Board of Public Library Trustees

Draft of Minutes of Board of Trustees Meeting of November 16, 2017 Salem, Massachusetts November 16, 2017 A meeting of the Board of Trustees was held on this date at 4:03pm at the Library with Trustees Buckley, Merry, Salerno, Schild, and Yale present and presiding. Mayor Driscoll was absent. Miss Mansfield was present. Approval of minutes for meeting on September 21, 2017 – UNANIMOUS Current Financial and Library Use reports were distributed. Salem’s circulation numbers were third highest in circulation in September and October. Overdrive circulation placed Salem second highest in September and third highest in October. Miss Mansfield noted that the quarterly distribution for online payments through NOBLE had arrived in October. A holiday gift for staff members was brought forth for discussion. Miss Mansfield noted the staff’s great appreciation for the gift in the past. A motion to give staff members a gift at the same level as the previous year was made by Trustee Schild and seconded by Trustee Salerno. Motion was passed UNANIMOUSLY. Miss Mansfield reported that the RDK HVAC meeting scheduled for September 22nd was not productive due to the unexpected absence of Michael Lutrzykowski, project manager. Miss Mansfield noted that numerous attempts to reach the project manager via telephone and email regarding the progressively failing HVAC system and mold outbreak on the ceilings of the Children’s Room received no response. A final inquiry was made on 10/18/17 requesting confirmation that Mr. Lutrzykowski was still overseeing the project. No response was received, so library architect Bob Farley was asked to assist with the HVAC project. Bob Farley scheduled a meeting with RDK on November 1st, which was also attended by Trustee Yale, Michael Lutrzykowski, Jamie Brennan, and Miss Mansfield. Plans for addressing some of the immediate heating concerns were discussed, along with a timeline for the first steps. Miss Mansfield reported that she had followed up with the project manager after the first date in the timeline had passed and the plumbing contractor had not visited the Library, and received a response indicating that a meeting was scheduled to take place the following day. The project manager spoke with Miss Mansfield after the meeting to arrange for the scanning of the Library’s building plans and to inform her that a pressure test of the heating system would be performed by O’Connell Plumbing. Discussion followed regarding the seriousness of the current state of the HVAC, with the library having lost air conditioning on the mezzanine level and second floor and the heating not functioning in the Children’s Room. Closing areas of the library or the whole library during weather extremes was discussed. The Trustees drafted a letter to the Mayor to express their concerns. Trustee Schild reported that she had spoken with Betsy Richarelli about the possibility of redesigning the Children’s Room and that she had agreed to meet with library representatives. Discussion of the state of the Children’s courtyard followed. A motion to use private funds to repair the courtyard was made by Trustee Buckley and seconded by Trustee Schild. Motion was passed UNANIMOUSLY. Miss Mansfield will follow up with architect Bob Farley about possible materials, including reclaimed brick. Miss Mansfield reported that Salem will have a plastic bag ban in January, and noted that many patrons request plastic bags to carry home the materials they check out. Quotes for reusable bags were distributed. Discussion of pricing and design followed, and it was decided that the library staff would be asked to enter their designs for the bags, and the staff member with the winning entry would receive a gift card. Miss Mansfield reported that the staffing situation had improved with Tim Driscoll joining the staff as Library Technology Specialist and Jessica Jones as the new Library Assistant I. Marie Hviding was promoted to Head of Reference, leaving a vacancy for the Head of Circulation. Meeting adjourned at 5:08pm.