TOWN OF MASHPEE
BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES
Minutes of the Meeting of Monday, February 14, 2011
Mashpee Town Hall, Conference Room 3
Board Members Present: Also Present:
David Burton, Chairman Amelia Bingham, Wampanoag Tribe Member
John Kowalski P.J. Bingham, Wampanoag Tribe Member
Patricia Gamache Sandra Lahart, Library Trustee-Elect
Carlo D’Este John Cahalane, Board of Selectmen
Nancy Soderberg Bridget Bontrager, Interim Library Director
Jane Dolan
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman David Burton called the meeting to order at 5:30 PM.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Displaying of Cultural Artifacts at the Library
David Burton welcomed Ms. Amelia Bingham and her grandson, P.J. Bingham, to the Board meeting. David Burton stated that the purpose of inviting Ms. Bingham to the meeting was to address the concerns stated in a letter from Ms. Bingham to the Town Manager, the Board of Selectmen, and to the Library Trustees. Ms. Bingham stated in the letter that she is in possession of many historic Wampanoag artifacts. Amelia Bingham stated that it had been her impression that space was to be made available for the Mashpee Wampanoag in the new library, and she was waiting for that space to be assigned.
Amelia stated that her idea was not to place artifacts in the library, but rather to display copies of historic documents that she has collected over 50 years, of anything that pertains to the Mashpee Wampanoag in the State of Massachusetts. Amelia stated that she has 14 file cabinets full of documents, and has loads of artifacts as well, with many ancient pictures of Wampanoag people that she would like to display.
David Burton stated that the Library Trustees recognize that the original fabric of Mashpee is its native inhabitants and their descendents. Mr. Burton added that he understood that Ms. Bingham felt she had been treated impolitely, as a respected tribal leader having lived and grown in Mashpee, but that this was never the intention of anyone on the library staff. Mr. Burton stated that “There is No Room for Hate” in the Town of Mashpee, and asked Ms. Bingham to forgive the perceived slight to her. Mr. Burton stated that the library is new to taking in valuable and/or spiritual collections, and that security of such collections is of great concern to the library.
John Kowalski stated that Amelia Bingham’s letter has served a greater purpose, in that the library has begun research on the process of setting up a foundation and an endowment. It is a work in progress, but down the road this is the basis for being able to
accept valuable artifacts for display. John added that the library has a large Events Room available for special programs, and the Library Trustees would very much like to work together with Ms. Bingham and the Wampanoag tribe to schedule lectures, to display artifacts, and to plan for special events. Ms. Bingham stated that this is exactly what she would like to do, and would write a proposal outlining her ideas.
John Cahalane added that he personally liked the suggestion made earlier that from here on, the emphasis should be on the future, and he was confident that the Library Trustees will be very cooperative with Ms. Bingham in her efforts to incorporate representations of the Wampanoag history in the library.
Carlo D’Este stated that the Library Trustees could use some recommendations and guidance as to things that should be added to the Native American collection. If Ms. Bingham has ideas for book titles that would be appropriate to add to the current collection, the Trustees would appreciate her input. Jane Dolan suggested that Ms. Bingham might well consider digitizing some of her recommended book titles in view of the library’s space limitations.
2. Library Director Official Job Description – Bridget Bontrager
Bridget Bontrager stated that she has received a copy of an updated version of what the Town has in a job description for the Library Director, and has made some minor changes to the document, and distributed copies to the Board for their perusal. The Board agreed to review the document for approval after re-convening tonight’s meeting.
The Trustee meeting was adjourned at 6:30 PM to enable the Trustees to participate in the Board of Selectmen meeting so the Selectmen and the Trustees could act jointly to appoint Sandra Lahart to the Mashpee Board of Library Trustees. Following the appointment the Trustees exited the Selectmen meeting and re-convened at 6:55 PM. to continue their Trustee meeting.
The Board members continued discussion of the Library Director’s job description, making suggestions for additions and corrections to the document.
David Burton made a motion that the Library Director job description be finalized this week between the Interim Director and the Trustee Chairman, the application for posting, and the job vacancy then being submitted this week to the appropriate departments in Town Hall. John Kowalski seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
Patricia Gamache and Bridget Bontrager agreed to meet tomorrow at 4 PM to proof the job description.
3. Library Volunteer Program
Selectman Mike Richardson has volunteered to receive training from Janet Trask to put together a power point presentation training package to train some current and future volunteers. Bridget stated that this is a work in progress. In order to effectively manage 40 to 50 volunteers a week there needs to be someone there a good number of hours. Janet Trask has done a superb job of trying to coordinate the volunteer program, but at this point, the library is not in a position to take on more volunteers.
