HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Trustees 12/3/2016MANSFIELD PUBLIC LIBRARY R EC,D
BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING - DECEMBER ((p� OFFICE V rri l��.ff JOFfi ICES`:
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Attendance: Nancy I3teef--Pitz, Marianne Mackie, Dana Houngan, Leonard astgn &A U
Director Catherine Coyne. Nancy convened the meeting at 8:25 a.m.
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Treasurer's report. The treasurer's report was reviewed and approved. A banner is being
ordered for Mansfield's "One Community, One Book" program. The cost will be approximately
$550 and will be funded from the Trustees' account in accordance with the board's prior vote to use
the account's annual interest for appropriate programs to benefit the Town.
Librarian's reports. The librarians' reports were reviewed and highlights discussed.
Parking lot reconfiguration. Catherine reported a drop in the library's October attendance,
even though the library was only closed for one week for the first part of the parking lot work. A
final coat of asphalt will be added in spring or summer, which will raise the driving level relative to
the new curbing. The middle island and flag lighting also remain to be completed.
Overdrive software. The board discussed minor difficulties and confusion with the new
software release. Catherine described the varying pricing policies among e -book and audiobook
publishers, e.g. some based on numbers of checkouts, others on license duration, etc.
Lilac Girls. Catherine described her book club's very successful Skype discussion with
author Martha Hall Kelly.
Niche Academy. Catherine discussed Niche Academy, a service offering on-line tutorials
for $1,100 per month.
OLD BUSINESS
FY 2018 budget; staffing. The board reviewed the interim budget proposal and made
several recommendations for modifications to be integrated in a final proposal for the next meeting.
Based on her union's recommendation, Catherine has used a 2% increase in the Step schedule,
which the board approved. The board also approved inclusion of a budget request for a part time
children's/reference librarian. Based on the January 1 increase in the minimum wage, library pages'
pay will be increased by $1 per hour.
Sick leave policy. In response to employee questions, Catherine will be clarifying the
library's policy at a forthcoming staff meeting. The Town is working on a new policy description
and the library will use it as a model to review its staff handbook.
Director's performance review.. The board discussed Catherine's achievements and
progress on the goals agreed to for January 2015 through November 2016. The board will meet in
executive session to prepare an evaluation.
NEW BUSINESS
Meeting room guidelines. Current practice allows booking the meeting room for up to
three months at a time. This is beginning to become a problem because the library is having
difficulty scheduling its own programs. For the next meeting Catherine will try to analyze the
library's requirements (hours/month) as a starting point for possibly modifying the existing policy
for outside organizations. She will also work on compiling a list of other available locations for
groups, hopefully with phone numbers and contact information.
Sails legislative meetings. Sails is inaugurating new "coffee meetings" for library directors
and trustees to meet and speak with various political representatives. Elizabeth Poirier will be in
Attleboro on December 9 (11:30). Jay Barrows and James Timilty will be in Norton on December
16 (9:30). These short format meetings are in addition to the annual legislative breakfast in
January.
Next meeting. January 7, 2017. The meeting was adjourned at 11:20 a.m.
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