Library Board of Trustees

TENAFLY PUBLIC LIBRARY MINUTES OF THE BOARD MEETING December 12, 2022 The Board of Trustees of the Tenafly Public Library met on December 12, 2022 at 7:00p.m. at the Library for its regular Board meeting. Board Members Present: President Kathleen Cook, Vice President Soon Juhng, Secretary/Treasurer Martin Gilbert, Teresa Austin, Julie Lev and Nicole Motz. Absent: David DiGregorio and Elizabeth Warms Staff Present: Library Director Julie Marallo and Administrative Assistant Ann Marie Connolly. The meeting was called to order at 7:08 p.m. Julie Marallo reported that notices of the meeting had been posted and sent to the media. Minutes Board members approved the Minutes of the regular Board meeting of November 14, 2022. Moved by: Soon Juhng. Seconded by: Kathleen Cook. Unanimously approved. Treasurer’s Report Martin Gilbert reviewed with the Board the Library’s financial statements of November 2022. 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: Soon Juhng. Seconded by: Kathleen Cook. Unanimously approved. Correspondence None Director’s Report Ms. Marallo and the Board discussed the progress being made in updating the teen area and relocating it to the children’s room side of the library. The young adult books are being shifted to the new area and the former teen area will become a quiet reading area for adults. The staff has been meeting for several months to discuss how to best implement the plan and select the furniture needed for the teens and coordinating furniture for the new children’s area which was created in the former reference area. The goal is to make the library much more attractive for children and teens. The library is an important part of the community, and it should be as exciting and nice as possible. BCCLS usage statistics show that children’s usage is back to normal, while adult usage is not back to pre-pandemic levels. The biggest usage surge in Tenafly is among families and children. President’s Report Kathleen Cook discussed a New York Times podcast on book banning, which led to a Board discussion of our current procedure in place for a book ban request. The Tenafly Public Library Request Form must be filled out by a resident of Tenafly only and must list the specific objection. Old Business Building Update Replacing the exit door on the right side of the children’s room is underway. The children’s room will now have a glass door to create visibility and will also have the additional much-needed safety feature of opening both ways in and out of the room. New Business The Board discussed the 2023 Tenafly Library Board of Trustees meeting schedule for 2023. After discussion a motion was made to approve the schedule as presented by Library Director Julie Marallo. Moved by: Martin Gilbert. Seconded by: Teresa Austin. Unanimously approved. The Board discussed the recommendation by BCCLS to have each Trustee of the Board establish an email account with BCCLS and to use this account for all library business. If a legal situation occurs, the BCCLS email can be subpoenaed rather than the Trustee’s personal email. It was agreed that Ms. Marallo would set the emails up with BCCLS. Report from Mayor’s Alternate Ms. Motz informed the Board that an upset individual has been contacting Mayor Zinna with regard to the children’s program “Drag Queen Story Hour” held on Saturday, October 15 and sponsored by Tenafly Pride. It was noted that this is the fourth year that this event has been held without any incident until now. Board members who attended the popular program reiterated that is was very well received, sedate and completely appropriate. Report from the Superintendent’s Alternate None Citizen’s Portion of the Meeting None Any Other Business None Adjournment to Closed Session The meeting adjourned at 8:02 p.m. to go into closed session. Moved by: Soon Juhng. Seconded by: Martin Gilbert. Unanimously accepted. Open Session The Board returned to open session at 8:12 p.m. Board members approved the 2023 salaries for non-union personnel: 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 a 4% base salary increase for the Year 2023 for Library Director Julie Marallo. All benefits contained in the Tenafly Public Library Personnel Manual shall remain in effect unless altered through negotiations between the Director and the Board of Trustees. MOVED BY: Teresa Austin SECONDED BY: Kathleen Cook Voting as Follows Teresa Austin – Aye Soon Juhng - Aye Kathleen Cook – Aye Julie Lev – Aye Martin Gilbert - Aye Nicole Motz - Abstain  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 a 4% base salary increase for the Year 2023 for Library Assistant Director Marcia Literati. All benefits contained in the Tenafly Public Library Personnel Manual shall remain in effect unless altered through negotiations between the Assistant Director and the Board of Trustees. MOVED BY: Soon Juhng SECONDED BY: Kathleen Cook Voting as Follows: Teresa Austin – Aye Soon Juhng - Aye Kathleen Cook – Aye Julie Lev – Aye Martin Gilbert - Aye Nicole Motz - Abstain 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 a 4% base salary increase for the Year 2023 for Administrative Assistant Ann Marie Connolly. Final salary shall be adjusted for longevity where applicable. All benefits contained in the Tenafly Public Library Personnel Manual shall remain in effect unless altered through negotiations between the Administrative Assistant and the Board of Trustees. MOVED BY: Soon Juhng SECONDED BY: Kathleen Cook Voting as Follows: Teresa Austin – Aye Soon Juhng - Aye Kathleen Cook – Aye Julie Lev – Aye Martin Gilbert - Aye Nicole Motz - Abstain 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 a 2% hourly wage increase for the Year 2023 for Sunday personnel and weekday/Saturday substitutes. MOVED BY: Teresa Austin SECONDED BY: Soon Juhng Voting as Follows: Teresa Austin – Aye Soon Juhng - Aye Kathleen Cook – Aye Julie Lev – Aye Martin Gilbert - Aye Nicole Motz - Abstain Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m. Moved by: Teresa Austin. Seconded by: Kathleen Cook. Unanimously approved. Respectfully submitted, Martin Gilbert Secretary/Treasurer The next regular meeting of the Library Board of Trustees will be on Monday, January 9, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. Approved: January 9, 2023.