2003-05-27City of Beverly, Massachusetts
Public Meeting Minutes
Board:
Library Trustees
Subcommittee:
Date:
Tuesday, May 27, 2003 7:00 P.M.
Place:
Beverly Public Library
Board members present:
Joanne Avallon, Todd Balf, Edward Brindle, Neil Olson, Kevin
O’Reilly, Helga Senko, and John Young
Board members absent:
Lindsay Diehl,Joanne Panunzio
Others present:
Thomas Scully, Anna Langstaff
Recorder:
Anna Langstaff
John Young presided.
Tom Scully reported that at the April 15, 2003 regular board meeting Neil Olson made the
motion to accept the minutes of March 25, 2003 as amended. Kevin O’Reilly made the motion,
seconded by Neil Olson, to accept the minutes of April 15, 2003 as corrected. Motion passed.
Public Presentation
None
Committee Reports
Personnel: Helga Senko reported that John Young, Tom Scully, and Helga Senko met to go over
Tom Scully’s annual review.
Administration: No report.
Finance: No report.
Long Range Planning: No report.
Report of the Library Director
1) Copies of the Director’s report (on file with these minutes) were mailed to Trustees. 2) Farms
Library: Construction project is more or less on schedule. 3) Tour of Farms Library: There will
be a tour of the Farms Library for trustees on Saturday, June 28 at 10AM. 4) Young Adults:
Tom Scully reported on Beverly Youth Collaborative focus group meeting he attended with
Kathy Keeler, Young Adult Librarian. Tom Scully reported on CCI meeting. 5) Events: Book
sale did not raise as much money as past book sales. Poetry Contest was a huge success. 6)
Budget: Tom Scully presented “Plan B” budget.
Communications
1) Letter received from Sara Brand offering to donate her pencil drawing of Madeline Post.
Unfinished Business
None
New Business
Plan B Budget: There was a discussion of the Plan B budget. Edward Brindle would like to go
on record as being against the acceptance of Plan B but is being forced to submit it to City Hall
based on the request from the City’s administration and the Mayor.
The next regular meeting of the Board will be Tuesday, June 24, 2003 at 7:00 P.M. at the Main
Library.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 P.M.
LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT
May 27, 2003
Beverly Farms Library
– Work is continuing on the roof of the Farms library. The contractor needs
about 2 weeks of clear weather, which we have not had this spring. The contractor has begun erecting
the brick exterior walls on the new addition. The mason is continuing to repoint the walls on the old
building attempting to stop the water penetration.
Budget
– The Mayor has asked all departments to submit a “Plan B” budget. For the Library, this
means another cut of $111,000. That basically eliminates the book budget.
The Mayor now plans to submit the City budget to the City Council, June 2. We still are waiting for
the Legislature to approve a state budget for next year.
Archives Grant –
We have received a grant for $4,800 from the Massachusetts Historical Records
Advisory Board to begin a survey of records in various Beverly churches and the City Clerk’s Office.
Beverly will be the first Massachusetts community to attempt a comprehensive cataloguing of historic
church records. This grant is a co-operative venture of the Library, the City Clerk, the Beverly
Historical Society and six Beverly churches, First Parish Church, Second Congregational Church, St.
Mary Star of the Sea Church, First Baptist Church, Dane Street Congregational Church and St.
John’s Episcopal Church.
Teenage patrons
– Young Adult Librarian Kathy Keeler and I attended a focus group of the Beverly
Youth Coalition. The meeting brought together agencies working in the community to provide
programs for Beverly teenagers. The Coalition will be meeting with a series of groups to do a needs
assessment of services provide to Beverly youth. The following day, I met with the intervention
group which includes the police, probation department, drug court, district attorney, school
adjustment counselors. The District Attorney’s office was interested in doing some Internet safety
courses. Kathy Keeler is following up with the District Attorney’s Office.
Young Adult Poetry Contest
– The Young Adult Poetry Contest was another tremendous success,
thanks to the work of Kathy Keeler and Joanne Avallon, and the judges, Todd Balf, Patti Adams, and
Kerry Zagarella. More than 110 people attended the program.