Haverhill Public Library
Board of Trustees
Minutes of December 15, 2022
The regular monthly meeting of the Trustees of the Haverhill Public Library was called to order at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 15, 2022 in the Donald C. Freeman Whittier Room. In attendance were Trustees Bresnahan, Coletti, Rurak, Sheehan and Veasey-Sirois. Also in attendance was Director, Sarah Moser and Assistant Director, Jane Lemuth.
Secretary’s Report
The trustees were given copies of the minutes dated November 17, 2022. After perusing the minutes, a motion was made and seconded to accept the minutes. The minutes were approved.
Treasurer’s Report
Sarah presented the financial statements for November. Highlights included:
- The endowment and special collections are up this month.
- As per the trustees request, Josh added a column to the report that compares the fiscal year to date with last year.
- There was a discussion regarding how individual funds are used with respect to restricted vs. unrestricted. Josh is working with TD Bank to streamline the process of using the available funds as intended.
- There was a discussion regarding the delay of the audit. The auditors are short staffed.
- The MacDougall reports show that all funds received to date have been used. Trustee Sheehan will transfer more funds as needed.
Director’s Report
Sarah discussed the highlights of the director’s report:
- Susan Judkins has left the library. The position will be upgraded to Division Head and posted shortly.
- The new soundproof pod is being used a lot but we are waiting on a lock from the manufacturer.
- The Santa Parade went well. Some staff volunteered and had a good time.
- More lighting was installed in the second floor hallway.
- Roku sticks have been popular with many check outs.
Old Business
Jane has been looking for another company to do the CPR training and has a good candidate that allows for some of the training to be done online.
The Mayor has asked all department heads to submit updates for each city department for his annual report. Since Sarah had already prepared an annual report for the trustees, she was able to submit that quickly.
Sarah and Jane attended the Y’s annual Educator of the Year Awards to accept the award for Commitment to Community on behalf of the Library.
New Business
Becky Geller, the library’s new full time archivist, gave the trustees an overview of special collections. She updated them on the Senter project and discussed the need for shelving, storage, organization, and more staff. There was discussion about increasing the 30 hour tech services position to 40 hours to include some hours in special collections. There was also discussion on hiring a volunteer and what that would entail. Trustee Rurak asked what her immediate needs are as well as what future work would entail, what the future goals are and how do we increase usage by the public. Becky will communicate immediate needs and will also discuss specific needs with the architects.
Trustee Rurak asked if we can offer a pass to the Museum of Printing. He will get more information on what the museum can offer and costs.
There being no further business to discuss, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn. The meeting ended at 11:00 a.m.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Bresnahan