Minutes of Regular Meeting

July 18, 2006

Call to Order

The regular meeting of the Library Board of Trustees was called to order at 7:10 p.m. by Board President P. Lynn Oliva. In attendance were Trustees Denise D’Ambrosio, Hope Furth, Jeane Garment, Howard Hawkins, Timothy James, Paul Schwarz, Julie Trelstad, Library Director Sandra Miranda, Assistant Library Director Patricia Thorsen, and Head of Internal Operations Kurt Hadeler. Absent with notice were Trustees Connors and Manager of Children’s Services Rosemary Rasmussen.

Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Library Board of Trustees

The minutes of the regular meeting of June 20, 2006 were approved on a MOTION by Trustee Garment, seconded by Trustee James.

BUDGET

City Revenue & Expenditure Budget Reports

Not received.

Bills 2005/06 Budget

Payment of bill vouchers #25 & #26 was approved on a MOTION by Trustee James, seconded by Trustee Garment.

Report of Library Administration

The Board reviewed written administrative reports. Library Director Miranda reported on steps taken to reinforce contract obligations with an organization that had rented space, as complaints were received in advance of its meetings from members of the public being solicited to attend. She also reported that Public Safety had been contacted about the possibility of a public demonstration. Trustee Oliva reported she also had received a complaint letter and shared it with the Board. The Board discussed and decided no further action was required.

Library Director Miranda reported that she had facilitated a dialogue between the IBM community relations manager and WP School Superintendent regarding educational software available through IBM’s grant inititatives, and the Library will host a demo for District and Library personnel on August 9. As a result of these initiatives, Mrs. Miranda anticipates that the Library will be able to offer new services for children and adults learning to read English, website translation for Spanish language speakers, and assistive technology for the disabled.

Mrs. Miranda reported that the self-service pay stations in The Trove have not been working for more than two months following an unsuccessful software upgrade, and Kurt Hadeler continues to work with the vendor to resolve.

Board President Oliva reported that she was called by the President of the Mount Vernon Board of Trustees because a bill in Albany is expected to pass for Mount Vernon, now a school district library, to become a city library, and they are interested in the experience of other municipal libraries.

Trustee Reports & Business

WLS

Trustee Furth noted that WLS is moving to its new offices in Tarrytown next week. She reported that a group of 3 library directors, 3 WLS personnel, and a few citizens has been constituted to develop a new WLS Long Range Plan by October, and that she and Mrs. Miranda are on this committee. Mrs. Furth noted that that since Siobhan Reardon began as the new WLS Director, she has enlisted expert help in a variety of areas, including public relations, technology evaluation, and cataloging. Library Director Miranda suggested that Mrs. Reardon be invited to an upcoming meeting and agreed to extend the invitation on the Board’s behalf.

Advocacy

Materials from American Libraries Council were distributed, but there was no board discussion.

Friends

Board President Oliva reported that the Friends will not meet until September.

Foundation

Mrs. Miranda shared a draft of the Gala invitation, and reported that the Benefit Committee is hard at work with planning for the event. She reminded Board members that they promised to help to secure journal ads, and that help is needed. Deadline for ads is September 29^th.

OLD BUSINESS

Privacy Policy

Board President Oliva asked if the Policy Committee consisting of Kurt Hadeler, Tim James and Paul Schwarz had reviewed the policy for any major changes, and there were none requested. The Board discussed, and Trustee Oliva agreed to send a follow-up to Corporation Counsel stating that the Board would adopt the policy at its October meeting if no comments were received before that date.

NEW BUSINESS

Approval for Personnel Added & Deleted from Payroll, 4/1/06 - 6/30/06

On a MOTION by Trustee Furth, seconded by Trustee Garment, the Board approved Personnel Added & Deleted from Payroll, 4/1/06 - 6/30/06.

Replacement Fees - Lost & Damaged Materials - Revised Policy

Library Director Miranda reviewed Proposed Fee Schedule for Lost Materials with the Board. The Board discussed and suggested some refinements to clarify the wording, which Mrs. Miranda agreed to incorporate when finalizing for the public. On a MOTION by Trustee D’Ambrosio, seconded by Trustee Furth, the Board approved the Proposed Fee Schedule for Lost Materials, with final wording to be developed.

Library Participation in World Community Grid

The Board reviewed material on World Community Grid sponsored by IBM and a group of leading foundations, public organizations and academic institutions to harness unused computer power to focus on projects that advance global humanitarian efforts. The Board asked many questions and discussed at length. It was decided that the Board would take the summer to look at information about the project on the website www.worldcommunitygrid.org, let Mrs. Miranda know if further information was needed, and discuss at its September meeting.

Meeting Room Policy

Library Director Miranda presented 3 proposed revisions to Meeting Room Policy to the Board stating that changes were in italics. Board President Oliva asked for consideration of each revision individually. The 1^st proposed revision was approved on a motion by Jeane Garment, seconded by Hope Furth, with seven in favor and one abstention by Trustee D’Ambrosio. The Board discussed and rejected the 2^nd proposed revision, opting instead to leave policy as currently worded. Regarding the 3^rd proposed revision, on a MOTION by Trustee Garment, seconded by Trustee D’Ambrosio the Board unanimously approved a revision to Meeting Room Policy to change proposed wording to read "Failure to abide by these rules may result in cancellation of a room reservation and denial of future applications to rent space."

Library Director Miranda also asked the Board to consider a staff suggestion that organizations renting rooms be required to include wording on their publicity that the Library is not a program sponsor. The Board discussed and declined to act on this suggestion, which would be too difficult to enforce. Trustee Garment suggested putting a statement in the Library’s newsletter about meeting room rentals and noting there that the Library does not sponsor or endorse these programs. Mrs. Miranda agreed that this was a viable way to handle.

Gallery Exhibition Agreement

Library Director Miranda reported that she has an opportunity to put a photography exhibit in the Gallery for summer/fall 2006 and asked for approval to engage local resident, Kathy Masterson, to curate. On a MOTION by Trustee Schwarz, seconded by Trustee Trelstad, the Board approved consultant fee of $1,000 for a summer/fall photography exhibit in the Museum Gallery.

Adjournment

There being no more business before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 8:46 p.m. on a MOTION by Trustee D’Ambrosio, seconded by Trustee James.

Paul Schwarz, Secretary

Library Board of Trustees