Board of Public Library Trustees

Draft of Minutes for the Board of Trustees Meeting of June 23, 2016 Salem, Massachusetts June 23, 2016 A meeting of the Board of Trustees was held on this date at 4:03pm at the Library with Trustees Buckley, Little, Merry, Salerno, Mayor Driscoll, and Glenn Yale present and presiding. Trustee Schild was absent. Miss Mansfield was present. Approval of minutes for meeting of April 21, 2016 – UNANIMOUS Current Financial and Library Use reports were distributed. Salem’s circulation numbers were lower than both Beverly and Reading. Miss Mansfield noted that the numbers for May were lower due to parking issues due to building construction and sewer construction on Essex Street. Miss Mansfield reported on donations given to the Library. The estate of John J. Connolly gave the Trustees a final gift of $5,000 for the John Connolly fund. The Salem Rotary gave the Trustees a donation of $500 to buy audiobooks in memory of longtime Library Director Patrick Cloherty. Miss Mansfield reported that Eric Sanders and Monique Trulson had offered to donate an heirloom tea kettle and portrait of John Bertram to the Library. The Peabody Essex Museum was currently considering accepting the donation of the items. Miss Little reported on the interesting histories of the portrait by Tade Styka and the tea kettle. The Trustees decided to accept the painting if the Peabody Essex Museum does not, and to keep the painting in Salem. Miss Mansfield will write up a Deed of Gift for the painting. Miss Mansfield reported that the Mayor had generously added a 2.5% salary increase for all library employees which was approved by the City Council, and noted that the Library staff was very appreciative. The Trustees shared their thanks with the Mayor. Miss Mansfield reported that the Benson painting was hung on June 1st and there was a lovely ceremony where the Mayor spoke. The Trustees thanked Leanne Schild for her help in finding the installers and organizing the ceremony. Miss Mansfield reported that the Brownstone & Brickwork project was finishing up and that the Mass Historic Commission had contacted her just before the meeting to report the Library was awarded an additional $25,000 for the project. Miss Mansfield reported that one of the alternates for the project was painting the cornice, which would cost $33,600, and that the Library had a unique opportunity to pursue this while the scaffolding was already in place. The Trustees discussed using Library funds to supplement the newly granted Mass Historic funds to paint the cornice of the building. VOTED: To use up to $9,000 from State Aid funds to pay for cornice painting. MOVED: Trustee Yale SECONDED: Mayor Driscoll UNANIMOUS Miss Mansfield reported that the HVAC unit responsible for cooling the Reference floor is unable to be used due to a leak. Falite Brothers were hired to find the leak, but instead recommended replacing the unit due to the significant rust damage. The Trustees discussed the options of hiring a HVAC engineer recommended by architect Bob Farley, paying for Falite Brothers to perform a system analysis, or replacing the unit. Mayor Driscoll suggested a meeting with Michael Lutrzykowski from the Building Department and Jeff Elie, the Energy & Sustainability Manager to help decide the best course of action. Miss Mansfield reported that the Library received a grant from the CPA for the Windows project in the amount of $102,000. The Trustees have generously agreed to pay for the architect fees for the project. Miss Mansfield reported that the beautiful plantings had been installed around the fountain and in the window boxes. The Trustees expressed their gratitude to Miss Little. Miss Mansfield thanked the Trustees for their support of the 4th Grade author visit. This year the author was Rob Buyea, and the children really enjoyed the presentation. Miss Mansfield reported that the Library will be one of several sites across the city to host Salem’s Summer Meals program this year. For the first time lunch will be served for free in the Children’s Room after morning programs. Miss Mansfield reported that the pilot program at the Council on Aging was going well and was planned to continue through the summer. Every other week the Library visits the Council on Aging and brings books and materials for people to check out. Miss Mansfield reported that the Library’s website needed to be redesigned due to vulnerability in the Wordpress template. Plans for a website redesign are in the works. Miss Mansfield reported that the Library would be participating in the social media movement #WhatsYourFour and would feature a staff member each week with four titles they plan to read over the summer. The initiative is designed to encourage children and teens to read over the summer, which helps them fare better on reading comprehension tests in the fall. Miss Mansfield distributed calendars of Trustee meetings for the next fiscal year. Meeting adjourned at 5:04pm.