4. Access to the Library by Trustees
David Burton stated that Helene DeFoe had provided him with her entry code, and will get her key in duplicate. David also elaborated on some minor follow-up work to be done inside the library, i.e., painting, bookdrop adjustments, etc., which can be managed by a “self help” crew. Bufftree Construction, the company that built the library, is now out of business.
5. Posting of the Library Director Position
Bridget Bontrager stated her recommendation that the job should be placed within CLAMS, advertised in the Cape Cod Times, sent to the Mass. Board of Library Commissioners which will display it within all regions in Massachusetts, the University of Rhode Island and Simmons College, where both have active library programs. Bridget stated her feeling that a national search would not be necessary. It could be done regionally, reaching into New Hampshire and Maine as well. The Human Resources Department in Mashpee will be coordinating the job search. The Search Committee will be comprised of the Library Trustees, Human Resources Director, and David Delvecchio, the Mashpee IT Director. Bridget reminded the Board that housing will be an issue for out-of-state applicants, of which there will undoubtedly be many.
David Burton stated his estimate of 8 to 10 weeks for the selection process to be completed.
6. Emergency Library Closings
The Board members agreed that any future emergency library closings must not be announced via email, but should be coordinated by the Chairman of the Library Trustees or his delegated backup. The Board agreed not to establish a library closing policy at this time.
7. Reorganization of the Library Trustees Board
David Burton stated that the board reorganization, and formalizing of sub-committees will be taking place in the weeks ahead.
8. Establishment of a Library Foundation – John Kowalski
John Kowalski distributed information to the Board members about the establishment process for library foundations, for their review. John stated that down the road, the trustees will need to be getting into the topic. Patricia Gamache stated that the former Falmouth Library foundation coordinator has offered to be an information source for the Library Trustees.
9. Library Trustee Liaison to Friends of the Library – John Kowalski
John Kowalski announced that he is resigning his position as liaison to the Friends of the Mashpee Library, due to time constraints, and would like to pass the responsibility on to Patricia Gamache, who has registered her interest in taking on the job.
John Kowalski made a motion that Patricia Gamache be appointed liaison between the Board of Trustees and the Friends of the Mashpee Library. David Burton seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
REVIEW OF THE MINUTES
David Burton made a motion that the minutes from the Library Trustees meeting of 1/11/25 be approved as presented. Nancy Soderberg seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
David Burton made a motion that the minutes from the Library Trustees meeting of 1/25/11 be approved as presented. Carlo D’Este seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
REPORTS
1. Monthly Library Reports – Bridget Bontrager (See Attachments A,B,C for Complete Details)
Interim Library Director Bridget Bontrager distributed copies of reports on the Library Monthly Statistics, the CLAMS System Circulation Statistics, and Janet Burke’s Children’s Library Monthly Report. Bridget stated that statistically the library is still showing almost 50% over the circulation stats from last year. The Quiet Rooms and Event Room continue to be significant in activity.
Ms. Bontrager reported that as of today there were further issues: the CLAMS network had significant problems with their CPU and has to replace it. Today the library was not able to check in books and had to manually check out books, but this happened to all libraries that are part of the CLAMS network.
Bridget reported that John Kowalski and she put together job descriptions for the part time contractual workers that the library is looking to bring on to supplement library staff, and it is a dual project in conjunction with the Town to make this happen. Town Manager Joyce Mason reviewed the job descriptions and moved them along to Marilyn Farren, Mashpee Director of Personnel. Copies have been received back from Ms. Farren for review by the Library Trustees. The three part-time positions are: Circulation Assistant; Reference Desk; Cataloguing. Ms. Bontrager stated that the Town is ready to sign off on these positions but needs Library Trustees’ approval. Ms. Bontrager distributed copies of the three job descriptions to the Trustees for their review and comments. Ms. Bontrager stated that the
descriptions for Circulation Assistant and Cataloguing were based on existing job descriptions that the town had made in 2005. The Reference Desk position was based on various job descriptions from other Cape Cod libraries. The three part time positions will take direction from the Interim Library Director.
Dave Burton stated that the Technical Services Cataloguer part-time contract position outline and job description represents the needs at the Mashpee Library, and has a wage of $14 per hour, and made a motion that the Board approve the position at that rate. Carlo D’Este seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
Carlo D’Este made a motion that the Reference Librarian part-time position with a wage of $19 per hour be approved by the Board. John Kowalski seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
Jane Dolan made a motion that the Assistant Circulation position with a wage of $12 per hour be approved by the Board. John Kowalski seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
David Burton stated that there are funds available in a donation account to help pay for the three part-time positions.
NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the Library Board of Trustees was scheduled for Tuesday, March 8, 2011, at 6 PM at the Mashpee Public Library. David Burton closed the meeting with the statement that the goal for the library is a triage: doors open – patrons served – staff expansion.
As there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:45 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Ina G. Schlobohm (for Jean Giliberti)
Recording Secretary
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