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Library Trustees Minutes March 15 2022 City of Beverly, Massachusetts Public Meeting Minutes Board: Library Trustees Subcommittee: Date: March 15, 2022, 4:00 P.M. Place: Remote Meeting on Zoom Board members present: Margaret Altman, Mary Behrle, Marshall Handly, Ivy Mahan, Kevin O'Reilly, Joanne Panunzio Board members absent: Colleen Michaels, Cathryn Keefe O'Hare, Myron Schirer-Suter Others present: Allison Babin, Meghan Karasin Recorder: Meghan Karasin Kevin O'Reilly presided. Meghan Karasin stated that the meeting was being recorded. Marshall Handly made the motion, seconded by Mary Behrle, to accept the minutes of the meeting of February 15, 2022. Roll call vote approved, 6 to 0 with Altman, Behrle, Handly, Mahan, O'Reilly, and Panunzio voting in favor. Motion passed. Public Presentation None. Committee Reports Personnel: Joanne Panunzio stated that she will send out the director's evaluation form to the Trustees in April. The staff review of the director will be transferred to Google Forms, from Survey Monkey. The Trustees will have the results of the staff survey before they fill out their own evaluations. Administration: No report. Finance: No report. Long Range Planning: No report. Report of the Library Director 1. Fiscal Year 2022 Budget: Allison Babin shared the budget to date. Everything is on track. The $500 retention stipend to library union members has been paid from the full time staff line. Bryant Ayles said there will be a transfer into the library budget in the next few weeks. There will be significant spending in the books & subscriptions line in the next report. Value Line & Newsbank electronic resources will be added soon. Newsbank adds digital access to the Salem News and the Herald Citizen. The library currently has a print version of Value Line. Adding the digital version will increase access. Summer Reading books will be ordered soon and the library has placed a large order for custodial supplies. The printer/copier at the Farms branch is very old and staff are looking into options of leasing or purchasing a replacement. Marshall Handly asked if the current machines at the Farms is leased with a maintenance contract. Allison Babin replied that the machine is owned by the library, with no maintenance contract. A maintenance contract would be a benefit going forward. The library van is very old (1996) and will need replacing soon. Allison Babin will bring this up during the Fiscal Year 2023 budget meeting at the end of the month. Joanne Panunzio asked if there was a date set for the budget meeting. Allison Babin replied that this is just an initial meeting with the Mayor, Bryant Ayles, and Bruce Doig. Once the date is set for the City Council budget meeting,Allison will share this with the Board. Kevin O'Reilly asked about the electric and heating lines. Allison Babin replied that those bills do not come regularly. Some of it is managed through the city, with larger bills paid throughout the year. It is often not settled until June. 2. Building Issues: There have been challenges recently, particularly with snow storms, with non-library users using the parking lot. The Department of Public Services (DPS)isn't able to plow the lot with cars in it. Joe Bonaiuto, Senior Custodian, has been leaving letters on offending cars. For the last storm, the custodians put out cones to block the entrance. Misuse of the parking lot is less of a problem in non-winter months, but sometimes DPS needs access for repairs. The administration has been in contact with Montserrat as well as the parking police and may need to establish a relationship with a tow company and tow as a last resort. Joanne Panunzio asked about ticketing. Marshall Handly suggested posting a sign. Mary Behrle asked if the library keeps track of license plates. Allison Babin replied that she would consult with the police on ticketing and with Mike Collins on towing. There is a sign indicating parking is not allowed and staff do note the license plates of repeat offenders. The library has had a change in COVID protocols. The Mayor decided that masks are optional in city buildings as of March 1. Staff have had contentious interactions with the public recently over masks and are okay with this change. N95/KN95 masks are available for the staff and the public to use if desired. A new water bottle filler unit was installed in the Essex Street vestibule. This is one small way to help reduce the community's carbon footprint. The library is looking into installing a similar unit for the staff room. Digital signage has been launched in the main library lobby. This was a collaborative approach by many staff. The signage displays the day's events and advertises upcoming programs in a slideshow. 3. Update on Website Redesign for the Library: After the library requested approval of a website redesign contract with Stirling Brandworks, the Mayor raised the question of which city departments should have their own websites and which should fall under the city umbrella. The city did redesign its website and moved to the CivicPlus platform recently. The library's website is robust- basically a digital branch-with lots of complex integrations. When looking at vendors, the library specifically wanted to remain on the WordPress platform. The staff know this platform well and many staff members work on the website. The Mayor ultimately did understand that the library needed its own unique website, on the WordPress platform. The website redesign project will primarily be funded by the Salt Trust Fund and is expected to take 4-6 months. Upon completion, library staff will take over maintenance and updates. City IT is not involved. Joanne Panunzio asked if the city website links to the library website. Allison Babin stated that it does. 4. Community Engagement: On Tuesday March 8, Beverly High School students had the opportunity to shadow a city department. One student, Julia, shadowed at the library and got an in-depth view of what goes on behind the scenes at the library. The children's librarians recently met with the elementary reading specialists to develop summer reading lists. They will visit all K-4 classrooms before the end of the school year to encourage summer reading. Completing another action plan item, the library will create a story walk for the community. A story walk takes apart a book and places it along a path for families to enjoy. Joe Bonaiuto will build the story walk in a manner that allows the pages to be changed out for a new story. Bruce Doig and Phil Klimowicz, of the Forestry and Grounds Division, have approved its placement on the Beverly Common. The library is currently waiting on the Mayor's approval. It will be moveable and can travel to the Farms, Lynch Park, and other parks. Ivy Mahan asked how the book is read. Allison Babin explained that the book is deconstructed, with a page or 2-page spread placed on each stand, under plexiglass. The heads of the Teen's and Children's departments will attend the Youth At Risk Conference, an all day conference devoted to at-risk youth. There will be an HVAC update at the next meeting. 5. Programs: Upcoming adult programs include Community Zen, Living Room Conversations, the Salem Film Fest, and Monday Mornings. For teens, there's BIPOC Voices at the Beverly High School and the Deep Dive Book Club. Children's programming includes story times, LEGO Club, and Science Squad. Communications None. Unfinished Business None. New Business None. List of Documents/Exhibits Fiscal Year 2022 budget to date as of March 14, 2022. The next regular meeting of the board will be held virtually on Tuesday April 26, 2022 at 4PM. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:54 PM.