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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Library Board of Trustees - 10/07/2021 Minutes South Burlington Library Board of Trustees Thursday, October 7, 2021 @ 6 p.m. Location: South Burlington Public Library Members Present: Margaret Ann Cross, Lee Freeman, Lauren Ballard Hatch, Patrick Leduc, Stacey Pape, Jay Pasackow, Rebecca Stazi Donna Swartwout, Margery Vagt Members Absent: Ted Lenski, Alicia Lamonda Staff Members Present: Jennifer Murray, Jessie Baker Friends of the Library Present: Sue Raatikainen Call to Order Patrick Leduc called the meeting to Order at 6:02 pm. Additions and deletions to the posted agenda None Comments and questions from the public not related to items on the agenda None Approval of regular board minutes of September 9, 2021 Upon a motion made by Trustee Lauren Ballard Hatch and seconded by Trustee Lee Freeman, the Trustees voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the September 9, 2021 Board of Trustees Meeting. Chair’s Report The Chair presented the Board priorities and goals 1. Complete Strategic Plan: The plan had been put on hold due to the library move/opening. The Board will work towards a 1–2-page document outlining our goals and strategies in the near future. 2. Support library staff initiatives and budget decisions that continue to make the library accessible to the greater community. 3. Support fundraising initiatives and Library Foundation efforts. 4. Create large scale public events (e.g., Book Festival). Guest: Jessie Baker, City Manager Jessie presented the process that City Council has adopted to align elected officials and professional staff priorities and strategies to ensure a partnership between all. There are 6 categories identified that she hopes the library goals and strategies will fit into one or more of these priorities. 1. Affordable/Community Strong 2. Walkable 3. Green & Clean 4. Opportunity Oriented 5. Continuing Core Municipal Services 6. Administrative Improvements There is a department head retreat in late October where there will be a shared work plan connected to budget priorities. Ideally this will happen again next April/May. It is expected that there will be multiple year projects. This is a new idea for the city and Jessie is open to try as we go. There was a discussion regarding the Board’s oversight of the library. Jessie explained that the Board of Trustees for the library is a governing body that makes policy decisions, and has oversight of the Director. The MOU with the city states that the city has oversight of personnel and personnel policies. As an example of this partnership is the library and the city are in a discussion over holiday hours for the board of trustees to approve. COVID 19 Update The library continues to follow state guidelines and is encouraging all patrons to wear masks while in the library. Story Time has been moved from the Wiggles room to the central space to offer great air flow. Kids masks are being offered to anyone who requests them. The library/city will fall under the vaccine mandate (more than 100 employees) when it eventually happens. The library staff is preparing for that process. Holiday Hours Approved Upon a motion made by Trustee Lee Freeman and seconded by Trustee Lauren Ballard Hatch, the Trustees voted unanimously to accept the proposed Holiday Hours. Wed November 24 - Open until 4:30 Thu November 25 - Closed Fri November 26 - Closed Sat November 27 - Open 10-2 Thu December 23 - Open until 4:30 Fri December 24 – Closed Sat December 25 - Closed Fri December 31 – Closed LIBRARY PRIORITIES Jennifer Murray presented the library priorities. The Leadership team meeting which includes several new staff members will review and discuss. The new city process will help Jennifer and the staff to move forward and align with city goals/priorities. 1. Community reach-out 2. Strategic planning 3. User experience/seek feedback 4. Work with Library Foundation on grants 5. Work with other City Departments 6. Foster agency connections 7. Onboarding new staff 8. Policies FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY REPORT Patrick, please insert Sue’s report here. Committee Reports Finance Committee Upon a motion made by Trustee Margery Vagt and seconded by Trustee Jay Pasackow, the Trustees voted unanimously to accept the proposed Policy on the Use of the Library Gift Account (LGA) as recommended by the Finance Committee. Upon a motion made by Trustee Lauren Ballard Hatch and seconded by Trustee Rebecca Stazi, the Trustees voted unanimously to accept the proposed Policy on Library Fees as recommended by the Finance Committee. DISCUSSION OF BUDGET: A draft of the FY 23 budget has been developed. The FY23 budget will be submitted at $864K. In December of 2020, during the presentation to the City Council, we forecasted the FY23 budget to be $866K. This represents a 6% increase over this current year. The increase represents additional staff as agreed upon by City Council to increase library access (more open hours). This will increase library hours from the current 47 to 59 in FY23. Governance and Nomination Committee Report Upon a motion made by Trustee Lauren Ballard Hatch and seconded by Trustee Donna Swartwout, the Trustees voted unanimously to accept the proposed Policy on Meeting Room Rental, Usage Policies & Procedures with the proposed revisions as recommended by the Governance and Nomination Committee. A final review of the revised document will occur at the November Library Board of Trustees meeting. Advocacy Committee Report The Committee is working on how to increase awareness and traffic and support library staff’s goal of outreach. There will be a survey sent to library staff to gather their ideas and input. Meeting schedule has been announced. There will be one in November to replace the one in October. Director’s Report Jennifer Murray reported that the new Adult Services Librarian has been hired. Staff are very positive about the hire. To date (and without a working people counter), 800 new library cards have been issued. There was a brief discussion about celebrating when the 1,000 card is issued. Recent grants have been approved and there is funding available for new and additional purchases to be made. Study rooms are being used and intentionally these spaces are not included in the room reservation policy. Hours of use are being limited to 3 hours at a time. A suggestion was made to consider a program on COVID 19 education especially around the vaccine for children. Jennifer agreed to suggest this idea to her staff. The library staff has offered/created 52 programs in the past month. This is an amazing and dedicated staff. Both Jennifer and the Board of Trustees applaud these efforts. The staff will review and gather feedback on these programs at the end of the year. Other Business None Meeting Adjournment Seeing no other Business, the Chair adjourned the meeting at 7:39 pm.