LibraryTrusteesJanuary2018MinutesBoard: Library Trustees
Subcommittee:
City of Beverly, Massachusetts
Public Meeting Minutes
Date: Tuesday, January 16, 2018 6:00 P.M.
Place: Beverly Public Library
Board members present: Margaret Altman, Mary Behrle, Marshall Handly, Ivy Mahan, Kevin
O'Reilly, Joanne Panunzio
Board members absent: Anthony Kline, Myron Schirer -Suter
Others present: Anna Langstaff, Allison Babin
Recorder: Allison Babin
Kevin O'Reilly presided.
Marshall Handly made the motion, seconded by Margaret Altman, to accept the minutes of the
regular meeting of December 12, 2017 as read. Motion passed.
Public Presentation
None
Committee Reports
Personnel: Joanne Panunzio provided a rough draft of the Director Evaluation survey for staff.
The target date for administering the survey is March.
Administration: No report.
Finance: No report.
Long Range Planning: No report.
Report of the Library Director
1) FY2018 Budget: On track, with a few noted exceptions, including equipment repair, office
supplies, and custodial supplies. Offices supplies budget line is 81% spent in part because of the
expense of toner. Anna Langstaff advised staff to be mindful of supply spending. Custodial
supply spending has increased in part due to Administration's effort to keep the building cleaner,
as well as costs associated with volunteer dusters. This line item may need to be increased next
year. 2) Building Issues: The new hardware has been installed on the Winter and Essex Street
doors. The annual fire inspection was conducted. The Main library's inspection was not
completed. Heating issues at the Farms required 2 replacement pumps for the boiler, which cost
approximately $2000 each. A water pipe burst at the Farms, which did not cause major damage,
but required DPW's service to cut open part of the wall to access the leak. On December 28, the
Main library lost power at 7:30am, and consequently also lost heat and phone service. The
building closed. The custodians and Mike Collins were on site virtually all day attempting to get
the heat back on and monitoring the situation. On December 30, the library did not have phone
service until 2PM. On January 4, the library closed due to the snow storm. The mayor mentioned
the repairs needed to the Sohier Room AC system at his inaugural address. 3) New services: A
staff librarian has become a notary and has begun offering the service for free at the library. This
February, the library is participating for the first time in the 1 lth Annual Boston Bruins PJ Drive
to benefit DCF and Cradles to Crayons to collect pajamas for children's and teens. 4) Security:
Officer Ed Hathon conducted an active shooter training at the library on Friday, January 12,
attended by 20 staff members. The Police Chief and Officer David Costa assured Anna Langstaff
that police walkthroughs are being conducted at the library at least once a week. 5) TLC will be
filming part of an episode of "Who Do You Think You Are ?" at the library in February. 6)
Customer Service Training: There will be a customer service training workshop for all staff at
the library on Friday, May 4, from 9am -lpm. The Mayor agreed to let the library close to the
public so that all staff can participate. 7) Training: Anna Langstaff and Allison Babin are
participating in the "Finding Common Ground: Collaborative Training for the Cultural Heritage
and Emergency Response Communities" which consists of several all -day trainings and involves
writing a disaster plan. Anna Langstaff and Allison Babin also did a walkthrough of the Main
library to assess related safety issues. 8) Digital Millennium Copyright Act and Liability
Protection: In consultation with City Solicitor Stephanie Williams, Anna Langstaff became the
"designated agent" for copyright infringements at the library. This provides some protection for
the library when patrons violate copyright law. 9) Gruppe Mural: Anna Langstaff and Mayor
Cahill received a suggestion letter from a citizen about relocating the mural to the library. Anna
Langstaff visited the site to view the mural. Anna Langstaff is open to acquiring the mural for the
library, but significant money would be required for restoration, which the library does not have
in its budget. 10) Board: Reappointments for Kevin O'Reilly, Myron Schirer - Suter, and Marshall
Handly are in process. Colleen Michaels has submitted a letter to Mayor Cahill in order to be
appointed to the Board. A wonderful service was held at the library for the late Neil Olson. 11)
Library programs: Highlights include Books and Brews, a book club that will meet at a local bar,
and Take Your Child to the Library Day, which features story times and a raffle on a Saturday
morning.
Communications
None.
Unfinished Business
None.
New Business
None.
The next meeting of the board will be Tuesday, February 27, at 6:OOPM at the Beverly Public
Library.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:05PM.