Library Board

MORGANTOWN PUBLIC LIBRARY Approved February 2, 2023 Minutes of the Regular Meeting January 5, 2023 Present: Absent: Also Present: Others Present: Sue Carpenter Sarah Palfrey Linda Durfee James Spears, V Meredith Hartery Amy Loomis Alexandria Svolos Call to order The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Morgantown Public Library convened via Zoom Video Conferencing on November 16, 2022. The meeting convened at 9:03 am, Sue Carpenter, President presiding, Kelly Funkhouser, secretary. Sue Carpenter welcomed Amy Loomis, our newest board member. Approval of the Minutes  November 16, 2022 - The minutes were approved as corrected. Alexandria Svolos moved. The motion passed unanimously. PUBLIC FORUM – None CORRESPONDENCE AND COMMUNICATIONS – None REPORTS OF COMMITTEES/OFFICERS A. President – None. B. Treasurer – o Financial Statements – The financial statements were reviewed and filed for audit. ○ Approval of Checks – Linda Durfee moved to approve checks as presented. The motion passed. ○ Electronic Receipts – The ability to receive payment by debit or credit card will be in place on or before March 1, 2022. ○ Short Term Benefits – The City of Morgantown’s plan information was presented and discussed. C. Investment Committee - None D. Facilities Committee – The Mills Group proposed plan was received and distributed to the committee. A meeting with Mills Group will schedule and will include Sue Carpenter, Darrin Baker and Sarah Palfrey. Discussion followed. REPORT OF THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR & BRANCH UPDATES  See Director’s report UNFINISHED BUSINESS  Policy Review Schedule – The strategic plan expires at the end of the calendar year.  Check signers – eVote results: Proposed motion: to remove Judith Panagakos, Penny Pugh, and Ellen Hathaway as signers for our United Bank checking accounts and to authorize Susan Carpenter, Alexandria Svolos, Amy Loomis, Sarah Palfrey, Kelly Funkhouser, James Spears, and Bonnie Dwire to be authorized signers of our United Bank checking accounts. Sue Carpenter so moved. Alexandria Svolos seconded the motion. Discussion followed. The motion passed. Board Minutes – January 5, 2023 – Page 2 NEW BUSINESS – None. BOARD & DIRECTOR COMMENTS – Sue Carpenter noted that Sarah Palfrey will be teaching an OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) class, Streaming Video Services. A change in Sarah’s schedule has Sarah Palfrey attending the ALA Congressional Fly In Workshop for Federal Advocacy and Emily Sparrow presenting for the OLLI class. Linda Durfee forwarded the Morgantown Public Library System newsletter to her OLLI book group. She was wondering if OLLI received the Morgantown Public Library System newsletter. OLLI’s newsletter highlights other organizations and may highlight the library. Discussion of Storm Cellar Style Door Quote – Sarah Palfrey will resend the email from GMS Construction for the Vandal Guard Installation. The cost is below the bid threshold. Discussion followed. The general consensus is to proceed with the project. ADJOURNMENT – Alexandria Svolos moved to adjourn. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10:00am. NEXT MEETING – February 2, 2023, 9:00am  DIRECTOR'S REPORT JANUARY 2023 BOARD MEETING NOV/DEC HIGHLIGHTS This is the Boards first meeting after changing the scheduled meeting to the first Thursday in January. As has been the case in the past, the board sets meetings based on the current make up of the board member availability. Program attendance has been steadily increasing over the fall and into winter. Cheat had more than 80 people attend their holiday open house. APL Senior Lunch and Learn programs continue to have more than 10 attendees each month. CDPL now has a monthly book club with steady attendance MPL saw good attendance at family movie events, Choose Your Own Adventure Book Club, and storytimes. CBPL continues to see steady attendance at Storytime New partnership programs: Nutrition Storytime with WIC Mindfulness for parents and toddlers with Mon and Preston Co Literacy Volunteers NOV CIRCULATION DEC CIRCULATION NEW CARDS 187 APL 249 APL 255 APL 1 CAPL 4,047 CAPL 3,752 CAPL 19 CBPL 308 CBPL 453 CBPL 11 CDPL 711 CDPL 663 CDPL 2 MPL 9,340 MPL 8,557 MPL 154 Digital 12,601 Digital 14,006* incomplete TOTAL 27, 256 TOTAL 27,686 ADMINISTRATION The November staff training program had a late start and given the number of scheduled vacations for the month and December I combined the two months into one training. Staff explored Freegal on a deeper level by not only creating accounts, but playlists. Instead of a drawing for a prize all locations received a portable Bluetooth speaker to use for library programs. There was an additional challenge for 'bragging rights.' Staff were encouraged to make an 8 song playlist on a theme and share it. All 8+ playlists were made public for anyone to listen. Participation was surprisingly high. The annual report to City Council was presented on November 29th. The focus was on sharing our CHEAT CONTINUES TO HAVE downtown experience, asking for help with TOO MUCH FUN capital projects, and celebrating the amazing accomplishments of staff through yet another challenging year in the public sphere. Council listened, offered support, and asked great questions. Multiple Councilors asked me to send additional information about the elevator project. I shared the estimates that we have received and was encouraged to submit the request as part of our FY 24 funding application. The first week of December, I attended the Library Journal's Directors Summit in Baltimore. The focus was on supporting a resilient workforce and it was one of the best professional development events I've attended in the past three years. ADMINISTRATION The FY 24 application for funding from the City of Morgantown was submitted for $1,137,500. $175,000 for the elevator project $962,000 for operating expenses (a 10% increase from FY 23). The collection of Harlequin paperbacks have been discontinued. These are monthly subscription paperbacks that have never been cataloged and are borrowed on an honor system. Use has been declining over the past two years. Weeding projects at Morgantown are progressing at a steady pace. Staff is making more room for displays, face out merchandising, and relocating collections to provide a more seamless experience. James Spears has lead the effort to create a new approval process for programs with a more specific timeline to allow for better promotion of individual events and a more cohesive approach to programs in general. Initial drawings from the Mills Group have been received and are being reviewed. A follow up meeting is being scheduled. The back door at Morgantown has been replaced and moved to minimize the hazards that collect outside the building. Quote and design for the Aull Center gate has been received. Additional security cameras and direct call buttons have been approved for Morgantown. I am halfway through a time audit of how I am spending my work day.  PERSONNEL New Hires: none Resignations: none Transfers: Jenean Skousen, Teen Specialist Promotion: Kelly Statler, Branch Supervisor CBPL WINTER READING CHALLENGE 2023 Our annual Winter Reading challenge launched on January 1. There is a completion prize for anyone who reads 4 hours in the month, or completes an activity bingo through the Beanstack app. Drawing prizes have been purchased for each age category. New materials request form is now available on the website: BRANCH REPORTS https://form.jotform.com/2222 FOLLOW 35615734150