SIMSBURY PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Monday, May 21, 2007
PRESENT: Gail Ryan, Anne Erickson, Babs Gardner, Carol Bingham and Charmaine Glew. Staff: Susan Bullock, Director and Eileen Sickinger, Recording Secretary. George Boissard, Friends. Public Audience: Carolyn Keily, Town Clerk
The meeting was called to order by Mrs. Glew, Chair at 7:40 P.M.. Babs Gardner moved the minutes of the April 16, 2007 meting be accepted after changing "not" on line 4, third paragraph under Friends to a "no". Second: A. Erickson. So moved.
Gail Ryan moved that agenda item #10 be moved to #5. Second: A. Erickson. So moved.
Carolyn Keily addressed the Board on the increase in its membership per the recent Charter Revision. By 2011 the total membership of the Board will increase to nine members. It will be a progressive increase with one new six year term added in the municipal elections of 2007,2009 and 2011. She distributed a chart illustrating whose six year term will be complete, when, and then the addition of a new member bringing the total to 9 in 2011. Ms. Keily also included a copy of Section 301 of the Charter related to elected officers and appointed Boards and Commissions.
COMMUNICATIONS: Babs Gardner shared a copy of the letter Eunice Kelly wrote nominating Charmaine Glew for the Connecticut Friends of Libraries Individual Achievement Award. The award will be presented and accepted for Mrs. Glew on June 9th. At the Friends luncheon it was announced that $76,281 was collected as a result of the Friends mailings and Mrs. Kelly thanked the Board at the meeting for their support.
Mrs. Bullock shared recent newspaper articles on the groundbreaking ceremony and Jan Madrak's Connecticut State Library Faith Hektoen Award.
Three letters to Jennifer Keohane related to the Business Resource Center were shared. Ms. Keohane, through the Chamber of Commerce, suggested Paine's website illustrate their large machinery in action. The Connecticut Humanities has made available a list of all authors who live in Connecticut.
Mrs. Glew has written to Arthur Sweeten accepting the picture by Helen Galick. She did ask him to keep the painting until the building expansion is complete.
The Board will send a letter to Mrs. Madrak on the occasion of her retirement. Gail Ryan moved that the Library Board host a reception in honor of Jan Madrak on June 30, 2007, her last working day as Head of Children's Services. Second: A. Erickson. The motion passed unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS: Friends: George Boissard stated that there is nothing to report on the grant applications to the Hartford Foundation and Ensign Bickford. Collection for the annual book sale starts June 2nd. Personnel: The process of filling Jan Madrak's position will begin this week. Over 100 applications were received for the Technical Services Clerk's position and weeding these out has begun. Decorating Committee: The Committee meets most Wednesday mornings and Barbara Joslin of JCJ Architecture has been chosen to work on the interior design of the building. The carpeting will be chosen by the end of June and the decorator will meet with the staff to learn about their preferences.
CHAIRS REPORT: Mrs. Kelly has signed the contract with Montfort Contractors for the bay window.
Mrs. Glew and Mrs. Bingham have met with representatives from Friends to review the budget and payment process for items for the new building. Friends hope to meet soon with Mrs. Bullock to review the FF& E budget. Discussion followed on the procedure for purchasing
materials and what is necessary for day one, what can be phased in and how to address items covered by the State Grant and other grant money.
The Simsbury Post had the wrong amount that Friends were contributing to the expansion and Mrs. Bullock explained the reporters interpretation of the information he was given.
DIRECTOR'S REPORT: There is no electric eye in the temporary quarters to record attendance. It would cost $250 to install one and Mrs. Bullock will look into this with the idea of purchasing it if it can be reinstalled in the new building. Recent programs such as the Lady Bug Ball and Travels with Charlie have been very successful. The staff is completing plans for the adult, teen and children's summer reading programs and an overnight event is tentatively scheduled for the weekend the new Harry Potter book comes out.
New ways to raise awareness of the Library's profile have put entries on Wikipedia and MySpace.com as well as other sites that promote and keep the Library in the public eye.
The Library's calendar of events is now incorporated into the Town's website.
New services that can be offered to patrons are being explored, among them Tutor.com, a tutoring service for grades 4-12. On May 29th , Gale Thompson, the largest supplier of reference materials for public libraries, will host a webinar on their virtual reference product.
Research continues on the RFID program.
The Tariffville Branch will reopen this summer and teachers have requested that it be more literacy focused. The program will not be held at Tariffville School in 2008 and 2009 because of construction. Parks and Rec. are a third partner in the program and it is hoped this partnership can be expanded.
The process for hiring Jan Madrak's replacement has begun.
FUTURE TRENDS IN LIBRARY SERVICES: Technology continues to change on how library services are used and cell phones will someday be a new component in, among other things, reading bar codes as well as obtaining other library services.
At 8:55 P.M. Carol Bingham moved for adjournment. Second: B. Gardner. So moved.
Anne Erickson, Secretary
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