DUXBURY FREE LIBRARY
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MEETING MINUTES
OCTOBER 14, 2004
Members Present: Theodore Flynn (Chair), John Hill, Lynne Walsh and Margaret Lougee
Staff Present: Elaine Winquist (Director), Nancy Denman (Assistant Director), David
Murphy (Assistant Director), Rose Hickey (Head of Technical Services) and
Deborah Killory (Administrative Assistant)
Also present: Sally Redmond (Co-President, Friends of the Duxbury Free Library), Joseph
Lamothe and Devon Lamothe
The meeting was called to order at 7:40 am in the Setter Room at the Duxbury Free Library.
Minutes of previous meeting
The minutes of the September 16, 2004 meeting were presented. The word “objectives” in the section on the Long Range Plan was changed to activities and the spelling of a name was corrected.
Moved by Mr. Hill, seconded by Ms. Lougee, to approve the minutes of the September 16, 2004 meeting as amended.
Vote: 4 – 0 in favor
Chair’s Report
Mr. Flynn will be contacting the Finance Committee to set up a meeting.
Director’s Report
Ms. Winquist presented her written report. The director reported that the youth initiative continues to go well. She said that she and custodian Ray DeGaust have noticed a safer situation with traffic and parking in front of the building; more parents are picking up their children at the schools.
Department Reports
Reports of the Children’s, Circulation, Reference and Technical Services Department were distributed. It was noted that circulation numbers were down for the month of September, perhaps due to the beautiful weather. Programs have been reduced due to the budget cuts which have led to increased staff time on service desks and on patrolling the building.
Friends Report
Ms. Redmond reported that the Friends have already received $6,000 from their membership drive. The Friends Annual Meeting well be on November 10 and will include a reprise of the Hot Reads and Hidden Treasures program from last year with staff members Nancy Denman, Carol Jankowski and Ellen Snoeyenbos presenting. Ms. Redmond said that she will be leaving the board and several members will be joining. Brooke McDonough will be taking over as president, but will be unable to attend all of the trustees’ meetings. The Friends are sponsoring an author night in November featuring Thalassa Ali speaking about her new book Beggar at the Gate, set in British Raj India, and a chef will prepare a tea with food of that time period. Ms. Winquist thanked Ms.
Redmond for her service with the Friends of the Library.
Public Comment: Mr. Lamothe
Joseph Lamothe and his daughter Devon Lamothe presented a formal protest and a request for reconsideration of the “blocking of the front door to student entrance” and the decision that students should not use the elevator. Mr. Lamothe noted that the bathrooms on the lower level and the entrance on the middle level at the back of the building were locked. He said that philosophically, these practices were against the mission of the library, to provide a welcoming environment, and is discrimination against a group of users.
The trustees responded that these steps had become necessary when behavior of students after school became exceedingly noisy and disruptive last year and disturbed adults and students who came to the library to study or do research. These measures were a last resort after other methods had been tried and were not effective. The bathrooms on the lower level were locked because they are in an unsupervised area and damage had been done to them last year. The outside stairs were blocked because of the danger to students playing on the stairs and to passers-by below. Students abuse the elevator, which is there for those who cannot use the stairs and for moving heavy loads of books. The trustees emphasized that it was the great numbers of students arriving at one
time and the attendant noise, as well as the misbehavior of a small number, that led to these measures. Mr. Lamothe noted the weight of the backpacks carried by students and said that he thought because of this they should be allowed to use the elevator. He suggested National Honor Society students could serve as monitors in the building. Ms. Winquist replied that she is considering this as an option. Mr. Lamothe also noted that the library is a place where students can socialize after school, as well as study. The trustees responded that the primary function of the building must be to serve as a library and that the change in traffic flow was necessary because the volume of students coming through the front door has interfered with library functions. Ms. Denman noted that the staff is also speaking to adults about appropriate library behavior, and that the procedures are intended to allow access to resources for all students, as well as
adults.
Proposed Policy for Use of the Library
This policy was reviewed at the last meeting. A change was proposed in the first sentence of the guidelines section, replacing child with patron.
Moved by Mr. Hill, seconded by Ms. Lougee, to approve the Policy for Use of the Library as amended.
Vote: 4 – 0 in favor
Policy on Unsupervised Children
This policy was reviewed at the last meeting. No changes were made.
Moved by Ms. Lougee, seconded by Mr. Hill, to approve the Policy on Unsupervised Children as presented.
Vote: 4 – 0 in favor
Budget
Ms. Winquist made her preentation on the proposed FY06 library budget on October 4 at the Selectmen’s Meeting. It was decided that in future budget discussions, the emphasis will be on noting the decreasing percentage of the library budget in relation to the total town budget. The decrease in the number of programs because of budget cuts, the funding of programming from sources other thatn the appropriated budget and the need for programs because of the campus location of the library, should also be discussed.
Moved by Mr. Hill, seconded by Ms. Lougee, to adjourn at 8:50 am.
Vote: 4 – 0 in favor
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