Haverhill Public Library
Board of Trustees
Minutes of May 19, 2022
The regular monthly meeting of the Trustees of the Haverhill Public Library was called to order at 9:05 a.m. on Thursday, May 19, 2022 in the Donald C. Freeman Whittier Room. In attendance were Trustees Bresnahan, Coletti, Klueber, Sheehan, Rurak, and Veasey-Sirois. Also in attendance was Director, Sarah Moser and Assistant Director, Jonathan Nichols.
Secretary’s Report
The trustees were given copies of the minutes dated April 21, 2022. After perusing the minutes, a motion was made and seconded to accept the minutes. The minutes were approved.
Treasurer’s Report
Library Director, Sarah, presented the financial statements for April. Highlights included:
- Special Collections and Miscellanous income is in the green from an increase in research request fees, and patron purchases.
- IT Systems line is high because of the purchase and installation of our new security cameras.
- State aid funds have made their way from the City to the Library’s accounts. Funds were increased this year since we are now in compliance with State requirements.
- Audit is not completed, but filing was done with Sarah and Jonathan signing the documents so that they could be post marked on time.
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:
- HVAC is functioning, but with limited control.
- AMI cleaning company will start June 1. This change is due to the unresponsiveness of SJ Services.
- Budget from the City has been submitted and Sarah is set to go before City Council on May 23.
- Dana has left her position, but has provided us with detailed documentation to complete image requests, etc. The processing of the Senter Digital Archives materials will be put on hold until further notice.
- The new awning is still awaiting installation. Sarah is coordinating with the awning company and the roofers for an installation date.
- Both new department heads are working out well.
Old Business
The trustees discussed their thoughts and impressions of each architecture company that presented proposals. Jonathan brought a third proposal from OverUnder – who specialize in concrete architecture preservation and remodeling. The Trustees will review the new proposal and determine if they should be included in further discussions.
Trustee Sheehan is continuing to work with Louis Miller on acquiring the 3rd floor condo. A letter on behalf of the board to acquire the property is being sent to the City with inclusion of 30B regulations. Awaiting response from City Hall.
New Business
Sarah presented a draft of the Trustees budget for approval. Budget is only a slight increase from the current monthly draw and will still meet the MAR and the MER. Some funds will be shifted from DVDs and CDs towards Overdrive to add additional e-content, but also to address the decrease in materials available for purchase in these collections. A motion was made and seconded to accept the budget.
Discussion was had about the effectiveness of TD Bank and the dividend yields of the various accounts. Decision was made to stick with TD for now.
The undergraduate student doing her internship has started. Sarah, Jonathan, and Kristi will be working with her during the summer to get an outreach plan created.
Jonathan discussed the possible purchase of Roku streaming devices and streaming services to help with patron demand for movies and shows we are unable to acquire physically. After some discussion, the Trustees agreed to approve a pilot program of four devices to gauge interest, with possible expansion if we see a high demand.
Jonathan updated the Trustees on the soundproof pods. The larger, four-seater has been ordered and will ship on June 24. A policy for use of the pod will be created and presented for approval at next month’s meeting.
The Trustees asked Sarah and Jonathan to prepare a milestone report for the library to include in our yearly audits. They will begin work on this report using statistics from the ARIS report as well as internal metrics.
Sarah updated the Trustees on potential issues related to upcoming pride programs. It was suggested that staff be trained in how to respond to potentially hostile patrons by the police department. Sarah will investigate logistics.
There being no further business to discuss, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn. The meeting ended at 11:07 a.m.
Sincerely, Kathleen Bresnahan