MINUTES
STEPHENSON MEMEORIAL LIBRARY
BOARD OF TRUSTEEES MEETING
MAY 2, 2012 AT 7:00 PM
Present: Gail Smith, Bruce Dodge, Neal Brown, Bob Marshall, Mary Ann Grant, Kristin Readel, Andre Wood, Jami Bascom.
Absent: Scott Jones.
Guest: Patricia Donavan.
Minutes taker: Pat LaPree.
7:00 PM: The meeting was called to order by Chairman Neal Brown.
The minutes of the April 5, 2012 meeting were reviewed. Discussion followed about the content of the third paragraph on the first page and the interpretation of it. A motion was made by Mary Ann to amend line 11 by adding “ACTION…and the monthly report from the Town office.”, and on line 13 to strike “Mary Ann will continue to get the monthly report from the Town Office.” The motion to amend was seconded by Neal. The motion to accept the minutes as amended was made by Jami and seconded by Bruce. The vote was unanimous in the affirmative. ACTION: Pat will amend the minutes as described and e-mail them to the Trustees and the Town office for posting on the Town Website.
7:15 PM: Spending and Statistical Reports:
Mary Ann reports that as of 05/02/12, the regular checking account has a balance of 3793.55; the Wensburg account has a balance of 107.15. There are positive balances in the Friends of the Library computer, books and construction funds. Statistical data will be available next month. ACTION: The Trustees agreed to purchase easels for the Wensberg Room with the remaining balance in that account.
7:23 PM: Guest, Patricia Donavan. Ms. Donavan requested this time to meet with the Trustees regarding her concerns about the policy for computer use that the Library has enacted and posted at the public terminals. She stated that she agrees with the policy and that the thirty day suspension should extend to patrons who “take another person’s belongings”. Bruce stated that the privacy policy pertains to the privacy of the patrons at the Library. Ms. Donavan asked about whether there are policies for behavior that takes place at the Library that could result in a suspension from the Library. A discussion ensued about how behaviors that are of a criminal nature should be addressed through the Police department and the court system, and that the Library staff addresses behavioral issues on a case by
case basis. Ms. Donavan asked the Trustees to develop clear policies regarding behavior of patrons while at the Library. Neal agreed that the Trustees will need to consider policies to address the comfort and enjoyment of the patrons and staff while at the Library. Bob suggested that the Trustees need to update existing policies and adopt new ones as needed, and Town Counsel may be consulted in the process. ACTION: Neal will generate a written response to Ms. Donavan’s concerns, and let her know that the Trustees will review all policies of the Library. He will disburse the correspondence to the other Board members.
7:48 PM: Librarian’s Korner:
a) Alexandria Hosting: Andre said that he sees his role as auxiliary to the Alexandria hosting plan. Kristin stated that she needs back-up and archiving on a regular basis, which is in the Alexandria plan. Bob recommended that Alexandria host for the first year, so as to not overuse Andre and let staff have the opportunity to learn the new system with Alexandria’s support. Andre and Kristin agreed with the recommendation. Jami made a motion to authorize the use of Alexandria to host the program for the first year. Neal seconded, and the vote was unanimous in the affirmative. ACTION: Library staff will sign the contract with Alexandria
for hosting.
b) Static IP address: The static IP address is done, per Kristin. Kristin reports that the hand held scanners that Alexandria has provided are good, but must be used at the circulation desk only, and that inhibits data entry of inventory on the shelves. There needs to be another scanner that can be mobile, and Alexandria software should be able to interface with any scanner that plugs into a USB port. A motion was made by Neal to allocate up to 200.00 from the computer hardware budget for the staff to purchase a scanner as soon as possible. Jami seconded the motion, and the vote was unanimous in the affirmative.
ACTION: The staff will purchase a hand held scanner that is compatible with Alexandria. Jami has a laptop that the staff can use with a new scanner and she will bring it to the library so the new scanner can be a mobile device.
