Library Minutes 02/12/2014
MINUTES
STEPENSON MEMORIAL LIRARY TRUSTEES
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2014
Present: Jami Bascom, Neal Brown, Mary Ann Grant, Bruce Dodge, Bob Marshall, Kristin Readel, Gail Smith.
Absent: Scott Jones.
7:07 PM - The meeting was called to order by Chairman Brown
1) Review of preliminary minutes for the January 8, 2014 Trustees meeting. There were three changes made: add commas after all dates in the minutes, and corrections to the spelling of Rose Lowery’s name to read Lowry and to correct the name of her business from BeechTree to read Beechleaf. The motion was made to accept the minutes as amended by Jami and was seconded by Neal. The vote was unanimous in the affirmative to accept the minutes as amended. ACTION: Pat will make the corrections and have the minutes posted on the Town Website.
2) There was a brief discussion among the trustees and the staff about the need to obtain and track the energy uses of the Library during 2014 by obtaining the gallons and kilowatt usages as well as the monies spent from the budget. The discussion was generated due to the request for clarification on the item from the January minutes.
7:17 PM – Treasurers Report:
Mary Ann provided the Trustees and the staff with two reports to review. One was of the final spending month to month from January 2013 to December 2013, and the second was the spending in January, 2014 to February 4, 2014 showing what was allocated from the 2013 budget and expended in January. A discussion followed about the unused part time wages in 2013, and the staff reported that when they do not work due to a snow day they are only paid for 5.8 hours. When the snow day falls on a Wednesday, the librarians work 10 on that day, so they supplement their pay with vacation time to make up the difference. Neal asked Mary Ann to ask Catherine Shaw, Town Bookkeeper, for information about how the 2013 wages were expended for the purpose of clarification for the Trustees. It was further discussed as to how best assure that the staff is being fairly compensated for their time. It was also discussed as to whether the Library could choose to remain open during a snow day called by the school district and the staff and patron safety issues therein. Closure of the Library is designated by the School District closures now and is that a policy of the Town as well as the Library. ACTION: Jami and Bruce will look at the Library closure policy and bring it to the next meeting.
There was a discussion about the expenditure of the Merrill funds monies for the purchases of books in 2013 and early 2014, and the allocations of the funds. There will be more clarity about this in 2014 due to a better understanding of the flexibility of the fund. Bruce made the motion to accept the treasurer report as presented, and Jami seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous in the affirmative to accept the report.
7:55 PM - Neal reported that he consulted with the Merrill fund trustee and verified that the fund disbursements are fluid between books and building expenditures.
7:58 PM – Librarians Report:
1) Gail provided the monthly and year to date statistical report for Library usage. She noted that the circulation was up in January 2014. There was a brief discussion about whether the expansion of the 4G network in Greenfield will show a decrease in the public computer usage at the library.
2) One of the new windows has been installed by Mike Borden and the second one will be installed as soon as possible.
3) The library staff has been working with the spread sheet. They have a volunteer that is assisting them in learning how to use Excel, and Bruce offered that he is available to help as needed.
4) Bob was at the budget hearing and reported that it went well.
5) Rose Lowry, owner of Beechleaf Designs, will be at the Library on Saturday, February 22 from 10 AM to noon to meet with the staff and any Trustees that can attend. She intends to listen to what is desired in the logo design for the Library and incorporate the contestant entries in the mock up of the design. She will bill the Trustees at her non profit rate. A discussion followed about how to let the residents and the contestants the progress of the logo contest. Bob suggested that the staff put up a display with the entries and indicate that the winners will be announced soon.
8:27 PM – Status of the proposal to the Manginins:
Neal reports that the proposal for the driveway expansion and the architectural rendering of it has been provided to the Manginis and they will revisit it with the Trustees in the spring.
8:28 PM – Status of the recent inquiry into the Northeast Utilities energy efficiency program:
Neal provided the Trustees and staff with a copy of the outline of the program. He has sent the heating/cooling upgrades proposal to the program director and will keep the Trustees informed as to the response.
8:32 PM – New/other business:
1) There was a brief discussion about the role of the Library in the Town’s emergency management plans. Neal and Bob continue to meet with the emergency management team and there have been no decisions made to date.
2) The policy subcommittee reported that they did not meet in January, and that they will be sending policies to the Trustees for review before the next meeting.
3) Bob and Neal have not worked on the Library Director evaluation. They will resume it after the Town Meeting. Bruce suggested that there be a Trustee evaluation instrument as well as for staff.
4) Bob reported that he talked to the DPW director and he suggested that the Library purchase two window air conditioning units and the DPW would put them in and take them out of the windows.
5) There was a discussion about art displays at the Library and how to get the information out to the residents of the shows. There are several art displays at the Library throughout the year. Bruce has been talking with the Siegers about putting a Trebuchet display at the Library. The announcements for the art shows are put in the Spirit, on the Library facebook page, and listings are sent to the Ledger-Transcript. Mary Ann suggested that it be put on the Greenfield Happenings website.
8:45 PM – The motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Bruce and seconded by Neal. The vote was unanimous in the affirmative to adjourn the meeting.
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at 7:00 PM at the Library.
Respectfully submitted,
Patricia LaPree