1980-09-18 City of Beverly, Massachusetts
Public Meeting Minutes
Board: Library Trustees
Subcommittee:
Date: 09/18/1980
Place: Beverly Public Library
Board members present: Nell B. Olson, Richard L. Buckley, Mary K. Connors, John K.
Coogan, Katherine L. Fanning, and Emily P. Moreney
Board members absent: Lester C. Ayers, Dr. Edna M. MeGlynn, and Nancy A. Piontek
Others present:
Recorder: Barbara Bruno
Regular Meeting
Board of Trustees - Beverly Public Library
September 18, 1980
Roll Call of Members:
Present were: Neil Olson, Richard Buckley, Kay Fanning, Jack Coogan, Mary Connors and
Emily Moreney. Also present were: Esther Calish, Barbara Bruno and Catherine Van
Sonnenberg from the League of Women Voters.
The following documents were distributed: The Annual Report for the Fiscal Year July 1, 1979 to
June 30, 1980; the financial statement for the same period; the staff roster; monthly financial
statements for July and August, and statistics for June, July and August.
Minutes were accepted as presented. Motion made by Mr. Buckley and seconded by Mr. Coogan.
Motion carded.
Committee Reports:
1251h Anniversary Committee: Mrs. Calish reported that Nancy Piontek had legally changed her name
to Nancy White and had left the following report: The Bookworm's Ball has been definitely set for
December 7 from 7:30 to 11. Mrs. Louise Southwick has agreed to act as Chairperson. The Patch
of Blue has been booked as the orchestra in the Beverly Room and the early music group, the Broken
Consort, for another area in the library. The Beverly Improvement Society will provide the
decorations and the Friends will act as hosts.
A Fine Arts Festival will be held the end of April at the Montserrat School with an exhibit here.
Joseph Jeswald has agreed to be Chairperson of this event.
Donations have been received from Emhart (USM) $200; Cabot Cinema $100; Kransberg Furniture
$25. Burger King is providing the soft drinks for the Bookworm's Ball, food certificates for reading
clubs and partial subsidy for the road race.
We have also been notified by the Chamber of Commerce that the library will be honored at their
November 13th breakfast. The speaker that day is Paul Tsongas.
Administration Committee: Mr. BuckIcy stated that he had examined the insurance policy on the
boiler but wanted to clarify certain items. He would consult with Mr. Ayers.
Mrs. Calish requested that a committee be formed to look into the condition of the building,
particularly in regard to energy conservation. However, she stated that she had just heard from the
City Planner that the city has applied for a grant which would provide professional energy
consultants. If that application is successful, a second grant would request funds for implementation.
Whether or not the first grant comes through should be known sometime in October. In light of this,
Mr. Olson recommended that the appointing of a committee be tabled.
Mr. BuckIcy asked if we were able to take advantage of the present glut of oil on the market. Mrs.
Calish replied that, unfortunately, we have no storage capacity.
Mrs. Calish reported that we had some sizable repairs this summer--a major water pipe leak and
considerable repairs to the book lift. The children's room has been carpeted courtesy of the Friends.
Personnel: Mrs. Calish stated that all positions were now filled. We have also been approached by
the Gordon-Conwell Institute to participate in their work-study program in which we would employ
their students with Gordon paying 2/3 of the salary and the library paying 1/3. We have told them that
we are interested but no students have applied as yet.
Since the union meeting of September 17 was canceled, there was no need for an Executive Session.
Mrs. Calish stated that in the Professional Development line in the budget she had neglected to add
"out-of-state" and had requested the Mayor to amend this.
Finance: In noting the amount of money left in the salaries allocation, Mrs. Calish said this was due
to the several positions which had been open during the year and also the buy-back for Mike Rudden.
Report of the Librarian: A review of the status of the goals and objectives for last year is included in
the Annual Report. Mrs. Calish is working on those for the current year.
Because of her vacation, she asked that the next Trustees meeting be moved ahead to the fourth
Thursday, October 23rd. This was agreeable with the Board.
The plants in the foyer are a glt~ from the Beverly Improvement Society.
The telephone and electric lines for the computer were installed on September 10. New conduits are
being installed in Peabody for the consortia libraries to hook into. We hope to start inputting by
December.
Mrs. Calish reported receiving a grant to attend the public programming conference sponsored by the
National Endowment for the Humanities to be held in New Hampshire at the end of the month. one
project she would like to find funding for is oral history.
The parking lot is more of a problem than ever with the increased enrolment at North Shore
Community College and she asked for help from the Board in dealing with it. Mr. Olson referred the
issue to the Administration Sub-Committee.
Communications: Letters from The Board of Library Commissioners regarding the effect of
Proposition 2 ½ on libraries; a thank you from the Friends of the Farms for the help they received for
the Fair at the Farms; a thank you from Corcoran Management for bookmobile service; and a thank
you from the North Shore Community College English-as-a-second language program for the services
received from the library.
Motion for adjourmnent was made by Mr. Coogan and seconded by Mr. Buckley. The meeting
adjourned at 9 p.m.
The next meeting will be Thursday, October 23, 1980 at 7:45 p.m.
Barbara Bruno
Recorder