Minutes of Regular Meeting

June 20, 2001

Call to Order

The regular monthly meeting of the Library Board of Trustees was called to order at 7:06 p.m. In attendance were Board President Hope Furth, Trustees Toni Cox-Burns, Betsy DeSoye, Janet Elmiger, Campbell Geeslin, P. Lynn Oliva, Assistant Library Director Charlotte Szabó, and Head of Public Services Patricia Thorsen. Absent with notice were Trustees Don Simmons, Nancy Smith, Saul Yanofsky and Library Director Sandra Miranda. On a motion by Trustee Geeslin, seconded by Trustee Oliva, Trustee Elmiger was appointed as Secretary Pro-Tem.

Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Library Board of Trustees

The minutes of the regular meeting of May 16, 2001 were approved on a motion by Trustee Geeslin, seconded by Trustee DeSoye.

City Expenditure & Revenue Budget Reports

City Expenditure & Revenue Budget Reports as of 5/31/01 were reviewed by the Board.

Bills: 2000/01 Budget: #21 & #22

The payment of bill vouchers #21 and #22 were approved on a motion by Trustee Oliva, seconded by Trustee Geeslin.

Report of Library Administration

Department reports for May 2001 were reviewed by the Board. Head of Public Services Patricia Thorsen was pleased to report that Kurt Hadeler and his wife Kelley were the proud parents of a baby girl, Emma Morgan, and that the staff was planning a "Welcome Emma" party on 6/21/01 and was delighted to share in their joy. Mrs. Thorsen was pleased to report that the "Go Figure" exhibit was a great success, and commended the Children’s Staff for the wonderful job they did to make it a memorable experience for the children.

Trustee Oliva questioned the negative numbers on the Library’s May 2001 statistics. Mrs. Thorsen responded that the Reference Department was experimenting with a new way of collecting statistics and were not collecting them on a daily basis. However, since the experiment produced inaccurate monthly statistics, they would return to the previous method of collecting statistics on a daily basis.

Assistant Director Szabó reported that the Library will be working with the Woman’s Club on a joint project of a Book & Author luncheon program to be held at the Women’s Club on November 28, 2001. Ms. Szabó noted that "A Reading Odyssey" would be held at the Library in the Children’s Room from June 26 through August 16.

Hope Furth commended the excellent job done on the "insert pages" to the public school calendar. The Board received the inaugural issue of The White Plains Public Library newsletter, and extended a special commendation to Cassie Trace for her work to produce the newsletter.

WLS

Board President Furth reported that she will attend the WLS meeting next week, and will report at the next meeting. The Board reviewed Board President Furth’s letter to Dr. Norm Jacknis, President, WLS Board of Trustees regarding response to the Draft Strategic Plan. The Board reviewed the job description for the WLS Assistant Director.

Mrs. Thorsen reported that White Plains started the new ILL procedure on 6/12/01, and had already received several ILL requests before starting date. Mrs. Thorsen explained that other libraries can

go into our Library’s catalog and vice-versa. She commended Mary Black for all her hard work and a job well done in learning a whole new system.

Friends

Trustee Elmiger, Board representative to the Friends group, reported that the Friends booth at the White Plains Outdoor Arts Festival was a success in spite of the inclement weather. Mrs. Elmiger reported that Friends Board President Faith Robinson enjoyed the experience, thought the event was good exposure for the Friends, and would like to have a booth at next year’s festival. Assistant Director Szabó reported the Friends "Self Service" Book Sale would be held from Tuesday, June 26 through Friday, July 6 on the 2^nd Floor outside the Children’s Room. The materials to be sold are children’s books, hardcover and paperback fiction, and long playing records.

Foundation

The Board received minutes of the Library Foundation Board of Directors Meeting of 5/2/01, as well as the Foundation Monthly Board Report, June 2001. Board President Furth noted that the Foundation thrust would be to convert campaign supporters into annual givers, and to continue to tap into the grant community and local corporations. Mrs. Furth reported the Foundation Board has broken into three task forces, Raising Readers, Creating Community, and Expanding Horizons. Trustee Cox-Burns noted each task force was expected to brainstorm ideas for fundraisers in the form of salons, and it was the Foundation’s aim to hold 12 events. Mrs. Furth said the Foundation Newsletter was sent to the Library Board, and Board confirmed their receipt.

Outreach

Trustee Oliva reported she returned a telephone call from Lorraine Buonocunto, Greater White Plains Council of Community Services, and they would be happy to meet with the Library Board. Ms. Szabó reported she called Ms. Buonocunto, and they agreed that Ms. Buonocunto would call Library Director Miranda to book a cable show for September featuring Mrs. Miranda and a Library Board member.

Ms. Szabó reported she would contact Frank Williams, Youth Bureau, regarding the Outreach Committee attending their Board meeting in September. Trustee Oliva reported the Outreach Committee would plan to meet with the CNA some time in the fall.

Mrs. Thorsen reported that in Mrs. Miranda’s absence, she spoke to approximately 40 attendees at the League of Woman Voters, and materials brought to meeting were the Library’s Annual Report, Library Newsletter, and Foundation Newsletter.

Ms. Szabó reported the YWCA luncheon honoring Trustee Cox-Burns was a memorable event, and noted that she and other board members as well were overwhelmed by the outstanding Library advocacy speech given by Trustee Cox-Burns. The Board applauded Trustee Cox-Burns, and Trustee Cox-Burns thanked Ms. Szabó for her sentiments.

Holiday/Sunday Schedule for Fiscal Year 01/02

The Holiday/Sunday Schedule for Fiscal Year 01/02 was approved on a motion by Trustee Geeslin and seconded by Trustee DeSoye.

Parking Garage

Board President Furth reported the Parking Authority turned down the Library Board’s invitation to attend a Library Board meeting, and the Library Board reviewed the 5/16/01 response letter Trustee Furth received from E. Charles Hunt, Chairman of the Parking Authority. Ms. Szabó reported the Library Parking Survey needs to be fine-tuned, and will be given to the public in Sepember. After some discussion, the Board agreed they wanted to express their parking concerns and have an open, face-to-face dialogue with the Parking Authority. The Board decided to continue to pursue avenues to enable that dialogue to take place.

Adopted Budget FY01/02

The Board reviewed Adopted Budget FY01/02.

Revised Fee Schedule: Reserves & Interlibrary Loans

On a motion by Trustee Elmiger, seconded by Trustee Cox-Burns, the Board approved the Revised Fee Schedule: Reserves & Interlibrary Loans as presented. Mrs. Thorsen thanked the Board, and expressed that both patrons and staff would welcome the reduction in fee.

SIRSI Corporation - Unicorn Library Management System

On a motion by Trustee DeSoye, seconded by Trustee Furth, the Board approved the renewal of existing IBM ServiceSuite Agreement as required to continue turnkey maintenance of hardware provided through SIRSI.

Adjournment

There being no more business before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. on a motion by Trustee Geeslin, seconded by Trustee DeSoye.

Janet Elmiger, Secretary Pro-Tem

Library Board of Trustees