Board of Public Library Trustees

Draft of Minutes of Board of Trustees Meeting of January 18, 2018 Salem, Massachusetts January 18, 2018 A meeting of the Board of Trustees was held on this date at 4:08pm at the Library with Trustees Buckley, Merry, Salerno, Schild, Yale, and Mayor Driscoll present and presiding. Miss Mansfield was present. Approval of minutes for meeting on November 16, 2017 – UNANIMOUS Current Financial and Library Use reports were distributed. Salem’s circulation numbers were third highest in circulation in November and December. Overdrive circulation placed Salem third highest in November and second highest in December. Trustee Schild reported that Betsy Ricciarelli had visited the Library and met with Trustee Schild, Miss Mansfield, and Children’s Librarian Laura Brosnan about the possibility of redesigning the Children’s Room. An estimate for redesign services was distributed. Mayor Driscoll recommended getting input from the staff about working with Betsy to design a space that reflects how it is used now, as opposed to when it was designed in the late 1980s. A motion to hire Betsy Ricciarelli to come up with a redesign plan for the Children’s Room was made by Trustee Schild and seconded by Trustee Yale. Motion was passed UNANIMOUSLY. Discussion of the Children’s courtyard followed. Possible materials were discussed including bricks and stamped concrete. Mayor Driscoll noted that the courtyard does not have any shaded areas, and discussion followed of options to provide shade without interfering with the historic protections on the building. Miss Mansfield reported that Michael Lutrzykowski had completed the RFQ for the Library’s HVAC system and it had been released by on January 3rd. The deadline for bids is January 24th. Miss Mansfield distributed copies of the RFQ and noted that the design plans could not exceed $40,000 and that the timeline estimated the job would be completed by September 2018. Concerns about the Library being left out of the process were discussed. Mayor Driscoll explained that after the bid was closed, the Design Selection Committee would evaluate the plans and make a decision. Mayor Driscoll also noted that the timeline in the RFQ may not be accurate. Miss Mansfield reported that the Library’s HVAC system had suffered several setbacks since the November meeting. On December 28th, the temperature dropped to 55 degrees after several days of freezing temperatures and O’Connell was dispatched to adjust the boiler to a higher setting. Miss Mansfield reported that the pipes in one of the public bathrooms froze and ruptured after a week, causing water to leak down through the Children’s Room entrance. Miss Mansfield reported that John Goff had contacted to Library to offer his services in preparing a Mass Historic grant due on March 23rd. Miss Mansfield noted that the deadline for the CPA Determination of Eligibility form had passed, and the Mass Historic grants require matching funds. Miss Mansfield reported that representatives from the television show “Who Do You Think You Are” had contacted the library to ask permission to film inside the building. Miss Mansfield distributed the contract and reported that the filming would take place on a Sunday in February before the Library opened. The representative had offered to pay for the staffing needed to host the filming. Mayor Driscoll suggested contacting the Film Office to coordinate the filming logistics. The Trustees agreed to allow the filming inside the building. Miss Mansfield reported that Amy Connelly had retired after 38 years. The Trustees expressed their appreciation for her service. Miss Mansfield noted that staffing levels had improved, and that there were two remaining full time positions to fill. The Trustees discussed having a guest staff member attend each Trustee meeting for introductions and to talk about the things he/she is excited about. Complete packets of letters of interest from Trustee applicants were distributed. Discussion of desired skills and experience followed. The Trustees decided to each contribute the top three skills needed for the position, and Trustee Schild will create a spreadsheet. The Trustees asked Miss Mansfield to contact the applicants to let them know a decision would not be made until late June. Meeting adjourned at 5:18pm.