The Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Bucks County Free Library was held at the Library Center , Doylestown.  The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m.  Present were:  Joan Bowman, President; Jerry Balchis, Treasurer;
Mary Ann Garton; Steven Dilliplane; Martina Kominiarek , Executive Director; Janet Marnatti, Collection Management Director; Jenn Cogan, Youth Services Librarian/Doylestown; Pam Riley, Executive Assistant. William Draper,
Roberta Foerst and Det Ansinn, Jr. were absent.

 

At the previous month’s meeting a clerical error was noted in the minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 16, 2007, so at this meeting a MOTION to APPROVE the minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 16, 2007 was made by Balchis, SECONDED by Garton and unanimously APPROVED.

 

A MOTION to APPROVE the minutes of the Regular Meeting of February 20, 2007 was made by Balchis, SECONDED by Dilliplane and unanimously APPROVED.

 

 

STAFF REPORTS

 

Report of Youth Services Librarian/Doylestown

 

Jenn Cogan provided an update of happenings in the Youth Services area of the library. She said that they are getting a lot of teens involved through various programs. The Teen Book Club that they have been operating for the past twelve years is still going strong, currently with thirteen teen members. They meet each month to discuss the book that they have been given to read. Also, author Robert Krech was a guest speaker and met with the students. There are 38 teen volunteers who seem to take an enormous amount of pride in their library, helping to shelve books and movies and also preparing crafts for and assisting at the preschool storyhour.  For some of the students it is a way to earn community service hours for scouts or graduation projects. A teen newsletter is in the works, with twelve teens working on it. It will include an advice column and photos, and should be ready in a month or two. Roberta Yakovich, Assistant Branch Librarian at Doylestown, and Jenn have been visiting middle schools to promote reading and to let students know what’s going on at the library.

 

 

 

 

Report of Executive Director: 

 

The Executive Director reported on the second floor renovations that included adding two offices for the System Services Director and the Facilities Manager. The creation of the offices freed up space in the IT room, and there is an extra office vacated by the Facilities Manager that can find another purpose as well.

 

Kyle Weir, our Information Technology Manager, resigned as a result of finding employment closer to his home in Lehigh County . Currently, Mike Schabert is filling in for Kyle, and we plan to post for two technicians (one an existing vacancy and one in place of Mike Schabert).

 

The BCFL Administrative offices hosted two Bucks County United Way meetings, with more planned in the future. A committee was formed to help United Way become more of a resource for those in need, focusing on various themes and forming groups to brainstorm ways to meet those needs. The Executive Director is serving on a committee of the project, whose theme is “Success By Six.”  The library committee is examining what is available in Bucks County in literacy for children and how those who are in need – parents, caregivers, teachers – can find this group to help them.

 

 

Report of Public Services Director (submitted in writing)

 

The Public Services Director showed a new type of material the library is now circulating. It is essentially a self-contained audio book complete with player. The only thing not included are the earbuds, which need to either be purchased for a small fee from the library or patrons can supply their own. BCFL also offers downloadable audio books, which a patron downloads from the website onto their equipment. This new material takes it a step further by providing the player as well. So far the library has a small collection, but the ones we have are always checked out.

 

 

Report of System Services Director (submitted in writing)

 

The System Services Director noted that the weather took its toll on our facilities, including the Bensalem branch, which has water leaks. The most significant problem is that a piece of the Doylestown metal roof blew off and is leaning against the side of the building. A MOTION to APPROVE funds to fix the Doylestown roof not to exceed $10,000 and using a formal quote process was made by Garton; SECONDED by Balchis and unanimously APPROVED.

 

Report of Development Director (submitted in writing)

 

 

Report of District Consultant (submitted in writing)

There will be a trustee orientation on Thursday, April 26 from 2:30-5:30 p.m., which will include BCFL and CPLs. The orientation will include a tour of the Information Technology and Technical Services Departments.

 

Report of Youth Services Consultant (submitted in writing)

 

 

Report of Collection Management Director (submitted in writing)

In an effort to introduce centralized collection management, the Collection Management Director has been traveling to libraries, talking with staff about their collections, and asking them to evaluate what they have and what they need. She is compiling a statistical report that will show their holdings and how much they are circulating in an effort to determine ways to increase circulation. Once data has been compiled, collections can be built based on that data in addition to personal impressions.

 

Report of Technical Services Manager (submitted in writing)

 

 

Report of Business Manager

MOTION to APPROVE the payment of bills for February 2007 in the amount of $298,690.00 was made by Garton, SECONDED by Balchis and APPROVED unanimously.

 

MOTION to APPROVE the February 2007 financial statements (subject to audit) was made by Garton, SECONDED by Balchis, and unanimously APPROVED.

 

The Business Manager asked for approval of a copier lease renewal for a three-year period with Lanier. The contract would cover 23 copiers, and although the cost would increase $20 per month more for leasing, the price for maintenance would decrease about $20 per month. The contract also provides for 23 new machines. He noted that Lanier is on the state contract system and we have had success with them. The advantage of sticking with a company we already have is that there are no initial set-up costs. Our current contract expires in October, but this offer was only available if we renewed early. No other vendors were looked at since we have had a good experience with this company, and the last time a search for a vendor was conducted took place only two years ago. The lease would commence immediately upon renewal. MOTION to APPROVE the Lanier contract was made by Garton, SECONDED by Balchis and unanimously APPROVED.

 

Board Committee Reports:

 

The Finance and Building Committees did not meet.

 

Development Committee - The Development Committee reviewed the list of recent donors and upcoming solicitation plans. Paul is contacting local business leaders to solicit support for BCFL Summer Reading through the Educational Incentive Tax Credit Program. The April annual fund mailer is scheduled for delivery to 25,000 households with library card holders, and plans are underway to more widely promote memorial/honor gifts and planned gifts.

 

Personnel Committee – An update on union negotiations was presented. The performance evaluation process went well, with employees very receptive to the new system.

 

Library Services – Recently, a group requested to use library property to gather signatures for a petition. The Executive Director consulted the county solicitor’s office. It was determined that decisions must be made on a case-by-case basis. In the future if a specific request is made for signature-gathering, the county solicitor’s office must be contacted and provided with the particulars so that they can make a determination, as the circumstances are different for each library. If a request is made, information should be gathered on the date, time and place they are planning their event, and we can tell them we will check with the county to see if it is permissible.

 

Correspondence –

 

Meeting was opened to Public Comment.  No public in attendance. 

 

Unfinished business –None

 

New Business – Bids for landscaping for this year were received, and the System Services Director recommended that we accept the lowest bids. The bids are about 5% higher than last year, but we previously did not require herbicide applications, which increase the cost. The recommendation is for four different landscapers being awarded contracts for six branches: WDB – Yardley-Makefield branch; Biase – Doylestown branch; Townscape – Bensalem and Langhorne branches; and Emerald Garden – Perkasie and Quakertown branches. A MOTION to APPROVE the lowest bids for landscaping was made by Balchis, SECONDED by Garton and unanimously APPROVED.

 

President called for an Executive Session at 6:10 p.m.

 

Meeting was reopened to public at 6:20 p.m.

                                                                                               

There being no further business, a MOTION to ADJOURN was made at 6:21 p.m. by Balchis, SECONDED by Garton and so MOVED.

           

Respectfully submitted,

 

                                                                        Pamela J. Riley

 

Executive Assistant