February2019Minutes-TrusteesBoard: Library Trustees
City of Beverly, Massachusetts
Public Meeting Minutes
Subcommittee:
Date: Thursday, February 28, 2019 6:00 P.M.
Place: Beverly Public Library
Board members present: Mary Behrle, Colleen Michaels, Kevin O'Reilly, Joanne Panunzio,
Myron Schirer -Suter
Board members absent: Margaret Altman, Marshall Handly, Ivy Mahan
Others present: Anna Langstaff, Allison Babin
Recorder: Allison Babin
Kevin O'Reilly presided. Allison Babin stated that the meeting was being recorded.
Joanne Panunzio made the motion, seconded by Mary Behrle, to accept the minutes, as read, of
the regular meeting of January 14, 2019. Motion passed.
Election of Officers
Mary Behrle made the motion, seconded by Joanne Panunzio, to nominate Kevin O'Reilly as
Chair. Mary Behrle made the motion, seconded by Myron Schirer- Suter, to nominate Joanne
Panunzio as Secretary. There were no other nominations. Motion passed.
Kevin O'Reilly appointed subcommittee chairs, Personnel: Joanne Panunzio, Long Range
Planning: Mary Behrle, Administration: Kevin O'Reilly, and Finance: Marshall Handly.
Subcommittee members were appointed as follows:
Personnel: Joanne Panunzio, Mary Behrle, Myron Schirer- Suter, Colleen Michaels
Finance: Marshall Handly, Margaret Altman, Myron Schirer- Suter, Ivy Mahan
Administration: Kevin O'Reilly, Mary Behrle, Marshall Handly, Joanne Panunzio
Long Range Planning: Margaret Altman, Mary Behrle, Marshall Handly, Ivy Mahan, Colleen
Michaels, Kevin O'Reilly, Joanne Panunzio, Myron Schirer -Suter
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) Budget Fiscal Year 2019: On track. Mayor Cahill asked each City department to identify lines
in their budgets where money could be saved, since revenue from excise tax is lower than
anticipated. Anna Langstaff identified several areas and met with the Mayor and City Finance
Director to discuss. Liz Babbitt from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners has
confirmed that this will not affect the library's eligibility for state aid.
2) "Coming In" sculpture: Fundraising by a group of private citizens has been completed for a
sculpture titled "Coming In." The sculpture has been acquired and installed at the Farms branch
library in memory of Renee Mary.
3) Trustee Terms: An administrative error occurred with the recent Trustee appointments of
Mary Behrle and Ivy Mahan. The appointments were erroneously made for two years instead of
three. City Clerk, Wes Slate, will need to fix this. The appointment of Colleen Michaels, who is
filling the term left vacant by Neil Olson, was done correctly. Cathryn O'Hare is writing a letter
to Mayor Cahill to express her interest in the vacant Trustee position.
4) Building: Anna Langstaff received a bill for $2000 for a granite capstone.
5) Personnel: A patron thanked Anna Langstaff for promoting Martha Morgan to the Farms
branch librarian position. The retirement reception for Kate Ingalls was well attended. Kate
Ingalls was featured on the front page of the Beverly Citizen. Liz Caffi has been hired for the full
time position of Assistant Reference Librarian /Assistant Children's Librarian. Narcan training
was conducted by Healthy Streets and Beverly Police Sergeant David Costa on Tuesday,
February 26. The training was very informative and staff asked a lot of questions. Most staff
members who attended the training expressed willingness to administer Narcan.
6) Community engagement: The bookmobile is now stopping at Elliott Landing. Bebop Beats in
Beverly is a new weekly parent /child program by Coordinated Family and Community
Engagement (CFCE) of the North Shore. The children's librarians met with school reading
teachers to develop summer reading lists. Anna Langstaff attended an informative Library of
Things meeting at the Danvers Public Library with librarians and recycling coordinators
sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Anna Langstaff
passed around several of the library's forthcoming "things," including a ukulele and Zoomy
handheld digital microscope.
7) Allison Babin shared upcoming program highlights including "How to Research Your House"
with Nancy Coffey on March 6; a screening of the documentary film "Alice's Ordinary People"
with filmmaker Craig Dudnick on March 14; and "Reducing Stress through Meditation" on
March 21.
Communications
Anna Langstaff shared a Save the Date announcement for an upcoming Massachusetts Library
Trustee Institute program for all library trustees in Massachusetts on Saturday, April 27, 2019 in
Worcester.
Unfinished Business
None.
New Business
None.
The next meeting of the board will be Tuesday, March 19, 2019 at 6:OOPM at the Beverly Public
Library.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7PM.