Board of Public Library Trustees

Draft of Minutes of Board of Trustees Meeting of September 22, 2022 Salem, Massachusetts September 22, 2022 A meeting of the Board of Trustees was held via Zoom on this date at 4:10pm with Trustees April, Austin, Morin, Rourke and Trustee Buckley present and presiding. Mayor Driscoll and Trustee Marte were absent. Miss Mansfield was present. Approval of draft minutes from June 23, 2022 UNANIMOUS. Miss Mansfield reported that the library had a new Assistant Director, Children’s Librarian, Young Adult Librarian, Staff Librarian 2, and part-time Library Assistant 1. The Trustees invited the new Assistant Director to the next meeting. Miss Mansfield noted that the October Resident Parking Only signs had been posted and that the staff would receive temporary parking passes, but patrons would not be able to park near the library after 5:00pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, after 12:00pm on Saturdays, and not at all on Sundays during operational hours from 1:00-5:00pm. Discussion of alternate parking and transportation options for patrons followed. Miss Mansfield reported that the City was hosting a mandatory two-part DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) training for all employees, and that a special condensed training could be arranged for the library staff from 9-2pm on a Friday. Miss Mansfield proposed that the library would be closed during the training and for lunch. Miss Mansfield noted the available dates were 10/21, 12/2, or 12/9. The Trustees agreed that the 10/21 date would be best due to the anticipated reduced library usage during the month of October. Miss Mansfield noted that the SLSA union contract required a safety training for the staff that would also need to be scheduled separately. Current Library Use and Financial reports were distributed. Salem was fifth highest in NOBLE for circulation of physical items in June, sixth highest in July, and fifth highest in August. Salem was third highest in June and July and second highest in August for Overdrive/Libby circulation. Financial reports were distributed. John Doherty and Jia Min from Eastern Bank gave a presentation on the investments. Market trends, investment strategies, and the impacts of withdrawing funds for the purposes of supplementing the increased costs of the fountain restoration were discussed. The Trustees invited public comment. Margaret Crowdis requested unlimited time on the computers, comfortable office chairs for the computers, and double sided printing. These specific requests from Ms. Crowdis had already been discussed at previous meetings. Miss Mansfield reported that a complaint was received by the Mayor’s Office about the library’s drinking fountains and noted that replacing the water fountains on the Reference Floor was more complicated than expected due to the drain and water pipes not being at correct heights or placements. Miss Mansfield reported that adjusting the plumbing requires opening walls on the main floor to determine how and where the pipes can be extended. Miss Mansfield noted that the water fountains were identified as a concern in the library’s ADA assessment, and that $10,000 in capital funds were being used for the project, which had already significantly exceeded the estimates from the assessment. Once the Reference Floor water fountains are replaced, the main floor water fountains will be next and will likely have similar plumbing issues. Trustee Morin reported that the Poseidon fountain restoration was underway and that Daedalus had removed Poseidon and the center pieces and moved them to the workshop. He noted that Daedalus was focusing on outdoor work while the weather was cooperative and would return to focusing on the pieces at the workshop later this year. Trustee Morin reported that the aquatics quote had increased by $10,000-$12,000 and that Heritage had backed out of the project and that he was seeking new contractors for the fountain’s foundation. Trustee Morin noted that the excavation needs to be done in order to install the plumbing and that a vault would need to be installed behind the fountain. Trustee Morin noted that he believes that the worst case scenario would be a $30,000 project shortfall. Trustee Buckley thanked Trustee Morin and noted that there has been enormous progress on the fountain restoration for the first time in decades. Alternate sources of funding were discussed including fundraising, grants, and capital funding from the City. Trustee Buckley noted that if the Trustees used the endowment to support the project, they could be circumspect with other funding requests and that they needed to build consensus to get the project done. The Trustees will work on a draft resolution for funding the shortfall. Miss Mansfield reported that the Reference staff had gotten compliments recently from two people. One patron had been working on his family tree and the Reference staff assisted him in locating information about his family, and he gave a gift of $250. Another patron was seeking an article he had written years ago that was not available online, and also planned to give a gift in thanks for the extraordinary service. Trustee April made a motion to enter executive session to consider applicants for the upcoming Trustee vacancy. Seconded by Trustee Austin. Unanimous. Applicants for the self-appointing Board of Library Trustees were discussed. The search for diverse candidates was proving difficult and it was decided that more time is needed to gather a pool of candidates. Adjourned 5:32pm.