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HomeMy Public PortalAboutFebruary 3, 2015 minutes with links_201505081335595937Trustees of the Watertown Free Public Library February 3, 2015 Present: Katherine Button, Raya Stern, Carol Tierney, Timothy Tracy, Trustees; Leone Cole, Director; Caitlin Browne, Assistant Director; Jill Clements, Adult Services. Absent: Michael Hanlon, Gracemarie LeBlanc. Mr. Tracy, Vice Chair, brought the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Ethan Scarduzio and Lindsey Warren of Watertown Community Access filmed the meeting. A round of introductions took place. Mr. Tracy read the Rules for the Public Forum. Nobody signed up for the Public Forum. Secretary's Report: Ms. Stern moved to accept the January 20, 2015 Minutes, as amended. Ms. Tierney seconded. All voted in favor. Financial Report: The budget looks reasonable. The Burke Fund is doing okay for this time of year. The Children's Dept. is still finalizing plans for spending the McCall Gift Fund. Ms. Tierney noted that the balance for HATCH is down to about one-third the original income. Ms. Browne is going to ask for another grant from the Watertown Community Foundation. Classes for 3-D modeling have proven popular. For now, HATCH has plenty of filament for the 3-D printer. A few words about snow. The Library shovels the walks and emergency exits. The Town plows the parking lot. Residents are allowed to park behind the Library during snow emergencies. Ms. Button made a motion to approve the Financial Report. Ms. Tierney seconded. All voted in favor. Director's Report: Ms. Cole put forth a recommendation to invite the consultant, Nicole Lamberg, to facilitate further discussions during the Long Range Planning meetings. Everyone liked the way Ms. Lamberg lead the meeting in January. Ms. Lamberg is unable to attend the February meeting, but is available March through June. Her fees for that period would cost $2025 (3 hours per meeting including preparation and debriefing time.) Ms. Stern moved to take $2,025 from the Kaveny Fund to pay for Nicole Lamberg to facilitate Long Range Planning meetings. Ms. Button seconded. All voted in favor. Steve Magoon, Director of Community Development and Planning, will be talking about the Town's Comprehensive Plan at the February 18 Long Range Planning Committee meeting. At the FY16 budget meeting January 29 with the Town Manager, Ms. Cole and Mr. Hanlon made it clear that the Trustees voted on a Level Services Budget. Requests for Additional Funding were submitted for updates to the HVAC system, more library materials, and a digital scanner. Ms. Cole does not know whether the Library will be granted level services funding or a 21/2 per cent reduction budget, as the Town is still waiting for answers from the State government. Mr. Driscoll will be asking the Town Council for about $200,000 in capital improvements for the Library, including new sliding doors, carpet replacement, painting, repairs to the slate roof, and the RFID plan. The new people counters provide much more data than the old system. The most popular hour of the week is 1-2 PM on Sundays. So far, about 500 surveys have been returned. People want more books, more hours. Note that the Watertown Library is open more hours than other local libraries. Fridays from 7-9 PM are as busy as the 4-5 hour. As more data from the new people counters accumulate, we will be able to create usage graphs. The HATCH grand opening January 25 was a huge success. Ms. Cole said that Ms. Browne did an awesome job. The musicians attracted a lot of people and were well paid for their performance. Ms. Button had become aware of the big space opposite HATCH. Ms. Browne said that the area, which used to house a book store, is now designated a mufti -purpose room available to HATCH as well as other tenants in the Arsenal Project. Ms. Browne wrote an email thank you note to Allyson Reed, the General Manager of the Arsenal Project. At Ms. Cole's request, Ms. Button as Secretary of the Board also wrote a thank you letter. For a more formal touch, the letter will be mailed on Library stationery. New Business: Ms. Stern read a special thank you letter she composed regarding the recent program Grandmothers & Grandchildren. Despite having to postpone the event one day because of a snow storm, problematic parking, and very cold weather, a large crowd attended the program. There were several requests for more chairs. Since Ms. Stern sat at the back of the room, she had difficulty seeing what was happening in front. She suggested that the Library procure a platform to raise the speakers' table. It could be on wheels to be moved as needed. Ms. Cole asked Ms. Ruggeri-Koret for an estimate. A platform with room for one table would cost about $1,000. Funding could come from LIG/MEG or the Building Committee. This month, Carey Conkey of Teen Services gave the Department Head Presentation. Ms. Conkey prepared a handout for the Trustees, "Teen Services: Moving from Grocery Store to Kitchen." For young adults, the Library has evolved into an informal learning center, a place to develop critical skills, teamwork, a place to create content, a safe place to learn about risk. "Hanging out" is important for teens, especially boys. Teens need the whole library for their projects. The cafe is like an extension of the Teen room. The kids go back and forth. Volunteers working with young adults enjoy learning from the students. Outreach to the community is important, getting the word to group homes, for instance. There was a discussion on the social media policy developed by Nicole Lamberg and Associates. Ms. Browne said that implementing the program will take a long time, but once staff get over the hurdle, it will be easier to manage. The first action item is to consolidate the departmental Facebook pages into a single interface for all age groups. The vacant position in Technical Services now carries the title Community Engagement Specialist. This is going to be a clerical position. Grade 1, Step 1 at $18.00 per hour. It is also a Union position. As of July 1, staff are eligible for step raises and cost of living raises. In spite of low starting salaries, the Library offers benefits not often enjoyed by people in the private sector. The Library culture encourages people to learn as much as they can in their starting positions and then to move on. Old Business: Ms. Tierney worked with the HATCH Policies and Guidelines to reorganize and condense the document. One line under Guidelines for Use appeared to be redundant, and it was agreed to eliminate that particular bullet point. Ms. Button made a motion to accept the HATCH Policies and Guidelines for Use with corrections. Ms. Stern seconded. All voted in favor. Next Meeting: Tuesday, March 3, 2015, 7:00 PM. Long Range Planning, Wednesday, March 18, 7:00 PM. Motion to adjourn: 8:10 PM. Respectfully submitted, Katherine Button ENCLOSURES: Agenda; Draft January 20, 2015, Minutes; FY15 Year -to -Date Budget Report; Burke FY15; FY15 Fund or Grant Book Funds; HATCH Financial Report; Memo re: Long range plan budget; Memo re: Social media strategy; WFPL's Social Media Strategy — Basic Blueprint; Memo re: Arsenal Project thank you; Thank you email for launch of HATCH; Watertown Savings Bank Customer Choice Awards; Revised HATCH policies and guidelines for use.