Haverhill Public Library
Board of Trustees
Minutes of July 19, 2018
The regular monthly meeting of the Trustees of the Haverhill Public Library was called to order at 8:35 a.m. on Thursday, July 19, 2018 in the Donald C. Freeman Whittier Room. In attendance were Trustees Klueber, Bresnahan, Coletti, and Rurak, along with Director Sarah Moser and Assistant Director Ricky Sirois. Trustee Veasey joined at 9:15. Trustee Sheehan was not in attendance.
The trustees would like to acknowledge the passing of Mariana Morse. She served as a trustee of the Haverhill Public Library and president of the Friends of the Haverhill Public Library. Her service to the library was much appreciated.
Secretary’s Report
The trustees were given copies of the minutes dated June 21, 2018. Trustee Rurak suggested adding a line regarding the Teamsters request for Sarah to be present during the negotiations. A motion was made and seconded to accept the amended minutes. The minutes were so approved.
The library’s holiday schedule for 2019 was presented to the Board with a request that the date of Tuesday, December 24, be given to staff as a personal day off. The trustees so approved.
The trustees perused the list of Board of Trustees 2018-2019. A motion to leave the list of Board Members and Committees as they stand was seconded and approved by the trustees.
The meeting dates for FY2019 were reviewed by the trustees and given their unanimous approval.
Treasurer’s Report
Perry Frankston, Business Manager, provided copies of the June financials for the trustees to examine. He compared the year-end figures for 2017 vs. 2018 and noted that total library generated income, books and materials expense and operating expenses are standard and fairly consistent. Unearned revenue is what we mostly rely on and needs to be looked at. Discussion followed regarding the need for a capital budget. Sarah will draft a 5 year plan for building needs to be discussed at the September meeting. A motion was made and seconded to approve the reports. Approval was unanimous.
Director’s Report
A copy of the Director’s Report was given to the trustees. Highlights included that the summer reading kickoff was a success and that the popcorn machine was a hit. There was some discussion about possibly bringing the popcorn machine to outreach events.
There are two new hires in circulation and two good candidates for the systems admin position.
The Senter archive went public with lots of press coverage and interest.
Old Business
The bathrooms are expected to be completed in 2-3 weeks.
The Friend’s Shop construction is off to a slow start.
The stairwell floors have been replaced. Luis is painting the walls.
The trustees re-visited options for preserving the old aerial photos. Discussion followed on whether to preserve them now or preserve and digitize them now with the hopes that new technology will allow storage of these large files in the future. A vote should be made soon.
The library is in need of a new AMH and self-checkout system. The quote from Biblioteca was $133k to buy it or other options to lease over a period of 36, 48, or 60 months. Sarah will get exact figures on the options including the maintenance plan costs and the trustees will re-visit the options at the September meeting.
The city and the union negotiated a contract which was rejected by the union. There is still no contract going into FY19.
New Business
Some of the FY19 outreach money is going to be used for having some library policies and brochures translated into other languages.
The Fall Fundraiser planning is underway. It will take place at Maria’s Galleria on Oct. 19. We have already received sponsorship from Haverhill Bank.
There being no further business to discuss, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn. The meeting ended at 10:00 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen Bresnahan
Secretary