April2020Minutes-TrusteesCity of Beverly, Massachusetts
Public Meeting Minutes
Board: Library Trustees
Subcommittee:
Date: April 14, 2020, 4:00 P.M.
Place: Remote Meeting on Google Meet
Board members present: Margaret Altman, Mary Behrle, Colleen Michaels, Ivy Mahan,
Cathryn Keefe O'Hare, Kevin O'Reilly, Joanne Panunzio
Board members absent: Marshall Handly, Myron Schirer -Suter
Others present: Anna Langstaff, Allison Babin, Bruce Doig
Recorder: Allison Babin
Kevin O'Reilly presided. Allison Babin stated that the meeting was being recorded.
Cathryn O'Hare made the motion, seconded by Colleen Michaels, to accept the minutes of the
regular meeting of February 20, 2020. Roll call vote approved, 7 to 0. Motion passed.
Election of Officers
Joanne Panunzio made the motion, seconded by Margaret Altman, to nominate Kevin O'Reilly
as Chair. Kevin O'Reilly made the motion, seconded by Margaret Altman, to nominate Joanne
Panunzio as Secretary. Margaret Altman made the motion to approve the slate of officers as
proposed, seconded by Colleen Michaels. Roll call vote approved, 7 to 0. Motion passed.
Kevin O'Reilly appointed subcommittee chairs, Personnel: Joanne Panunzio; Long Range
Planning: Mary Behrle; Administration: Kevin O'Reilly; and Finance: Marshall Handly.
Subcommittee members were appointed as follows:
Personnel: Joanne Panunzio, Mary Behrle, Myron Schirer- Suter, Colleen Michaels
Finance: Marshall Handly, Margaret Altman, Myron Schirer- Suter, Ivy Mahan
Administration: Kevin O'Reilly, Mary Behrle, Marshall Handly, Joanne Panunzio
Long Range Planning: Margaret Altman, Mary Behrle, Marshall Handly, Ivy Mahan, Colleen
Michaels, Cathryn O'Hare, Kevin O'Reilly, Joanne Panunzio, Myron Schirer -Suter
Public Presentation
None.
Committee Reports
Personnel: No report.
Administration: No report.
Finance: No report.
Long Range Planning: No report.
Report of the Library Director
1) Fiscal Year 2020 Budget: The budget is on track. Due to the pandemic, the library closed to
the public on March 14, which will result in some cost savings in certain lines such as electric
and heat. Immediately after the closure, approximately $26,000 of the book budget was shifted
from print materials to eBooks and digital audiobooks. Full time and regularly scheduled part
time employees continue to be paid.
2) Fiscal Year 2021 Budget: A draft budget was submitted for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
The prepared budget was lean, while meeting all requirements for state aid book expenditure
money. It was decided not to request a new van this year, but funds were requested for a new
snow blower. Originally, Anna Langstaff was scheduled to meet with the Mayor and City
Finance Director on April 6 to discuss the proposal, but the meeting was cancelled. A new
meeting has not yet been scheduled. It is assumed that the state budget will have an impact on
the Fiscal Year 2021 budget. Municipal budgets often experience impacts later than the private
sector.
3) Building Issues: The crumbling capstone was removed. The Department of Public Works has
the granite replacement and needs to install it.
4) Community Engagement: The Rotary Fundraiser for the Library's Teen Room was postponed
until October 30 because of COVID -19. This will delay some plans for the Teen Room. The
Friends still have funds earmarked for the Teen Room. The Library's website has been updated
with a special closure page with lots of useful information and links to virtual programs. Anna
Langstaff and Allison Babin have been in touch with Stephanie Billotti, Chief of Staff, and
Joscelyn Ruelle - Kersker, Constituent Services Director & Projects Coordinator who are
coordinating the City's COVID-19 social media and webpage. They included a link to the library
on the webpage and have been sharing library information on social media. The Library's Head
of Communications, Ona Ridenour, has been doing a great job. Beverly Keeps Reading (BKR) is
a collaboration between Beverly Public Library and Beverly Public Schools to challenge the
community to read 5,000 books this spring. Allison Babin was able to obtain a license to
Beanstack (valued at several thousand dollars) free of charge through the Massachusetts Board
of Library Commissioners which is serving as the platform for BKR. Social media outreach has
increased, with involvement from many staff members. Katie Nelson and Ona Ridenour were
already very strong in this area, but have been doing an exceptional job. Engagement levels have
increased significantly. Prior to the closure, Anna Langstaff visited North Beverly Elementary
School and was interviewed by students about her career.
5) Personnel: Senior Custodian James Lauranzano retired on April 1 after 10 years of service.
Junior Custodian Joseph Bonaiuto was promoted to the Senior Custodian position. The Junior
Custodian position will not be filled immediately due to the closure. This will result in some cost
savings. Anna Langstaff will still be retiring on April 24, as planned. Due to the closure, Mayor
Cahill has not been able to meet with Allison Babin regarding the transition to her new position.
Joanne Panunzio expressed her sincere gratitude to everyone on the search committee for their
valuable contributions. Bruce Doig suggested that Anna Langstaff send an email to the Mayor
with a reminder about the transition. Members of the board expressed their gratitude and well
wishes to Anna Langstaff for her upcoming retirement. Lisa Ryan applied for an LSTA (Library
Services and Technology Act) Health and Wellness grant. Anna Langstaff may work part -time
after her retirement to assist with transitional tasks. Ivy Mahan asked whether the Assistant
Director position would be filled. Anna Langstaff explained that the position cannot be filled
during the closure, but that it would be crucial to have someone in place when the library
reopens. Allison Babin shared that she had been planning a retirement party for Anna Langstaff,
but it will not be able to occur in- person until conditions allow. The library staff have been
expanding their learning of video production and other skills to produce content on many new
platforms including Facebook Live, YouTube, and the 3D printer. Some are likely working out
of their comfort zone, but everyone has jumped in and are doing a great job taking the library
from the physical building to the virtual world.
6) Programs: Allison Babin shared upcoming program highlights: Live Virtual Programming for
children includes Musical Mondays, Tea Time Children's Classics, twice weekly Story Times,
and STEAM Scribbles; for Adults, Introduction to eBooks and Digital Audiobooks, Virtual
Poetry Night, Book Discussion Groups (Farms, Tuesday Night, LGBTQ, Short Story); for Teens,
a collaborative book discussion group with the middle school librarian. On Demand programs
include Yoga, How to Make a Cloth Face Covering, a Shelter in Verse Poetry Series, and curated
Spotify playlists. The library has also issued over 60 provisional library cards online.
Communications
Anna Langstaff shared a letter regarding the second installment of State Aid disbursement. Each
year, the library has to meet certain requirements to qualify for State Aid. Anna Langstaff
explained that due to COVID -19, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners has
waived a number of requirements including open hours and materials expenditures for this fiscal
year through emergency preambles.
Unfinished Business
None.
New Business
None.
The next meeting of the board will be held virtually on Tuesday, May 26 at 4:OOPM.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:03PM.