Library Board of Trustees

TENAFLY PUBLIC LIBRARY MINUTES OF THE BOARD MEETING October 19, 2020 The Board of Trustees of the Tenafly Public Library held a teleconference Board meeting on October 19, 2020 for its regular Board meeting. Board Members Signed-In: President Patrick Rouse, Vice President Kathleen Cook, Treasurer Soon Juhng, Teresa Austin, David DiGregorio, Martin Gilbert, Shama Haider and Elizabeth Warms. Staff Signed-In: Library Director Julie Marallo and Administrative Assistant Ann Marie Connolly. The meeting was called to order at 7:12 p.m. Julie Marallo reported that notices of the meeting had been posted and sent to the media. Minutes Board members approved the amended Minutes of the regular Board meeting of September 14, 2020. Moved by: Elizabeth Warms. Seconded by: Martin Gilbert. Unanimously approved. Treasurer’s Report Martin Gilbert reviewed with the Board the Library’s financial statements of September, 2020. He noted that he and Soon Juhng 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. Correspondence None Director’s Report The Library Director and staff are striving to strike a balance between wanting to get back to normal by restoring service to the community without doing anything to risk harm to patrons and staff. Selected well-distanced computers are back in use. Notary service is offered with strict distancing precautions in force. Newspapers are available with patrons using gloves and sanitizer at all times. There are more and more requests for study space. Initially we tried to limit study time to thirty minutes, but it has become more and more difficult to accommodate the needs of our patrons. Depending upon the amount of people requesting space, staff is instructing patrons that they may stay longer if no one is asking for space. The Children’s Room has been allowing browsing by appointment only. If no one is scheduled, patrons are allowed into the room with the knowledge that their time is limited to the next scheduled appointment. The libraries at the elementary schools are closed, and the school librarians have been doing a wonderful job of steering families to the Tenafly Library. At the virtual back to school presentation, one of the school librarians, true to her calling, urged families to go to the Tenafly Library because it is open and it is great! Martin Gilbert noted that the September circulation reserves were 10,638 – an impressive service to the town. While this number is lower than usual, we are getting closer to what the reserves were. This is encouraging usage without the large number of people usually coming into the library to participate in the many programs the library offers President’s Report None Old Business When Ms. Marallo contacted Northern Valley Englewood Bank to inquire about interest for the Library’s maturing Helen Haber Memorial Fund CD, she was informed by the Branch Manager Matea Lister that a levy was brought against the Borough of Tenafly and the entire amount of $2,104.90 was garnished on August 17, 2020 by the Superior Court of New Jersey. She was told that no information could be given to her by NVE Bank because it was a Borough of Tenafly matter, and the library would have to contact the Superior Court of New Jersey. The money in this restricted account was donated and no tax payer money was involved. Ms. Marallo contacted the Borough CFO, Susan Corrado, who stated that she does not have any paperwork on the account. Martin Gilbert also contacted Ms. Corrado who asked for information from NVE Bank. It is impossible for the library to get information from the Superior Court of New Jersey without even having a docket number. Martin Gilbert offered to go directly to NVE Bank next week. Ms. Marallo spoke with the Library’s Attorney, Eric Steinberg, who sent a letter to NVE Bank demanding information on the library’s behalf. The Endowment Fund at Valley National matures on November 10, 2020. Ms. Marallo will bring the interest rates to the November 10, 2020 Board Meeting for the Board’s decision on a renewal term. New Business The Board discussed Ms. Marallo’s suggestion that in the spirit of goodwill the library extend the no fines on overdue materials policy through December 31, 2020. The fact that returned items stay on patrons’ cards for 72 hours of quarantine after they are returned to the library has caused confusion and numerous telephone calls to staff. After discussion, a motion was made to extend the no fines on overdue materials policy through December 31, 2020. Moved by: Martin Gilbert. Seconded by: Soon Juhng. Unanimously accepted. It was noted that some libraries will still be charging fines. If materials from those libraries are returned to the Tenafly Library, we are bound to charge the fines. Report from the Mayor’s Alternate Shama Haider spoke with Mayor Zinna regarding the status of fixing the library’s outside wall. He noted that the bid process has begun, but because of Covid-19, the project is moving along at a slow pace. Mrs. Haider will also ask the Mayor for information on the Helen Haber Account at NVE Bank in Tenafly. At the suggestion of Mrs. Haider, the library will ask Mayor Zinna to announce during his weekly telephone call that the library is open 7 days a week, with restrictions and a slight change in hours. Report from the Superintendent’s Alternate David DiGregorio reported that after 24 years he has a quiet library. Half the usual numbers of students are physically using the library, and they are wearing masks and being extremely cooperative. The school librarians are trying to meet with the teens outside to give them time away from the computer screens and avoid overcrowding the library. Text books have come back in fashion as parents and teachers strive to give students a break from the computer. The THS Library is cataloging text books for use for a one year period. This will enable the schools to have instant records of how many text books are being used and make it more efficient to collect them at the end of the term. Citizen’s Portion of the Meeting None Any other Business None Adjournment Closed Session At 7:56 p.m. the meeting went into closed session to discuss a personnel issue. Moved by: Patrick Rouse. Seconded by: Martin Gilbert. Unanimously accepted. The Board adjourned the closed session 8:01 p.m. to go into open session. Moved by: Kathleen Cook. Seconded by: Elizabeth Warms. Unanimously accepted. The following Resolution was passed: BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED THAT: The Board of Trustees of the Free Public Library of the Borough of Tenafly in the County of Bergen, State of New Jersey approves of adding five additional vacation days to the Library Director’s employment benefit package to take effect as of January 1, 2020. Moved by: Kathleen Cook Seconded by: Soon Juhng Voting as follows: Teresa Austin – Aye Shama Haider - Aye Kathleen Cook – Aye Soon Juhng – Aye David DiGregorio – Aye Patrick Rouse - Aye Martin Gilbert – Aye Elizabeth Warms - Aye The meeting adjourned at 8:16 p.m. Moved by: Elizabeth Warms. Seconded by: Soon Juhng. Unanimously accepted. Respectfully submitted, Soon Juhng Secretary/Treasurer The next regular meeting of the Library Board of Trustees will be on Monday, November 9, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. Approved: November 9, 2020