Library Board of Trustees

TENAFLY PUBLIC LIBRARY MINUTES OF THE BOARD MEETING January 13, 2020 The Board of Trustees of the Tenafly Public Library met on January 13, 2020 at the Library for its regular Board meeting. Board Members Present: President Kathleen Cook, Vice President Patrick Rouse, Secretary/Treasurer Martin Gilbert, Teresa Austin, Soon Juhng and Elizabeth Warms. Absent: Mabel Allen, David DiGregorio and Shama Haider Staff present: Library Director Julie Marallo and Administrative Assistant Ann Marie Connolly The meeting was called to order at 7:06 p.m. Julie Marallo reported that notices of the meeting had been posted and sent to the media. 2020 Board Reorganization and Election of Officers The election of Board officers for 2020 was held. The following were nominated: President – Patrick Rouse (Moved by Kathleen Cook. Seconded by Teresa Austin). Elected unanimously. Vice President – Kathleen Cook (Moved by Patrick Rouse, Seconded by Martin Gilbert). Elected unanimously. Secretary/Treasurer – Soon Juhng (Moved by Patrick Rouse. Seconded by Elizabeth Warms). Elected unanimously. Oath of Office – Martin Gilbert Martin Gilbert took the Oath of Office as a reinstated member of the Library Board. Oath of Office – Teresa Austin Teresa Austin took the Oath of Office as a reinstated member of the Library Board. Minutes Board members approved the Minutes of the regular Board meeting of December 9, 2019. Moved by: Kathleen Cook. Seconded by: Teresa Austin. Unanimously approved. Board members approved the Minutes of the Executive Board meeting of December 9, 2019. Moved by Teresa Austin. Seconded by Martin Gilbert. Unanimously approved. Treasurer’s Report Martin Gilbert reviewed with the Board the Library’s financial statements of December 2019. He noted that he had examined and approved the statements and reported that they were current and accurate. A motion was made to approve the financial reports. Moved by: Teresa Austin. Seconded by: Kathleen Cook. Unanimously approved. BCCLS 2020 Certification of Agreement The Board discussed and agreed that the Tenafly Public Library was in compliance with the rules and regulations of the Bergen County Cooperative System Certification of Agreement. Martin Gilbert moved to sign the Agreement and Elizabeth Warms seconded the motion. Unanimously approved. Board President Patrick Rouse and Library Director Julie Marallo signed the BCCLS Certification of Agreement. Correspondence In response to a letter from Leigh Evron, the Board discussed changing the existing one-stall men’s restroom and the one- stall women’s’ restroom into unisex restrooms. After discussion it was agreed to purchase signage to facilitate this change. Director’s Report The Board discussed the proposed 2020 Library Funds Budget presented by Library Director Julie Marallo. After discussion a motion was made to approve the 2020 budget as presented. Moved by: Martin Gilbert. Seconded by: Elizabeth Warms. Unanimously approved. The Board discussed the decision by BCCLS and many libraries throughout the country to boycott Macmillan Publishing and not purchase any ebooks from them. The boycott does not extend to print and audio materials. A notice will be sent to patrons explaining the reason for the boycott. Teresa Austin and Julie Marallo gave the Board more details about the March 29 th celebration of the 125th Anniversary of the Tenafly Public Library. Staff opened the library on January 2 and were greeted by an extremely active squirrel who had been trapped in the building over the New Year holiday. He had done considerable damage – chewed through the wall and slid down damaging a painting on display, left excrement on the piano, rug, chairs and tables and knocked over books on display. The squirrel was running wildly through the library. For safety reasons the decision was made to close the library until an exterminator could remove the squirrel. Julie Marallo waited until 4:30 for the exterminator to arrive with the Borough maintenance employee. Finally the squirrel was removed. Unfortunately, on Sunday, January 5, a squirrel gained entry to the Children’s room. A Sunday employee was successful in trapping him in a container and removing him from the building. Mayor Zinna supervised the removal of the holly tree and trimming of trees in back of the library which has helped cut down on the amount of squirrels in the area. Elizabeth Warms suggested the library invite the public to come and see the damage that the squirrel infestation has been doing to the interior and exterior of the library, President’s Report None Old Business Kathleen Cook mentioned how much she and the people in attendance enjoyed the outstanding Physicians and Surgeons Musicians’ Guild of Columbia University concert on December 15. Kathy also spoke highly of the adult Cookie Swap and the thoroughly enjoyable Cookie Decorating program for the children. New Business None Report from the Mayor None Report from the Superintendent’s Alternate None Citizen’s Portion of the Meeting None Any Other Business None Adjournment Closed Session At 7:59 p.m. the meeting went into closed session to discuss a personnel issue. Moved by: Martin Gilbert Seconded by: Patrick Rouse Unanimously accepted. The Board adjourned the closed session 8:08 p.m. to go into open session. Moved by: Patrick Rouse. Seconded by: Teresa Austin. Unanimously accepted. The meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Moved by: Patrick Rouse. Seconded by: Teresa Austin. Unanimously accepted. Respectfully submitted, Soon Juhng Secretary/Treasurer The next regular meeting of the Library Board of Trustees will be on Monday, February 10, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. Approved: February 10, 2020