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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Library Board of Trustees - 01/12/2023 - Board of Trustees Approved Minutes South Burlington Library Board of Trustees Thursday, January 12, 2023 5:30 pm Location: Board room – South Burlington Public Library and Virtual online Members Present: Lauren Ballard Hatch, Kevin Morgenstein Fuerst, Anne Gilson LaLonde, Patrick Leduc, Ted Lenski, Holly Painter, Stacey Pape, Donna Swartwout, Margery Vagt Members Absent: Lee Freeman, Rebecca Stazi, Penelope Tompkins Staff Members Present: Jennifer Murray Friends of the Library Present: Sue Raatikainen Call to Order Chair Called the Meeting to Order at 5:30 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 Ilona Blanchard, Community Development Director, City of South Burlington presentation on the TIF (Tax Increment Financing) proposal that will be on the Town Meeting Day ballot. Comments and questions from the public not related to items on the agenda None Approval of regular board minutes of November 10, 2022 Upon a motion made by Trustee Margery Vagt and seconded by Trustee Patrick Leduc, the Trustees voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the November 10, 2022 Board of Trustees Meeting. Chair’s Report The Chair has received and accepted the letter of resignation of Trustee Lee Freeman. The board acknowledged Lee’s contributions to the board and his dedicated support of the South Burlington Public Library. There will be no new nominations to the Board of Trustees at this time. Jennifer Murray, Ted Lenski and Stacey Pape (Chair) presented to the city the budget for the library as well as the proposed van/book mobile idea. A small working group maybe convened to discuss next steps about the van. A member of Parks and Recreation could be invited to join this group. We will not hear anything further until spring regarding the proposal. The next step for the City’s strategic plan (Phase 2) will include open community meetings. Trustee representation is needed. The chair will send out the dates for these meetings. Please let Jennifer Murray or Stacey Pape know if you can participate. The South Burlington Public Library will be closed on Monday, January 16, 2023 in honor of MLK Day. The library has posted new hours which now extends the hours of service available to the public. Friends of the Library Report Bookshop ● November Sales $264.07 ● December Sales $344.69 ● Donations- Open again for all categories. Illuminate VT ● Our pop-up sale in the lobby was fun and profitable. We experimented with pricing. We charged a minimum of $2 per book. 75% of the books were children’s’ picture books which normally sell for $1. People did not hesitate to buy these books for $2 (or more). We made $495 on the sale. It was great to be a part of this festive Community Event. Winter Concert Series ● First concert, VSO Ensemble, January 28, 12 noon. Spring Book Sale ● April 14-15, Preview Night April 13, 5-7. Committee Reports Finance Committee Report Ted Lenski and Jennifer Murray presented the library budget to the City Council and received good feedback. The Council will vote on the budget on Tuesday, January 17, 2023. A finance committee meeting will be scheduled sometime during the first quarter. Governance and Nomination Committee Report The committee met to review the following policies: Patron Code of Conduct, Child Safety, Privacy, First Aid, Social Media, and Library Use. These policies are being reviewed as appropriate by legal counsel and library staff, and some are being edited with some new language. The committee also reviewed the committee charges. All policies and recommended changes will be brought to the Board of Trustees in the near future. Advocacy Committee Report The committee shared the calendar of activities, and their work on social media. The committee is working on the Foundation video with some edits to still be made. The committee is considering window clings as a way to further promote the South Burlington Public Library. Foundation Working Group As reported, to date the Annual Appeal has raised $10,666.74. The ASPIRE campaign which includes payment pledges and recurring gifts stands at $18, 637. Seat naming brought in $3,000 and grants are at $2,200. The Foundation Working Group reports a total of $34,000 raised as of July 1, 2022. Jennifer Murray reported that the library’s people counter has ceased operations at this time. She presented the Board with a request to purchase a new wireless counter that with installation will cost $1, 969.95. Given this is a capital improvement, it was discussed that Foundation money could be used to purchase the new equipment. Upon a motion made by Trustee Patrick Leduc and seconded by Trustee Ted Lenski, the Trustees voted unanimously to accept the Foundation covering the cost of the new wireless people counter. Director’s Report Jennifer Murray shared the library’s annual report (submitted via email to all Trustees). She reported there is a personnel issue that she is working on with the city’s new HR director. The situation appears on a successful path. There continues to be public issues with patrons in the library. The staff continue to respond well to the concerns and to deescalate the situations. A candidate for one of the open library positions has sued the library and the city for discrimination. The high school intern has completed her time with Jennifer and the experience was a good one. Two programs were highlighted: The Lois Price music series and the Baby Brunch. Jennifer shared a personal interest that she recently was a participant in the group Braver Angels. This is a group focused on civility in politics. She hopes to bring the group to the South Burlington Library on February 18, 2023 Other Business Patrick Leduc shared that Eric Holder will speaking at the Flynn on May 16, 2023. He hoped that Jennifer could share the information with the libraries across the state. Meeting Adjournment Seeing no other business, the Chair adjourned the meeting at 6:57 pm.