SIMSBURY PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Minutes of February 24, 2003 - Special Meeting
These minutes are for informational purposes only. For official minutes please contact the Town Clerk's office.
PRESENT: Gail Ryan, Carol Bingham, Anne Erickson, Charmaine Glew, Babs Gardner and Susan Bullock, Director, Eileen Sickinger, Recording Secretary, Liz Keppel, Friends Liaison.
The meeting was called to order at 7:25 P.M. by Gail Ryan, Chair. The February 10, 2003 meeting was cancelled due to inclement weather. The minutes of the January 6, 2003 meeting were accepted as presented. There was no public audience.
COMMUNICATIONS: Mrs. Ryan and Mrs. Bullock both shared recent communications. Among them were copies of The Digest, the newsletter of the Association of Connecticut Libraries, Readings, and a communication from Dorothy Wilett with a bill for Association of CT Library dues. Charmaine Glew moved this bill be paid. Second: A. Erickson. So moved. There was a letter from Michael Moran, Legislative Chair of CT Libraries regarding state library funding for construction grants. There will be no funding the next two years and the Board will write a letter expressing its concern about this lack of funding. Mrs. Glew will request that Friends do likewise. Stanley Dombrowski sent an article from the CT Economic Digest profiling Simsbury and the Library. Articles related to the Library from The
Valley News, Farmington Valley Post, Simsbury Life, The Voice, The Scoreboard, and The Hartford Courant were shared with the Board.
COMMITTEE REPORTS: Friends will be sponsoring its annual Night of a 1,000 Starts on April 10. Mrs. Glew informed the Board that Friends are preparing a memorial in honor of Catherine Sherman. Mrs. Glew moved that the Library Board accept the memorial honoring Catherine Sherman for her years of service to the Library. Second: C. Bingham. So moved.
DIRECTOR'S REPORT: Mrs. Bullock's written report had been sent to members prior to this meeting. Since meeting with the First Selectman and Finance Director in January, the 2003-04 budget has been cut another $1,140. These monies have been taken out of conferences, dues and postage. There was discussion on options for saving on postage and one option was reducing the number of notices that go out for overdue books. Instead of sending a reminder of the overdue book, sending a bill immediately was considered.
With the Police Department being updated, the Board is concerned about where the Library stands in the capital improvement projects. Mrs. Bullock will keep abreast of this and if the Board of Finance makes any changes the Library Board would be notified.
Plans are underway for the Simsbury Muster to be held May 24 on the grounds of the Historical Society. A committee from the Library and Historical Society are coordinating the event.
Statistics were down for the month of January. The inclement weather probably contributed to this.
Mrs. Bullock reported that at a recent meeting with the First Selectman, Department Heads were informed each department would have to give back 6% of unexpended funds of their 2002-03 budget. The snowy winter, ice storms, and expenses related to the Meadowoods project all contributed to budget overruns. The Library's giveback amounted to $19,577. Mrs. Bullock distributed a copy of the accounts that would be reduced. Concern was expressed over whether funds would be available to replace supplies when they are depleted. In particular, toner for the copy machines and ink for the printers may not be replaced when they run out. It was suggested that perhaps a charge could be put in place for things that are printed from the Internet. Mrs. Bullock will discuss this with Kevin Kane.
Mrs. Bullock reported that the Library was the recipient of the 2003 Excellence in Public Library Services Award, in the -specific service or program category- for a community of less than 25,000. The award will be presented at the CT Library Association s Annual Award Conference in Mystic. It will be presented locally April 10 at the Night of a 1,000 Stars. The award recognizes the success of the Business Resource Center and is given jointly by the CT State Library, the CT Library Association, the Association of CT Library Boards and the Friends of CT Libraries. Jennifer Keohane and Anne-Marie Kaminsky have contributed a great deal to the success of the Business Resource Center.
BOARD'S RESPONSE TO PLAN OF DEVELOPMENT: Mrs. Bullock read her February 6th letter to John Loomis of the Simsbury Planning Commission. She is still waiting for a reply.
PATRIOT ACT: Included in the Director's packet were a draft of the Policy and Procedures in Response to the U.S.A. Patriot Act of 2001, as well as the American Library Association's Resolution on the U.S.A. Patriot Act and Related Measures that Infringe on the Rights of Library Users. The CT Library Association's U.S.A. Patriot Act Resolution was also included. The Board will review this material and discuss it further.
INTERNET POLICY: Minor changes in the policy were reviewed. The title will read, "Policy on the Use of the Internet in the Simsbury Public Library." It was pointed out that there are inconsistencies in using "patron" or "customer" throughout the document. This will be addressed.
Mrs. Bullock asked the Board to review the Customer Policy statement in her packet. She questioned whether the Board felt the same service should be provided to non-residents as to residents. She feels the first obligation of the staff is to Simsbury residents. The current budget constraints have created time problems - in particular in the inter-library loans. It was the consensus of the Board that when there are time constraints, preference will be given to residents.
The Town's Return Check Policy and Procedure was also discussed and the Board felt this should be included in the revised policies and procedures.
Mrs. Bullock will go over these changes and have the revisions available next month.
The Board will vote on the Patriot Act Policy and Internet Policy next month.
At 9:40 Babs Gardner moved for adjournment. Second: C. Glew. So moved.
Anne Erickson, Secretary
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