CHAPLIN
PUBLIC LIBRARY
Board of
Trustees Meeting
Chaplin,
Connecticut
Meeting
Minutes
April 20,
2009
Chairperson Helen Weingart called the meeting to order at
7:05 PM. Board members present were
Dianne Beer, Diane Cox, Betty Urban, Rebecca Stockdale-Woolley, Kitty LeShay,
Sharyn Rusch, Bill Jenkins and June Rose.
Others present were Library Director Gerre Helmer. Unable to attend was Assistant Librarian
Jessica Jahnke.
3.
Additions to Agenda: None
4.
Audience for Citizens:
None
5.
Approval of Minutes:
March 16, 2009
Motion to
approve the minutes of March 16, 2009, was made by Bill Jenkins with the
following corrections: Item #8B should read – A check for $25 made out to the
library Director was lost. A new check
will be issued. The motion was seconded by
Betty Urban and carried with one abstention by Bill Jenkins.
6.
Reports:
A.
Director’s Report:
Circulation
for the month of March is 643.
Fiction 167 Juvenile
Fiction 152 Video 56
Non-Fiction
27 Juvenile Non-Fiction 22 DVD 171
Periodicals
15 CDs 1 Audio
32
The
Special Revenue balance is $11,238.76 and does not include the book sale.
The
Board was presented with a list of line item balances that could cover
overexpendintures in Building Maintenance, Equipment Purchase and Substitute
Librarian. Budget transfers would have
to be presented to the Board of Finance.
Documentation is needed for the Substitute Librarian. If it was coverage for a conference, it
should have been presented to the Board for approval and taken out of Special
Revenue, not the Substitute Librarian.
The
English Lady program for $250 was approved before the budget freeze. It needs to be added back to Special Revenue
and taken out of programs.
Planning
has begun for the Summer Reading program.
Books need to be purchased for the books on the reading list from Parish
Hill.
A
$400 grant was received from the Eastern CT Highland Health District to
purchase books to promote healthy lifestyles for children.
Cost
for passes at the Science Center in Hartford is $65 (pass for two people) and
$100 (premier pass for 4 people).
Motion to
approve $100 from Special Revenue for Science Center pass, was made by Bill
Jenkins, seconded by Dianne Beer and carried unanimously.
The
First Selectman will be asked to advertise in his newsletter that passes are
available at the Library for the Science Center.
B.
Board Chair Report:
Diane
Cox and Rebecca Stockdale-Woolley were commended for organizing the English
Lady program that was well attended.
Diane Cox suggested having a garden program every spring using a local
gardener or someone from UCONN as presenter.
Sharyn
Rusch and Dianne Beer were commended for their work on the successful Book Sale
that made $1,273.40. There were many
dealers in attendance for the first sale of the season. Future book sales will be held the first week
of April. The First Selectmen will be
asked to post an advertisement for book donations in his newsletter. Diane Cox suggested having a Book/Bake/Bric-a-Brac
Sale. June Rose suggested a Silent
Auction and will bring information for the next meeting.
Helen
Weingart and Paul Carbone will meet with Woodcock Refrigeration (sells and
services carrier unit) to review invoices from Stafford Mechanical back to
2005.
C.
Board Members Report:
Diane
Cox will attend a meeting for Boards and Commissions on May 4th at
7:00 PM at the Senior Center. A meeting
will be held on April 29th for the Natchaug River and Agriculture
and on May 6th for Route 6 Development.
Sharyn
Rusch asked if the Discovery Group could put their Community Bulletin Board on
the Library property. They will need to contact the Historic
District.
7.
Old Business:
A.
Budget Review for Budget Freeze:
The
Budget will be reviewed next month to identify areas to cover over
expenditures.
Rebecca
Stockdale-Woolley left the meeting at 8:12 PM.
B.
Review Personnel Policy and Employee Handbook:
The
Draft Employee Handbook is outdated.
Helen Weingart, Sharyn Rusch and Bill Jenkins will review the Chaplin
Employee Handbook for relevancy to help create a Library Employee Handbook.
Bill
Jenkins left the meeting at 8:22 PM.
C.
Webinar for VERSO:
Helen
Weingart presented the following information on VERSO:
-
Patrons can review and reserve books
from home
-
There is a stand-alone module that
allows books to be checked out even if you lose electricity
-
The splash page is a web page that
can include a calendar of events, message of the day, list of new books
-
Software Professional services will
host the program and provide data backup
-
Ongoing technical support
-
Electronic process to put new
records into the system
-
Help Desk available 12 hours a day
-
An export tool will be needed if
books can’t be transferred
-
Need to find out internet connection
speed
Will
review the budget and make a decision soon.
Automatic reports would reduce data entry and free up time for other
tasks. The cost could be offset with a
fundraiser and spending less on books.
A
Webinar is scheduled for the May meeting at 7:00 PM.
D.
Lending Policy for Kilowatt Power Machine:
Gerre
Helmer was asked to provide recommendations in writing that would include
length of use, deposit and late fees for the Kilowatt Power Machine. June Rose suggested getting feedback on how
it works.
E.
Season Pass for the Science Center: Covered
already
8.
NEW BUSINESS: None
9.
Correspondence:
A
letter was received from Jane Collins regarding her interest in the Library
Assistant position if it becomes available.
10.
Agenda Items for Next Meeting:
§ Webinar
§ Creating Library Employee Handbook
§ Budget Review for Budget Freeze
§ Lending Policy for Kilowatt Power Machine
§ Silent Auction
11.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 8:40 PM.
Respectfully submitted by Kathleen Scott
Recording Secretary