YCF (Your Community Foundation) alerted us that over $1,700 in new web donations came in as of mid-November. C. Investment Committee o In January, Sarah Palfrey will start looking at creating a cohesive investment policy. o The board is interested in meeting with their contact at United Bank in January to talk about investment strategies. REPORT OF THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR –  November 2019 statistics were presented and discussed. The number of new cards have almost doubled since last November, with Clay Battelle in particular showing a huge increase. Program attendance, as well as overall electronic platform use, have also increased.  Heritage Quest can now be used from home with a library card, so next month’s usage report may go up. Board Minutes – December 18, 2019 – Page 2  The NorLN/MLN merger continues to move forward, and will save time and money overall. Patrons will have easier access to materials, since the number of libraries in the online catalog will increase to over 100.  MPLS affiliate Louis Bennett went live with NorLN December 17, and we are excited to bring them aboard.  Sarah Palfrey received nine Startup Grant applications. After the applicants answer a few of Sarah’s follow-up questions about the project ideas, it appears that all projects can be funded from the $15,000.  WVPB (West Virginia Public Broadcasting) approached the library about starting a grant funded initiative that brings PBS content (storytime plans, tablets, DVDs, books, etc) to us. They are currently looking for local business sponsors. o Sarah Palfrey will ask WVPB if only one sponsor will be picked, and if Marshall Foundation could be a sponsor.  The evening Reference Technician position has been filled by Tessa Staubly.  Bao Xu retires at the end of December. A new afternoon position will be posted soon for 29 hours per week. The new hire will be cross-trained and cover all three public service desks. BRANCH UPDATES  Arnettsville is continuing to weed adult fiction.  The new ADA door (fully covered by a WVLA grant) has been installed at Cheat, but some concrete work may need to be done in the spring to remove the existing lip on the ground.  Mike and Nathan at the Aull center are continuing their monthly podcast in partnership with the Dominion Post. This month’s podcast is Christmas-themed. UNFINISHED BUSINESS  Sick leave reimbursement – The board decided that instead of an e-vote, the policy change should be discussed and voted on during this board meeting.  Penny Pugh motioned to withdraw her original motion from October.  Judy Panagakos moved to reduce the current sick leave rate of 15 days per year to 12 days per year, and to reduce the current bank from a max of 90 days to a max of 30 days. Discussion and clarification followed. Board agreed that further changes may be made in the future (e.g. changing wording from “days” to “hours”). The motion passed unanimously.  Judy Panagakos moved to eliminate the sick leave cash-out provision from employees of MPLS, but to grandfather in current banked time. The motion passed unanimously.  Interior Door replacement – No news NEW BUSINESS –  Holiday Enhancement Pay E-vote  On Friday, December 13, 2019, 03:29:23 PM EST, Penny Pugh emailed to all members of the Board the following motion: “I move that we continue the practice of providing the same holiday bonus/enhancement as the City of Morgantown, therefore adding $120 to the final pay of the year for library employees.” On Friday, December 13, 2019, 03:32:16 PM EST, Sue Carpenter put the motion to an e-vote. The motion passed unanimously.  Bank account for electronic payments  Judy Panagakos moved that the library open a cash management account for donations and electronic payments of all kinds. The motion passed unanimously. Board Minutes – December 18, 2019 – Page 3 BOARD COMMENTS  Linda Durfee mentioned that mympls.org site does not list the current board members.  Sarah Palfrey will work with Corina Chang in January to start updating this and staff sections of the website.  Penny Pugh mentioned that she saw Sarah Palfrey’s picture in the newspaper this morning (Sarah was at a Spark fundraising event December 17, 2019).  Penny Pugh also thanked Sue Carpenter for bringing in a big plate of delicious cookies to the board meeting. ADJOURNMENT –  Penny Pugh moved to adjourn. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 11:07 am. NEXT MEETING – January 15, 2020 at 9:00 am at the Morgantown Public Library.