Board of Public Library Trustees

Draft of Minutes of Board of Trustees Meeting of November 17, 2016 Salem, Massachusetts November 17, 2016 A meeting of the Board of Trustees was held on this date at 4:10pm at the Library with Trustees Little, Merry, Salerno, and Schild present. Trustees Buckley, Yale, and Mayor Driscoll were absent. Miss Mansfield was present. Approval of minutes for meeting on September 22, 2016 – UNANIMOUS Current Financial and Library Use reports were distributed. Salem’s circulation was highest in NOBLE during September, but dropped to third highest in October. Miss Mansfield reported that the Reading Public Library reopened in October after completing major renovations, and had the highest circulation. Miss Mansfield noted that the fines collection report included a quarterly distribution payment for online fine payments. A holiday gift for staff members was discussed. Miss Mansfield noted the staff’s appreciation for the very generous gift. A motion to give staff members a holiday gift at the same level as the previous year was made by Trustee Merry and seconded by Trustee Schild. Motion was passed UNANIMOUSLY. Miss Mansfield reported that the library’s main elevator needed expensive repairs due to an issue with the elevator not lining up evenly with the floor. Several attempts at repairing the issue were unsuccessful, resulting in the need to replace the elevator’s tank unit. Two quotes were obtained for the repairs, estimating the cost to be between $15,970 and $18,500. Miss Mansfield reported that she had approached the City’s Finance Director to ask for help in funding for the repairs, but had received the response that the City would not typically fund this kind of project and that the Trustees would be the most appropriate funding source. The Trustees felt the repairs were the responsibility of the City, but discussed using State Aid funds due to the urgent need. Miss Mansfield reported the balance from the Library’s State Aid account was not enough to cover the repair, and the Library’s FY16 State Aid application had not yet been reviewed by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. Alternate funding options were discussed, but not agreed upon. Motion to accept lowest estimate and pay for the repairs using State Aid funds was made by Trustee Little and seconded by Trustee Schild. Motion passed UNANIMOUSLY. Miss Mansfield reported that Michael Lutrzykowski had arranged a consult with the RDK engineering firm. The engineers are in the process of going through the HVAC plans and will have an estimate for the work needing to be done and the fee for writing up an RFP in the next few weeks. Miss Mansfield reported that Architect Bob Farley had completed his window survey and was in the process of writing up the specs. He estimates that he will be finished and ready to go out to bid in January. Miss Mansfield reported that a small delegation from the Garden Club had come to the Library to inquire about the fountain. The delegation would like the Trustees to know that they would like to see the fountain functioning again, and wondered if a pamphlet and an article in the newspaper about the status would be possible. The Trustees discussed the matter and decided to wait until spring to contact the newspaper. Miss Mansfield reported that she had mentioned at the last meeting that NOBLE dues were slated to increase by 4.7% for FY18, and that the Overdrive downloadable e-book and audiobook service costs were expected to increase. Salem’s Overdrive cost for FY18 will be increased by 101.8%. Miss Mansfield reported that the other NOBLE libraries also saw dramatic increases. Usage, wait times, and concerns over the budgetary impact on the physical collection were discussed. Miss Mansfield reported that a part time custodian had retired and that the job had been posted for several weeks, but the Library had not received many applications. The position pays $11.82 per hour. Miss Mansfield reported that Massachusetts’ minimum wage was scheduled to increase on January 1, 2017 to $11.00 per hour, and traditionally the Library had met the new minimum wage. This new increase would mean that a custodian, who has a long list of responsibilities, would be paid only slightly more than a library page, who has the responsibility of shelving library materials. Miss Mansfield expressed concern that the Library’s pay scale would no longer represent responsibility and seniority and distributed a salary survey of local libraries using 2015 data from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. The Trustees discussed their concerns about the Library’s comparatively low salaries and the inequity the new minimum wage increase would cause. A draft of a letter to the Mayor voicing the Board’s concerns was discussed and signed by the attending Trustees. Miss Mansfield will contact Trustees Buckley and Yale for their signatures, and then forward the letter to the Mayor. Trustees Schild and Merry noted they would be willing to attend a City Council meeting to show their support. Meeting adjourned at 5:18pm.