HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Library Board of Trustees - 12/14/2023 - Board of Trustees
Approved Minutes South Burlington Public Library Board of Trustees
The South Burlington Public Library Board of Trustees held a regular meeting on Thursday, December 14,
2023 at 5:30 p.m., in the Library Board Room, and by Zoom participation.
Members Present: Kevin Morgenstein Fuerst, Anne Gilson LaLonde, Ted Lenski, Holly Painter, Stacey
Pape, Rebecca Stazi, Donna Swartwout, Penelope Tompkins, Margery Vagt
Members Absent: Theresa Eiermann, Lauren Ballard Hatch
Staff Members & Guests Present: Jennifer Murray, Jessie Baker, Amanda Brown, Almy Landauer, Kelly
Kendall, Michael Maloney
The Chair called the meeting to order at 5:31 pm
1. Library exits were reviewed.
The chair provided instructions on emergency exit from the building.
2. Additions and deletions to the posted agenda
None
3. Comments and questions from the public not related to items on the agenda
None
4. Approval of regular board minutes of November 16, 2023
Upon a motion made by Trustee Anne Gilson LaLonde and seconded by Trustee Holly Painter, the
Trustees voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the November 16, 2023 Board of Trustees
Meeting.
5. Chair’s Report & Staff Introduction – Amanda Brown, Teen Specialist
Prior to introducing Amanda Brown, the chair reminded the staff that there would be two presentations
on union updates by the library staff and by Jessie Baker, South Burlington City Manager.
Amanda Brown was introduced to the Board. Amanda discussed her job responsibilities which include
running programs for teens, and selecting YA materials. She is working on a Cozy Café to begin in
January which will involve opening up the garage doors to create a comfy space, and serving tea/coffee.
Trustees were invited to bring treats to the space. Amanda has disbanded the teen council for now and
will try again in the summer. She does outreach at the local high school during lunch and works with
various clubs as a way to connect the library to teens.
6. Staff Presentation – union update
The chair introduced Almy Landauer, Kelly Kendall, and Michael Maloney from the Library to present
and inform the Trustees on their efforts to join the South Burlington City/AFSCME union contract and to
ask for the Board’s support.
Almy Landauer and Kelly Kendall thanked the Trustees for the time to speak at the board meeting. The
two provided the background and goals for the presentation. The library has been through an enormous
evolution since the library was housed at the high school and then the mall. There have been many
changes: increase in size, increase in amount of people served, changes in demographics of who we
serve, some with challenging needs; increase in capacity for service, increase in communication and
responsibilities between the Director and the Trustees/Foundation, change in staff’s work load and
responsibilities and a very large learning curve for everyone involved.
Almy and Kelly shared that becoming part of the City Employees union will ensure library staff have pay
and benefit equity, legal protection, an enforceable grievance process, and a seat at the table to help
address issues that arise. The Leadership Team, which consists of the Director, Adult Services Librarian,
the Children’s Librarian and the Circulation Librarian were not granted union eligibility by the city, but
Almy and Kelley stated they support their colleagues in their quest for pay and benefits equity. The Leadership Team have met with the City and Library Director to discuss concerns about the outdated
personnel Rules and Regulations document and have been assured a new document is in process.
Library staff believe the timing is fitting in the context of the City’s and the Library’s new DEI goals and
mission. Becoming a part of the City Employees union will result in a happier and more productive work
force, better morale, increased ability to recruit quality candidates to fill vacancies and increased
retention of staff.
Kelly concluded the presentation with the statement that with growth comes challenges. We have all
worked hard. It is part of the natural evolution of this growing organization that we stop and take stock.
Their hope is that their call for change – represented by these unionization efforts – will positively
impact the entire library from patrons to staff to leadership.
The Trustees asked questions about who would be eligible and were told that employees who were part
time and substitutes would be eligible. Transparency and communication were requested by Library
staff from the Trustees when asked how the Board could help.
7. City Manager presentation – union update
Jessie Baker, City Manager, stated that the City is lucky and fortunate to have this library staff. This was
reiterated several times throughout her remarks.
Jessie says the City works with an exceptional union and labor representative in a relationship that has
existed for decades. The personnel manual is outdated and there is a review underway on this work. In
January the City Council will review union contract and it will then be up to the City to negotiate.
Jessie shared that the library staff is the biggest growing staff in the city, hours of operation, the
materials and demand will continue to grow. Leadership will need to be empowered to respond to the
over 1,000 new neighbors joining the community. She expressed the desire for library staff to be
respected, treated fairly and want to come to work with us.
8. Committee Reports
Finance Committee
It was reported that the Library Foundation will be transferring $6,400 to the library gift account for the
quarterly payment.
Communications Committee:
The communications committee presented their 2023/24 Communications and outreach plan. It is
briefly summarized below:
• Have a visible presence and be engaged at South Burlington events.
• Support and amplify the library’s distinctive programming topics such as climate change and
DEIB.
• Amplify the Library’s efforts around accessibility and access to ensure all can have an engaging
and positive experience
• Initiate a test and learn opportunity to reach non-library card holders in South Burlington to
engage them with the library (too late for this year; plan for FY 24-25)
• Increase awareness with key stakeholders around the SBPL teen space as a viable space to
gather and as a place of belonging.
Governance & Nominating Committee
Upon a motion made by Trustee Margery Vagt and seconded by Trustee Ted Lenski, the Trustees voted
unanimously to approve the two proposed updates to the room rental and auditorium policy.
