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Library Trustees Minutes Sept 22 2020City of Beverly, Massachusetts Public Meeting Minutes Board: Library Trustees Subcommittee: Date: September 22, 2020, 4:00 P.M. Place: Remote Meeting on Google Meet Board members present: Margaret Altman, Mary Behrle, Marshall Handly, Colleen Michaels, -Suter Board members absen t: Others present: Allison Babin, Meghan Karasin Recorder: Meghan Karasin lly presided. Allison Babin stated that the meeting was being recorded. Marshall Handly made the motion, seconded by Mary Behrle, to accept the minutes of the meeting of March 2, 2020. Roll call vote approved, 8 to 0. Motion passed. Marshall Handly made the motion, seconded by Colleen Michaels, to accept the minutes of the regular meeting of June 23, 2020. Roll call vote approved, 8 to 0. Motion passed. 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 2021 Budget: Everything is on track. The Assistant Director salary is showing as st reduced due to being prorated for an August 1 start date. The actual salary is $77,089. Custodial line is lower due to not yet having a junior custodian. Overtime costs are due to needing coverage by Department of Public Works while custodian was on leave. The buy-back sick time line is overspent due to the departure of an employee with a significant amount of paid time off. of advertising staff librarian position more widely. North of Boston Library Exchange (NOBLE) did not increase its fees this year. This is shown in the computer maintenance line. Custodial supplies is currently underspent because supplies have come in from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding. Vehicle allowance is high, after reimbursing the bookmobile librarian for use of her personal vehicle. Part-time staff have returned to time sheets, being paid only for the hours they wo libraries in the network will lose certification and we would no longer lend to their patrons. if the lending was by statute. Allison Babin explained that the purpose of the policy is to ensure that municipalities fully fund their libraries, and not rely on neighboring libraries for services. Margaret Atman asked if funding is the only cause for decertification. Allison Babin explained that the other requirements for certification, including hours, have been waived for the time being due to COVID-19. 2) Phased Reopening: Front Door Service started at the Main library on June 15and at the Farms branch on June 29. Beverly had the highest circulation statistics in NOBLE for July and August and averaged 77 people a day at Main (highest to date is 109) and 16 people per day at the Farms - scheduled for three times per week. To help replicate browsing, links have been added to the catalog to display new , teen, and adult books. Front Door Service is evolving with the goal of not needing appointments for pickup. Allison Babin thanked the Friends of the Beverly Public Library for clearing out their work room to allow for holds to be moved to the first floor. Staff are continuing to prepare personalized book lists for patrons. The bookmobile librarian has been delivering items from her car since July 6. Most museum passes are back in circulation, though with restrictions for use added by the museums. Circulation staff prepared pamphlets explaining these changes. Five additional chromebooks were purchased with CARES Act funding. These chromebooks will be leant to patrons for use on library grounds. Patrons will be allowed to take the older chromebooks home for use. Myron Schirer-Suter asked how long holds remain on the shelf. Meghan Karasin answered that she believes it is 10 days. The library reopened to patrons with appointments for computer use on September 14. Browsing appointments will begin on September 25. The Bookmobile will go back on the road beginning September 28, with modifications to allow for social distancing. To prepare for reopening, staff attended a training on September 9. Additionally, all staff were asked to take a webinar on ensuring mask compliance. Planning and scheduling documents, as well as a daily health screening form, are located on a dedicated page of the staff blog. Almost all staff are now working on site. Mary Behrle asked if the City was testing employees. Allison Babin responded that they are not, but the library has a process in place for when an employee calls out sick. 3) Building Issues: COVID symptoms. Staff workspaces have been reconfigured to adhere to the guidance. Stanchions and retractable belts have been purchased for public spaces. Almost all chairs have been removed. Plexiglass has been installed at public services desks at the Main library and the Farms branch. Floor stickers are installed and personal protective equipment are on hand for patrons. The custodian follows a daily cleaning checklist and disinfects touch points daily. Bins have been placed around the library to quarantine materials touched by browsing patrons. Public computers have been moved to the windows to allow for social distancing. Colleen Michaels asked if patrons have to be screened before entering. Allison Babin replied that, when a patron ave symptoms and will follow procedures. This allows for collected mandated data for contact tracing. Margaret Altman asked how Election Day works. Allison Babin responded that the library was used as a poling place on September 1 and will be again in November. She was in touch with the City Clerk about preparations. They use the Barnet Gallery, Sohier Room, and rest rooms. The rest of the library an article about libraries being drop off locations for ballots. Allison Babin has not been approached by the City Clerk about this. All faucets were converted to touchless faucets beginning in July. This did not come out of the library budget. On July 13 the City delivered new boards to prevent flooding on Dane Street. The puddle issue at the base of the ramp on Winter Street has been fixed. The Story Time Room renovation is underway thanks to a $10,000 donation from the Flynn Family Foundation. Ceiling tiles have been replaced. Carpet and paint have been selected. 