Library Board of Trustees

TENAFLY PUBLIC LIBRARY MINUTES OF THE BOARD MEETING January 11, 2021 The Board of Trustees of the Tenafly Public Library held a teleconference Board meeting on January 11, 2021 for its regular Board meeting. Board Members Signed-In: Vice President Kathleen Cook, Treasurer Soon Juhng, Teresa Austin, David DiGregorio, Martin Gilbert, Shama Haider and Elizabeth Warms. Attendee: Meena Dogan Absent: Patrick Rouse. Staff Signed-In: Library Director Julie Marallo and Administrative Assistant Ann Marie Connolly. The meeting was called to order at 7:03 p.m. Julie Marallo reported that notices of the meeting had been posted and sent to the media. 2021 Board Reorganization and Election of Officers The election of Board officers for 2021 was held. The following were nominated: President – Kathleen Cook (Moved by Martin Gilbert. Seconded by Elizabeth Warms). Elected unanimously. Vice President – Soon Juhng (Moved by Elizabeth Warms, Seconded by Martin Gilbert). Elected unanimously. Secretary/Treasurer – Martin Gilbert (Moved by Teresa Austin. Seconded by Kathleen Cook). Elected unanimously. Oath of Office – David DiGregorio David DiGregorio took the Oath of Office as a reinstated member of the Library Board. Oath of Office – Meena Dogan Meena Dogan took the Oath of Office as a new member of the Library Board. Oath of Office – Shama Haider Shama Haider 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 14, 2020. Moved by: Martin Gilbert. Seconded by: Shama Haider. Unanimously approved. Board members approved the Minutes of the Executive Board meeting of December 14, 2020. Moved by Teresa Austin. Seconded by Kathleen Cook. Unanimously approved. Treasurer’s Report Martin Gilbert reviewed with the Board the Library’s financial statements of December 2020. 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: Elizabeth Warms. Seconded by: Kathleen Cook. Unanimously approved. Library Funds Budget - 2021 The Board discussed the 2021 Library Fund Budget presented by Library Director, Julie Marallo. After discussion the Board agreed to the budget as presented. Moved by: Elizabeth Warms. Seconded by: Soon Juhng. Unanimously accepted. BCCLS 2021 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 Shama Haider seconded the motion. Unanimously approved. Board President Kathleen Cook and Library Director Julie Marallo will sign the BCCLS Certification of Agreement. Correspondence None. Director’s Report Although we are showing a low door count, the number of checkouts has gone up with a 10% increase in December. People who come in are checking out a larger number of items per visit. Door side checkouts have also steadily increased from October through December. Public computer use doubled in the month of December. Neighboring libraries are not allowing computer access due to Covid-19. Our computer area is monitored by Envisionware, and staff avoid being in close proximity to patrons and also check that all patrons are wearing masks. Online services are very popular for both adults and children. Acorn TV usage is steadily pushing up. BookFlix, an online service by Scholastic that provides picture books paired with children’s non-fiction related to the picture book story, continues to grow in use with many families participating. The Friends continue to generously support our adult and children’s programs. Flavor Labs, an online cooking program for children, will have 2 classes in January and 2 in February. Families are told in advance what ingredients and utensils will be needed for each lesson, and then they follow along with the instructor in their own kitchens. The Friends also contributed $375 for membership renewal to the Children’s Museum of Manhattan and $175 for renewal of the Storm King Art Center membership. President’s Report None Old Business We received a letter from Mary Chute, State Librarian, commending the hard work that went into the creation of our construction grant application for the New Jersey Library Construction Bond Act (LCBA) program. Ms. Chute encouraged us to apply for the second round of funding in 2021. The Board agreed that an OPRA request should be submitted to find out the details of how the grant was scored. Shama Haider asked that it be made clear that the library does not want Mazer to write the second grant for 2021. Ms. Marallo will email Kelsey Howard to inform her that we are not going with Mazer for the second round of the grant request. The Board brought new Board member, Meena Dogan, up-to-date on the complicated steps taken to apply for the grant. The Board discussed funding to match the Library Construction Bond Act (LCBA) Grant. After discussion the following resolution was approved.  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 using the Tenafly Public Library’s Capital Account funds at Valley Bank to match the Library Construction Bond Act Grant. Moved by: Kathleen Cook Seconded by: Martin Gilbert Voting as follows: Teresa Austin – Aye Martin Gilbert - Aye Kathleen Cook – Aye Shama Haider - Aye Meena Dogan – Aye Soon Juhng - Aye David DiGregorio – Aye Elizabeth Warms - Aye New Business Meena Dogan and the Board discussed the library’s website and the reach it has into the community. Report from the Mayor Shama Haider asked Ms. Marallo if there had been any new communications with Mrs. Haber’s daughter. Ms. Marallo had spoken with her about the difficulty in using interest-only money. She will talk to her attorney about changing the procedure and allowing us to use the principal. This may be possible with a 60 day notification to the State. Report from the Superintendent’s Alternate David DiGregorio reported that the students were still adapting to the Covid-19 restrictions and that about 60% of the high school students were learning at home. Citizen’s Portion of the Meeting None Any Other Business None Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m. Moved by: Martin Gilbert. Seconded by: Kathleen Cook. Unanimously accepted. Respectfully submitted, Martin Gilbert Secretary/Treasurer The next regular meeting of the Library Board of Trustees will be on Monday, February 8, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. Approved: February 8, 2021