9. Director’s Report (written report submitted by Jennifer Murray)
Engaged Community Leader
*Current affair display of books about the Middle East.
All see themselves reflected
*Patron Picks display in Dec.
*Non-fiction adult display about Indigenous Peoples in November. Included some information and QR
codes to access data.
* Kelly and Mira are working with the Dept of Families towards holding an open family event for foster
families.
*Mira submitted a grant to the Humanities Council to bring food and a graphic novel discussion to the
library in celebration of Chinese New Year.
* Cookbook Club shared from Rambutan, recipes from Sri Lanka.
Curated digital tools
* Mago is offering a month-long American Sign Language course for free. Tina will publicize and make
this happen.
Eliminate barriers
*Almy learned more about the Microsoft screen reader for a blind patron.
Highlights from Children’s
1. Gaming on Wednesday night. Tina has been offering time in the Activity Room with our Nintendo
switches, and last night we had a small trio of 5/6 graders come just for that program! Members of this
group have had some challenging interactions with Library staff in the past, so we are delighted to build
these relationships in a different, more positive way. Snacks will soon be provided for this program, too.
Nice work, Tina!
2. We are preparing for our 2nd annual Book Dedication and Baby Brunch for late January. We
Acknowledge SB babies born in 2023 with a dedication plate in new picture books, and a social time
with brunch. Popular program last year! We’re looking forward to it.
3. Holidays in the Kidspace: We’ve hosted a Chanukah storytime with Gittel from the Tamim Academy in
Burlington, and will be presenting our own Christmas storytime in December. Additionally, a community
member reached out about offering a Kwanzaa program to tie in with Black History/Black Futures
month in February. Our scavenger hunt this month is about World Holidays, and we remain committed
to representation of our diverse community.
4. Believe it or not, Summer Programming for 2024 starts today with an online symposium offered by
Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP). “Adventure Begins at Your Library”. Our focus will be
Vermont adventures—a really fun theme!
Highlights from Circulation and Cataloging
1. Leadership team had a helpful visit from the new Communications and Outreach Coordinator for the
City concerning setup of Facebook posts and flyers.
2. We are currently back to full coverage in the Circulation Department
3. Staff Picks are flying off the display, and so are the annual Patron Picks.
4. Cataloging’s big project right now is to change over the Parenting collection books that Kelly has
identified into new topic areas.
Highlights from Adult and Teen Services
1. Tech Help. So much help on hand for you! A strong and growing corps of volunteers is offering help
weekly or more. Alternate Tuesdays and Fridays by appointment, alternate Tuesdays drop-in. Get the
most out of your new phone or eReader, learn how to store and organize your photos in the cloud, or
transfer your files from one computer to another. Do all of this and more with clear guidance from a
friendly volunteer.
2. Spotlight on languages. SBPL English Conversation meets twice a month. It is a safe, welcoming space
for learners to practice their English in conversation with a friendly group. The group has been led by
volunteers in the past and is currently led by Almy or Mira (we take turns). This has been our second
semester of extra help from the MATESOL (Masters in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)
students at St. Michael’s College. The English learners love having the MATESOL students here, and the
extra conversation has been great for their English and their confidence. Interested in learning or
practicing a new language? Check out the Mango Languages app, free with your SBPL card.
3. Has everyone visited the Relaxation Table? Settle in on the second floor of the library for 1-10
minutes in meditative quiet. Let your librarians support you in taking the break our brains so rarely
enjoy.
From Jennifer
1. Evelyn’s first semester has ended. She will continue to work during her winter break, with plans to
move into the Marabella KidSpace for some hours. She will present to the Council about the internship
in 2024.
2. Performance reviews are still trickling in.
3. The Librarians are spending a few hours at each other’s desks for cross training to enhance their
confidence in all areas of the library.
4. You may have noticed an updated Mailchimp format that links folks directly to the events on the
webpage. We will try this for a couple of months before looking at a long-term solution.
5. Mira and I met with Josef from the Community Justice Center to learn more about his services:
Restorative Justice, Parallel Justice, mediation, Safe driving (in Essex.) We learned that they take
individual referrals, not just through the PD. For example, a patron who told us that their tent had been
stolen by a known person could be referred to Josef.
6. Tracked down our book jobber rep to talk about new shipping fees and ordering. We were concerned
about a $6 fee added to each delivery (!) but a work around is in place.
7. City budget went before Council for the first round. They can make changes, get public input until
mid-Dec. Budget still contains some admin hours and a reduction in copy revenue.
8. Some progress on streamlining the order and receipt process that works better for selectors and
catalogers.
9. A patron has complained about books by poet Ogden Nash. So far it’s not a formal complaint but that
may happen after I talk to him about our initial findings and plan to keep the books.
10. Julia updated our First Aid bags so that it’s easy to find things and expanded offerings.
11. We have a powerful new art display on the 2nd floor. Sculptor and potter Deborah Goudreau offers
a series about children being taken from families along the Art Wall and some other items in the display
case.
12. Daisy invited me to be part of the SB contingent for a Vermont League Cities and Towns six-month
program for municipalities called “Welcoming and Engaging Communities”.
Jennifer reported in the meeting that the Leadership Team was working on safety and security planning
and training drills. Good meeting had taken place with Jessie Baker and the management team with a
focus on communication. Jennifer was very optimistic about the leadership team of the Library and
wanted to recognize staff for their hard work and efforts.
10. Other Business:
Seeing no other business, the Chair adjourned the meeting at 6:37 pm