4) Community Engagement: The Summer Reading Program was administered through the Beanstack app. Total participation was 376 (98 teens, 95 adults, and 176 children. 25 children participated via paper forms). Attendance was 95 for the 15 adult programs, 44 for the 9 teen programs, and 913 for the 41 childrens programs. The library received a $7500 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Health and Wellness Grant focusing on alternative therapies. Lisa Ryan, Head of Reference, is the lead on this grant. For the LSTA Mind in the Making Grant, the department, due to COVID-19, pivoted to circulating Play Kits (themed backpacks filled with books, toys or other manipulatives, and guides to early literacy). Almost all of the 25 kits are checked out and have been featured in the Herald Citizen. Currently the library is hosting 3 pop up libraries per week at the Main library and one per week at the Farms branch. Allison Babin attended two Unify Beverly Community Conversations focusing on race and diversity. Allison Babin is working with the Beverly Middle School and Beverly High School librarians to establish an Overdrive K-12 shared Sora Collection where middle and high school students can access the Overdrive collection with a library card or school credentials. Allison Babin was inducted into Rotary after being sponsored by Marshall Handly. She will give an introductory speech on September 24 about herself and libraries during the pandemic and the future. The library will again be a polling place in November. It is unlikely that regular library services will be available that day. 5) Personnel: The Assistant Library Director position was offered to Meghan Karasin and she accepted. She began working in the role on August 24 but we are still waiting for a contract. The Junior Custodian position was posted on July 28 but interviews were delayed until the Senior Custodian returned from medical leave. The position was offered to an applicant on September 16 and the applicant is now working through the next steps in the process. A second custodian is Farms branch was August 24. She wanted to work more closely with children and will do so at Pathways. The position was posted, interviews were held, and the job was offered to Dorothea Lam, a staff librarian who has worked at the Farms branch for 15 years. The Staff Librarian position was posted and advertised widely to attract a more diverse candidate pool. Applications are currently being reviewed. Jennifer Lefebvre, an Endicott student, is interning at the library under the supervision of Lisa Ryan, Head of Reference. She will work 30 hours a week until December on preservation tasks, the Health and Wellness grant, and programming. Joanne Panunzio asked what major the intern was pursuing. Allison Babin did not have that information but would email it to Joanne. Allison Babin wanted to thank a number of volunteers who have assisted the library recently. Iain Goddard has been doing the pull list 3 days per week to assist circulation staff. The Friends of the Beverly Public Library, especially Eric Boeker and Karen Laughon, cleared out the sorting room. And a team of senior volunteers has been diligently working to clean the exterior of the building. Allison Babin attended an all day anti-racism workshop for City department heads on August 19. The workshop was put on by Community Change Inc, and sponsored by Mayor Cahill, the Beverly City Council, and the Beverly Human explained that it asked participants to explore their priviledge, recognize their responsibility, and create a vision for a different society. Allison Babin would like library staff to attend a similar training and is looking into the cost. Mary Behrle asked about the posting of the Young Adult Librarian position. Allison Babin responded that it could not be posted until the Assistant Director contract was signed. She may need to request a special meeting of the Board of Trustees to approve the contract. 6) Programs: Upcoming virtual programs include: for adults, Books and Brews with a visit by author Alena Dillon, Monday Mornings lecture series, and Cookbook Club; for teens, a book club; for children, story times, Rockabye Beats concert with Marcos Valles, and more. Joanne Panunzio asked if the library has records of how many people watch the Facebook Live story times. Allison Babin answered that the library does keep statistics, however reporting has changed. The library used to report data for anyone who watched even a few seconds of the show. Now storytimes are done in a closed Facebook group, which allows librarians more options for books to read. This has resulted in a lower number of views but the program remains high quality. Colleen Michaels asked what software will be used to book browsing appointments. Allison Babin demonstrated Simply Book to the Board, including detailing the terms patrons have to agree to. Communications None. Unfinished Business None. New Business None. The next regular meeting of the board will be held virtually on Tuesday October 27, 2020 at 4 PM. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:11 PM.