Library Trustees Minutes Feb 27 2024.docx City of Beverly, Massachusetts
Public Meeting Minutes
Board: Library Trustees
Subcommittee:
Date: February 27, 2024, 6:00 P.M.
Place: 32 Essex St
Board members present: Margaret Altman, Mary Behrle (remote), Marshall Handly, Ivy Mahan,
Colleen Michaels, Cathryn Keefe O'Hare, Kevin O'Reilly, Joanne Panunzio
Board members absent:
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 a motion, seconded by Colleen Michaels, to accept the minutes of the
meeting of January 23, 2024. Roll call vote approved, 8 to 0.
Public Presentation
None.
Allison Babin introduced Natalie Maes, Circulation Assistant and Masters in Library and
Information Science student, who would be observing the meeting.
Election of Officers
Margaret Altman nominated Kevin O'Reilly to serve as Chair of the Board of Trustees. Ivy Mahan
seconded the nomination. Roll call vote approved, 8 to 0.
Margaret Altman nominated Joanne Panunzio to serve as Secretary of the Board of Trustees.
Cathryn Keefe O'Hare seconded the nomination. Roll call vote approved, 8 to 0.
Kevin O'Reilly appointment the following subcommittee members and chairperson(s)
1. Personnel: Panunzio (chair), Michaels, Behrle, Altman
2. Administration: O'Reilly (chair), Mahan, Handly
3. Finance: Handly (chair), Keefe O'Hare, Mahan
4. Long Range Planning: Behrle (chair), Altman, Handly, Mahan, Keefe O'Hare, Michaels,
O'Reilly, Panunzio
Report of the Library Director
1. Fiscal Year 2024 Budget: Everything is on track with the exception of the buy-back sick time
line. Another full time employee resigned, and was paid out vacation and personal time from this
line. Allison Babin believes she will be able to cover the overage by moving funds from the fulltime
line. Joanne Panunzio asked about plans for the state aid and if work on the Children's Room will
start before the HVAC work begins. Allison Babin stated that any work done on the Children's
Room won't happen until after the HVAC project begins.
2. Building/Vehicle Issues: The public hearing for the HVAC project was held last night. The
presentation thoroughly explained the approach, the finances, and why the Mayor believes that the
geothermal system is the best option. Allison Babin thanked Joanne Panunzio, Margaret Altman,
and Kevin O'Reilly for attending. The public hearing will be continued on Monday March 18 at
8PM. The trustees discussed the possibility of writing a letter of support for the HVAC project.
Kevin O'Reilly will draft a letter to be shared at a later meeting with the trustees. Repairs to the
north elevator have not yet been completed as we are still waiting on the parts to arrive. Funds have
been encumbered for needed repairs to corroded control valves for the sprinklers at the main library.
Recently there was some damage to the fence in the parking lot. It is planned that the fence will be
replaced as part of the HVAC project, so no repairs will be done until that time.
3. Collection updates: Currently, a group of librarians at the library select items collaboratively for
the adult collection. We don't have staff assigned to specific sections. The library has purchased
iCurate Core, a service offered by Ingram, to perform a collection assessment/gap analysis for the
adult collection. NOBLE saw a huge increase in OverDrive checkouts, with 64,089 checkouts in
January. Beverly was responsible for 11.5% of these. This year NOBLE received a substantial
increase in funding from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC)for ebook
and audiobook purchases. The more money put in, the more people use it.
4. Community Engagement: Allison Babin met with Ward 2 Councillor Danielle Spang. Allison
Babin participated in the Talking Trash event at the Cabot, presented by Green Beverly. The library
has partnered with the Beverly Rotary Club for"Reading with Rotary: featuring stories of hope and
kindness." A big thank you to Margie McClory, Head of Childrens for the planning of this event.
Allison Babin will be attending the Legislative Breakfast at Endicott College on March 15.
6. Personnel: The library has hired Kerri MacLaury as Head of Reference services. Kerri previously
worked for the library as a substitute librarian and was most recently the Head of Reference at
Haverhill Public Library. The Junior Building Custodian, Michael Spiridiglioizzi, resigned on
February 5, to take a job with better hours at Saints Academy. He leaves big shoes to fill. We have
posted his position.
7. Programs: Adult programming includes a Monday Morning lecture on How the Irish Shaped
Beverly Farms, Cookbook Club, and a Native Pollinator program with Green Beverly. Teens have
Downtown Cleanup, Dungeons and Dragons, and Creative Writing Club. The Children's
department has the Graphic Novel Book Club and an author visit with Karin Gertsch.
Communications
None at this time.
Unfinished Business
None at this time.
New Business
Trustees volunteered to contribute $20 per year to the Trustee Sunshine Fund.
List of Documents/Exhibits
• Draft minutes from the January 23, 2024 meeting
• Fiscal Year 2024 budget to date (2/27/24)
The next regular meeting of the board is March 26, 2024 at 6PM in person at the main library.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:17PM.