Board of Trustees Meeting – Mar. 12, 2024

Meeting Minutes

Documentation

• Meeting Minutes for Approval – February 15, 2024
• Professional Staff Reports
• Director’s Report
• Financial Report February 2024, FY24 YTD Book & AV Breakdowns

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:06 p.m. by C. Igo Freeman.

Public Comment

None.

Vote to Accept a Donation of $250.00 from Foxboro Cable Access to Boyden Library to
Sponsor the John F. Kennedy Annual Museum Pass:

The Trustees were unable to vote on the $250 donation from Foxboro Cable Access to sponsor
the John. F. Kennedy annual museum pass as they did not have a quorum. This agenda item will
be moved to the April 9, 2024 meeting. L. O’Neill did confirm that this donation covers the full
cost of the pass.

Approval of Meeting Minutes

The Trustees were unable to approve the February 15, 2024 meeting minutes as they did not
have a quorum. This agenda item will be moved to the April 9, 2024 meeting.

Correspondence:

None

Friends’ Report

S. Collins gave an update from the Friends. Membership sign ups and renewals are going well with 276 individuals at this point. They are selling Southwick Zoo tickets for a discount, just $20. The tickets, along with dues and books from Book Shops, can be paid for by QR code, PayPal, and Venmo. The Friends will be hosting book drives on March 16 and April 14, both 9-11am. Three Friends will be at the meet and greet with author Brendan Slocumb on March 27th to sell books provided by An Unlikely Story in Plainville. They plan to have a strong showing of Friends at the May 13th Town meeting in support of having a full-time teen librarian approved
for the FY25 budget. The Friends are also looking ahead to Founders’ Day on Saturday, June 8th. They will sell books, host a free raffle, and give out lollipops and temporary tattoos. They requested L. O’Neill reserve the canopy tent from the Library of Things for the event, and mentioned the librarians playing lawn games last year was a big hit. J. Rosado will attend the April Board of Trustees meeting.

Professional Staff Reports

L. O’Neill provided an update on professional staff reports. The Library saw 392 teens come in during the month of February, averaging about twenty per day. It is largely the same teens coming in day to day. C. Earnst recommended continuing to monitor these numbers through at least May to support the Library’s need for a full-time librarian. Comparing their stats against overall patronage helps tell a story about the Library’s importance to this underserved population. Snackable Chats and Delicious Sips, the recently rebranded teen advisory board, had fourteen participants for February, the largest so far. February was “take your child to the library
day,” and young patrons were invited to guess how many books there are in the Children’s Room. The winner took home a personalized backpack that was generously sponsored by the Friends. Additionally, Children’s is starting to plan their summer reading program.

Financial Reports

L. O’Neill gave a financial report. The Library is on track to spend 15% of the budget on materials. Library supplies is in the negative as a result of all the programming being provided to the community; it will be balanced out at the end of the fiscal year. There is quite a bit in the IT line, but two large expenses are still outstanding: the phone upgrades and annual Bibliotheca bill (this covers the self-check outs, security gates, and security scanners). Overall, the budget is on track.

Director’s Report

L. O’Neill provided a Director’s report.

Library Operations: The two pods have seen at least 70-75 uses since installation in January. Some of the users have returned repeatedly and walk-ins have been predominant. C. Igo Freeman inquired about the replacement door for the third pod. L. O’Neill will follow up and provide an update. The three AEDs have arrived. A use demonstration from the company representative has been scheduled to take place at the April staff meeting. Installation will be scheduled after that, and the scheduling of CPR training with the Fire Department is underway.

Programs & Services: About sixty-five people attended the sourdough workshop last month. Art workshops have been incredibly popular with an upcoming program filling within two hours. The Human Library event will be on 3/23, 11am-3pm, with about thirteen “books” available for readers to “borrow time with.” All 16+ are encouraged to attend.

Personnel Updates: The Children’s Page has left the Library as of 3/8. The Children’s Library Assistant will be leaving on 3/29. Both positions are posted in several places and interviews will be starting this week.

L. O’Neill will be attending the PLA conference at the start of April, so the Trustee packet may be sent out on the Monday prior to the meeting rather than the Friday prior.

New Business

Trustee Schedule to attend May and June Friends Meetings:

The Trustees discussed their attendance scheduled for the monthly Friends meetings. Given the upcoming election, they decided to plan for April and May and hold off on June for the time being. After discussion of schedules between the three Trustees present, J. Parlapiano is going to attend the April meeting and C. Earnst will attend the May meeting.

Old Business

FY2025 Budget Update – Discussion:

L. O’Neill is still waiting to on AdCom to decide on the request she and K. Penders submitted to adhere to the Town’s bottom line while allocating funds in a manner that best supports the Library’s needs. AdCom will be meeting tomorrow, 3/13. There isn’t another meeting scheduled between AdCom and the Library at this point, but L. O’Neill is hopeful there will be an update soon.

2024 Community Reads Update:

The 2024 Community Reads is going well. There were seventeen attendees at the kickoff Monday night concert on 3/4 for which J. Parlapiano made cookies. There was a wonderful virtual presentation on the world of string instruments last night, presented by Erin Cano of the Music Institute of Chicago. There weren’t any sign ups for the open mic night, so that event has been cancelled. The Senior Center read The Violin Conspiracy for their book club this month and it was loved and rated well among all. The Library does need one Trustee to work the door at the author meet and greet on 3/27. C. Igo Freeman volunteered.

Quotes for Intercom System Update:

There are not any updates on the intercom system at this time. L. O’Neill is waiting on IT for their input on how many speakers they would recommend the Library have installed. There is consideration for postponing this project until the new fiscal year, but consideration should be given to potential changes in expenditures next year. L. O’Neill will continue to provide updates on this as they become available.

Director’s Review – Discussion:

The Trustees have all received the review documents. C. Igo Freeman will reach out to J. Ooi to establish a deadline for their return. Per the last Board meeting, the goal is to complete the review in April.

Adjournment

Respectfully submitted,
Renee Spinner