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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Library Board of Trustees - 10/13/2022 - Board of Trustees Approved Minutes South Burlington Library Board of Trustees Thursday, October 13, 2022 5:30 pm Location: Board room – South Burlington Public Library and Virtual online Members Present: Kevin Morgenstein Fuerst, Anne Gilson LaLonde, Stacey Pape, Rebecca Stazi, Donna Swartwout, Penelope Tompkins, Margery Vagt Members Absent: Lauren Ballard Hatch, Lee Freeman, Patrick Leduc, Ted Lenski, Holly Painter Staff Members Present: Jennifer Murray Friends of the Library Present: Sue Raatikainen Call to Order Chair Called the Meeting to Order at 5:32 pm. Review of Library Exits The Chair reviewed how trustees should exit the meeting when the library is closed. 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 8, 2022 Upon a motion made by Trustee Stacey Pape and seconded by Trustee Rebecca Stazi, the Trustees voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the September 8, 2022 Board of Trustees Meeting. Appreciation and gratitude were expressed to Anne Lalonde for ably stepping up to take the September board minutes. Chair’s Report The Chair thanked everyone for being in attendance tonight and noted that we had a quorum to conduct business. She reiterated the hope that Trustees could make at least 75% of the scheduled Board meetings. There will be a group photo for November’s meeting and a request that everyone attend in person if possible. Board members were encouraged to follow and like all social media for the South Burlington Public Library and the Friends of the Library. Currently there are accounts on Facebook and Instagram. The Foundation working group has drafted letters for the annual appeal. The Chair hopes that there will be 100% participation by Trustees to support the annual appeal by the end of the calendar year. Gratitude was expressed to all the Trustees that attended the Drag Queen Story Hour. The event was a success. Finally, the Chair reported that she, Donna Swartwout (Trustee), and Jennifer Murray (Director) would present to the City the transformative idea for use of ARPA funds – a van for the library that would be shared with Park and Recreation. Friends of the Library Report Bookshop ● September sales $548 (including pop up sale). ● Donations-Accepting newer fiction and children’s books only. Pop-Up Sale ● We achieved our goal of clearing out some mass market books- we sold about ⅓ of our inventory. Books were .25 each. We made $181 (sold 7 bags). Fall Book sale ● Nov.3-5. We are busy sorting books and prepping for the sale. Illuminate VT ● The Friends will have a mini-sale Dec. 16, 4-8pm in front of the library stairs. Committee Reports Finance Committee Report The Finance Committee provided an overview of the FY24 budget and highlighted the salary increase of 5% and an inflation increase of 8% on appropriate line items. There was a discussion on janitorial costs which are controlled by the city. This line item is scheduled to be removed. It was noted that currently there are no funds in the advertising budget and the Board might consider this for a FY25 request. In the short term, if needed the gift account might cover these needs. Jennifer Murray explained that this draft has been sent for feedback to appropriate City staff. After review and suggestions, a final budget will be presented to City Council and the Board will have a final pass at the final budget before that happens. Upon a motion made by Trustee Penne Tompkins, and seconded by Trustee Rebecca Stazi, the Trustees voted unanimously to accept the draft FY24 budget presented by the Finance Committee. Governance and Nomination Committee Report The Governance and Nomination Committee had a member of the public join their open meeting. A member of the public requested the library be open longer and also asked for more information about how the budget was created and the priorities determined. Stacey Pape explained our fundraising process, and Jennifer Murray spoke about the focus groups which helped determine how to best meet the needs of the public. Programming Policy and Room Rental: In order to solve contradictions in the original policy the fourth paragraph under the heading Policy Governing Requests will be rewritten as follows: Reservation requests should be made as early as possible prior to the event. No long-term arrangements will be made. Only two future meetings may be reserved at one time. The request may be renewed as space permits. The committee reviewed the Library Program Policy, specifically the committee discussed how to best distinguish between programs which take place in the library. Jennifer Murray raised the concern that requiring background checks of the volunteer programmers might contradict our value of inclusion. Although volunteers are not required to pay for the background check, they are required to fill out a form and the forms are in English. Jennifer Murray will speak to the city attorney about this question. Privacy Policy and Patron Code of Conduct: The city attorney has recommended we limit filming by patrons within the library. Jennifer Murray would prefer to have a policy which states, “photography and filming is discouraged without verbal permission.” Margery Vagt disagreed and would prefer the policy state filming of other patrons is not allowed without verbal permission. The Committee also discussed if this should be added to the Privacy policy or the Patron Code of Conduct. Anne LaLonde agreed to edit the Patron Code of Conduct. The committee will also add “children under 18 may not be recorded without the written permission of their parent or guardian” to the Child Safety Policy. The new policies will be an action item for next Board of Trustee meeting. Advocacy Committee Report The Advocacy Committee met and is considering amplification opportunities on social media. Members of the Committee have met with Library staff responsible for social media accounts; a listening tour. The Committee will be researching other libraries to see how we might borrow ideas. In the next Board meeting; the Committee will present their charge for review and approval. Strategic Planning Group The strategic plan was discussed by the Board. Jennifer Murray noted that the City has passed a resolution addressing a commitment to climate change. It was felt that the South Burlington Public Library should add this to the proposed strategic plan. This plan will be used by Jennifer and library staff to create goals and performance reviews. It is the hope that this is a working document that is reviewed each year by Trustees and Staff. Upon a motion made by Trustee Donna Swartwout, and seconded by Trustee Kevin Morgenstein Fuerst, the Trustees voted unanimously to accept the Strategic Plan with the proposed addition and minor edits to the document. Director’s Report Illuminate Vermont is a winter carnival festival being run by the City of South Burlington. The library will participate by having some performers on the first floor (living room). The Friends of the Library will hold a mini book sale during this time. As a result of the set up and planning needed for this event, the library will need to close early on that day. Jennifer will bring to the November meeting the proposed change in hours. Jennifer is attending a workshop on grant/crowd funding opportunities. She feels the book van and the story walk might be excellent opportunities to raise funds for these projects. The Friends of the Library are interested in supporting the story walk project. Jennifer shared the difficult incidences that Library staff have dealt with over the past few weeks. The library staff witnessed the VT state police, NH state police and South Burlington Police arrested a suspect who was resting in the library. Staff have been offered EAP resources and Jennifer is continuing to provide other resources. The week before, a patron who has repeated behavioral issues, had to be asked to leave. Howard Center has worked on a behavioral contract with this patron. The Trustees discussed how to best support staff and to continue to have the library be a safe and welcoming space to all. Jennifer and Donna Swartwout will draft a disruptive patron operating procedure for consideration and review. Finally, Jennifer shared updates on new staff hires and open positions still in process. Other Business None Meeting Adjournment Seeing no other business, the Chair adjourned the meeting at 7:00 pm.