Haverhill Public Library
Board of Trustees
Minutes of November 18, 2021
The regular monthly meeting of the Trustees of the Haverhill Public Library was called to order at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 18, 2021 in the Donald C. Freeman Whittier Room. In attendance were Trustees Bresnahan, Coletti, Sheehan, Rurak and Veasey-Sirois. Also in attendance was Director, Sarah Moser and Assistant Director, Jonathan Nichols.
The trustees would like to acknowledge that long-time benefactor of the library, Olive MacDougall, has passed away.
Secretary’s Report
The trustees were given copies of the minutes dated October 21, 2021. 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 October. The losses from September were recovered in October and the AMH payment of about $66,000 was made. The library received a large gift from a donor.
A motion was made and seconded to accept the financial statements. The statements were approved.
Director’s Report
Sarah discussed the highlights of the director’s report:
- The awning installation has been delayed because wooden studs need to be installed first, which we were not made aware of before they came to install it.
- Mary Braney is coming in next week to talk to staff and conduct some space studies for the building remodel. The trustees would like to discuss this with her at the January meeting.
- Jonathan digitized transcripts and recordings for the Temple Emanu-El project. Jim included Phil Primack as he is knowledgeable about the subject. A researcher donated $1000.00 because he was glad to have access to the project.
Old Business
Staffing Update: Eddie started in circulation on Nov. 1 and has been a great addition. An offer was made to a candidate for the Page position.
Building Update: The HVAC repairs have been delayed due to a tech shortage.
Special Collections Update: Tamara will be retiring on December 15. Sarah suggested not filling her position in hopes of hiring a full time archivist. Tamara asked the trustees to accept two donations. After discussing the options, the trustees were all in favor of accepting at least part of the donations. Sarah got an estimate of some items that we could sell and wants to have an appraiser review them also.
New Business
Sarah discussed with the trustees the possibility of extending the board or adding an advisory committee. She would like to research other libraries to get ideas.
Sarah stated that there has been an uptick in groups of people wanting to ban books. We haven’t had any serious requests here but just in case, she discussed the Materials Selection Policy and asked the trustees to vote on adopting a Materials Reconsideration Form. All were in favor.
There being no further business to discuss, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn. The regular meeting ended at 10:15 a.m. The trustees entered into an executive session at 10:15 until 11:15 a.m.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Bresnahan