8:13 PM: Boston College/Weston Seismography Labs tour specifics: Neal reports that the tours are 2-3 hours in duration, and they begin at 10 AM on specific days, the last one starting at 3PM on those days. There are only two dates left in May, and no one can attend on either of them. ACTION: Neal will find out if there are weekend dates, and what dates are available in June. He will also find out about any deadlines for grant proposals and email all the information to the Trustees.
8:15 PM: Library Director Job Description: Jami has revised the job description as per the recommendations from the Trustees at last month’s meeting. The Trustees agreed to accept the description as “amended as directed in the minutes of the 04/04/12 Trustees meeting.”, with the addition of referring to the Board of Trustees rather than just “The Board” in the body of the document, and to delete “…monthly” from “report” under Financial Administration.
8:23 PM: Further Science Program development at the Library: Bruce made the suggestion that the Library consider purchasing a home weather station for the Library. He has started to research them, and they can interface with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) computers, as well as educational websites such as the one at Plymouth State University. ACTION: Bruce will get more information and bring it to the next Trustee meeting.
8:33 PM: Programmable Thermostats at the Library: Bob reports that he spoke to the Sanford technician when he was at the Library and asked why the thermostats cannot be programmed appropriately for the Library’s needs. Sanford told him that they are not the correct thermostats for the type of programming that is needed. Sanford said that they will replace the current thermostats with ones that will program properly for the sum of 200.00. Discussion followed about the pros/cons of accepting that proposal versus purchasing other thermostats and having them installed, whether the original contract with Sanford specified day-to-day programmable versus programmable thermostats. Gail found the contract and it did not specify, so Sanford can not be held liable for the error. A motion was made by Neal to pay Sanford the
200.00 to replace the thermostats. Seconded by Jami, and the vote was unanimous in the affirmative. ACTION: Gail will contact Sanford and get the work done.
8:40: PM: SML and the Emergency Management Plan: Bob talked about the proposal that he brought to last month’s Trustees meeting and wanted the Trustees to give the final decision as to whether they want to give the proposal to the Emergency Management Director. He noted that there will be some significant work to do in order for the Library to be ready in an emergency situation of any duration. ACTION: A motion was made by Jami to have Bob take the proposal to the Emergency Management Director. Neal seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous in the affirmative.
8:45 PM: New Hampshire Library Trustees Association meeting on May 21. Bruce, Jami and Neal will attend. They are signed up for different workshops, and there will be opportunities to ask questions about policies in smaller discussion groups as well as at the workshops. ACTION: Jami will send the list serve link to the NHLTA as a resource to ask specific questions before the meeting.
9:00: PM: The new sign project. Library staff reports that the mock up of the new sign has been at the Library for the last month and the response to it has been good.
9:01 PM: Other Business.
a) Mary Ann found the NHRSA that addresses non- public sessions during a Board of Trustees meeting. She will get it to Jami, so she can put it in the secretary’s binder for future reference.
b) Mary Ann suggested that the Trustees consider shortening the meeting duration in deference to the Library staff. Discussion followed about having twice monthly meetings or not. It was agreed to put the Library Staff’s agenda items at the beginning of the meetings, and stay with monthly meetings that are timelier.
c) Bob reports that it seems unlikely that the option to purchase the acre of land for sale adjacent to the library will not be available due to legal issues.
d) The Souhegan Area Trustees meeting that took place here in April was an interesting meeting, and the attendees were impressed with SML as a facility.
e) Bob reports that the Planning Bard thanks the Trustees for the use of the Library for their meeting.
f) An arrow was shot into the roof of the Library by a neighbor, who subsequently removed it without permission form the Library staff to go up n the roof. ACTION: A letter will be sent to the neighbor about the incident.
9:24 PM: The motion to adjourn was made by Bruce, seconded by Neal. The vote was unanimous to adjourn at this time. The next Trustees meeting will be on June 6 at 7:00 PM at the Library.
Respectfully Submitted,
Patricia LaPree
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