Library Board

MORGANTOWN PUBLIC LIBRARY APPROVED 04.20.2022 Minutes of the Regular Meeting March 16, 2022 Present: Absent: Also Present: Others Present: Sue Carpenter Meredith Hartery Sarah Palfrey Linda Durfee Penny Pugh Judy Panagakos Call to order The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Morgantown Public Library convened via Zoom Video Conferencing on March 16, 2022. The meeting convened at 9:05 am, Judy Panagakos, President presiding, Sarah Palfrey, secretary. Approval of the Minutes ● February 16, 2022 - The minutes were approved as presented. Linda Durfee moved. The motion passed unanimously. PUBLIC FORUM - None CORRESPONDENCE AND COMMUNICATIONS - None REPORTS OF COMMITTEES/OFFICERS A. President – None B. Treasurer – ○ Approval of Checks - Financial statements were distributed via email. Linda Durfee moved to approve checks as presented. The motion passed. REPORT OF THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR & BRANCH UPDATES ● Visits and circulations continue to fluctuate, but are generally trending upwards. New card applications continue to grow in an encouraging way - similar to national trends. ● The Friends of the Morgantown Public Library Book Sale returned this week (March 15, 2022) ● Kanopy, our newest Digital Library offering is up and running. Corina has created a digital scavenger hunt to announce its opening and generate interest. Kanopy is a pay per circulation model of borrowing and is limited to 6 a month. All staff used Niche Academy to complete a training before we launched it to the public. ● The current City of Morgantown proposed budget reflects our full request. A public hearing and vote will be on March 22, 2022 ● A new calendar and reservation software for room reservations was purchased. Future use can include patron ability to reserve one-on-one time with librarians. ● Library Appreciation Day at the Legislature was March 7, 2022. The West Virginia Library Commission proclaimed all West Virginia Public Library Directors “Librarians of the Year” for their continued work and dedication throughout the pandemic. A certificate and a Medal were awarded. ● SB 524 did pass the legislature, this changes the status of the WVLC from an independent agency to a ‘section’ under the Curator of Arts, Culture, and History. It is effective 90 days from passage, no idea what it means in reality. It was amended to include the continuation of the current Administrative Rules that govern the requirements to receive state Grants-in-Aid. Delegate Amy Summers was instrumental in amending the bill. There was no overall increase to the Grants to Libraries line item in the Lottery Fund, but because we have had an increase in population, MPLS will receive an increase in both Grant-In-Aid and Service Center lines. Board Minutes – March 16, 2022 – Page 2 ● A resolution was passed by both the Senate and House for an interim study on public library funding in the state. ● Morgantown Public Library System received funding for two American Rescue Plan grants, one on behalf of WVDeli for k-12 digital materials, and the application for the Outreach and Program coordinator position. Charlotte Chung was hired. There were a number of great candidates. ● Sarah Palfrey met with Andrew Gast-Bray, Director of Planning for Monongalia County and had a very productive conversation. Sarah shared a brief document of facility challenges and needs for the whole system with him to take into consideration when meeting with the consultants for the Monongalia County Plan. ● Sarah Palfrey is looking at the FY 23 budget through a staffing view and what will it cost to staff each location with ideal levels. ● Corina is working with Stick Co. to adjust the website for better accessibility. The goal is to create a plan of what is possible to fix without a major re-build. ● Corina has created a number of designs for new library cards for comment and consideration. ● A 30 hour a week position has been posted, interviewed, and filled thanks to the restoration of funds by the City of Morgantown. Staff shortages continue to be an issue. Filling positions at Clinton and Cheat will help reduce the pressure from Morgantown staff covering at those locations. ● The staff appreciation gift card spreadsheet is almost ready for Judy. ● Sarah Palfrey’s goal is that a staff member is part of the OLLI schedule for each of their semesters. Corina will be offering a photography class for the spring session. ● Sarah Palfrey has been invited to speak as part of a panel of librarians at a Marion County Public Library about libraries. ● All locations will be closed on Monday, April 25, 2022 for our annual all staff day, focus will be on reference interviews, patron interactions, and digital library resources. ● Branches are planning story times and summer reading programs. ● Monongalia County Facility Manager, Carlos Goss, has taken responsibility for the steps in front of the Clay-Battelle Public Library. The steps are currently closed off for the public use. No date has been set for the work to begin. UNFINISHED BUSINESS ● COVID-19 plan – Sarah Palfrey expressed her appreciation for the time, care, and concern the Board has shown for the staff and patrons throughout the pandemic. Sarah will review any existing COVID related policies that may still exist for the next meeting. ● Catastrophic Leave Plan - tabled until July for policy review as part of a larger leave review. ● Reconsideration Policy/Forms - information shared, procedural changes not a policy change NEW BUSINESS ● Potential Change of Hours - Clinton District - Sue Carpenter made the motion to give the Library Director the discretion to change library hours as needed. The motion passed as presented. ● FY22 Budget Adjustment - not available for the meeting. ● FY Proposed Budget Review - tabled until next meeting. BOARD COMMENTS - None EXECUTIVE SESSION - Sue Carpenter made the motion to adjourn to an Executive Session. The motion carried. The open meeting resumed at 11:02 am. No action was taken. ADJOURNMENT – Sue Carpenter moved to adjourn. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 11:03am. NEXT MEETING - April 20, 2022 at 9:00am