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Bucks County Free Library Board
The
Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Bucks County Free Library was
held at the District Library Center in Doylestown. The meeting was called to
order at 5:30 p.m. Present were: Det
Ansinn, President; Bill Draper, Vice President; Roberta Foerst, Secretary;
Jerry Balchis, Treasurer; Mary Ann Beltz, Board Trustee; Martina Kominiarek,
Executive Director; Sue Ziegler, Public Services Director; John Doran, Chief
Financial Officer; and
A
MOTION to APPROVE the minutes of the Regular Meeting of October 21, 2008 was
made by Draper, SECONDED by Beltz and APPROVED unanimously.
STAFF REPORTS
Report
of District Center Librarian/Roberta Yakovich
District
Center Librarian Roberta Yakovich told the board that she is hopeful and
optimistic about the Doylestown branch with statistics going up significantly
throughout the year and showing that over 30,000 people are through the doors
each month. Each day the library is bustling with moms, teens, tutors, and book
clubs. There is actually a waiting list to use the lobby display case.
Renovations have included racks in the children’s area for A/V, paperbacks
combined with hardbacks, and diner booths installed in teen area.
Report
of Executive Director (submitted in writing):
Executive
Director Martina Kominiarek noted that our Youth Services Consultant received a
check in the amount of $10,000 from the TD Bank for the summer reading program.
Kominiarek also noted that she attended several fundraising training sessions
that were held in preparation of completion of a BCFL organizational competency
– to create a comprehensive fundraising
plan by 2009.
She
introduced BCFL’s new district consultant, Hal Rosenberg, to the board. He
noted that he was glad to be in Bucks County and that his first two months here
have provided many learning opportunities, which included PLA Boot Camp,
leadership training at Penn State, and the fundraising workshops. Next year he
will be involved in marketing and fundraising for BCFL and hopes to meet and
work with branch and CPL Friends groups.
Kominiarek
distributed to the board a spreadsheet showing the breakdown of online renewals
and in-library circulation statistics from January 2008 to the present.
In
response to a query on public reactions to Amnesty Week she stated that it was
all positive with people enjoying being told that there were no fines to pay.
Board president Ansinn also stated that he had received positive feedback from
some Doylestown residents.
Report of Public Services
Director (submitted in writing)
Public Services Director
Sue Ziegler acknowledged Diane Kraus, who was sitting in on the meeting and is
head union steward at BCFL.
Ziegler stated that she
had attended the Pennsylvania Library Association’s annual conference held in
Valley Forge this year. Also, several youth services librarians were able to
attend a pre-conference that was geared to leadership in youth services. She
shared with the board some of the informative sessions that she attended,
including one on “green” libraries.
Report
of Chief Financial Officer
MOTION
to APPROVE the payment of bills for October 2008 in the amount of $681,083.34
was made by Foerst, SECONDED by Draper and APPROVED unanimously.
BCFL’s
investments were discussed as they relate to the economic downturn. It was suggested
that some additional changes might be necessary to minimize the losses. One
board member asked if we need to cutback in lieu of not knowing how much we
will receive from the county and state. CFO Doran suggested that holding
steady, i.e. no new hires, would be prudent until we see how much funding we
will receive. The State has already informed us that they will be delayed in
supplying that information.
MOTION
to APPROVE the October
2008 financial statements (subject to audit) was made by Draper, SECONDED by
Balchis , and APPROVED unanimously.
Board Committee
Reports – None
Correspondence – Submitted in writing
Public Comment – No public commented.
Unfinished
business – A reminder to have board members continue to review the revised Library Behavior
policy that was distributed at a previous board meeting. Further discussion
will be held at the December board meeting.
New
Business – The BCFL board of directors is
still waiting to have two members appointed to the vacant slots, but felt in
the interim the board should move forward with things they want to get done.
One is looking toward the implementation of a bookmobile for Bucks County.
Currently, the spurt of development tracts in Upper Bucks is not served, and
some lower areas, such as Newtown, are not served. Board members can start
garnering support from local government and explore potential participation and
support of the bookmobile in various municipalities. Board trustee Mary Ann
Beltz noted how this coincides with the two-day fundraising training in which
she participated that was presented by June Garcia. She felt that an ad hoc
committee could meet to discuss how the board could move forward with a
fundraising plan and explore how to obtain bookmobile funding.
A MOTION to have an ad hoc
fundraising committee was made by Beltz, SECONDED by Foerst and APPROVED
unanimously. Committee members will be Det Ansinn, Mary Ann Beltz, and Bill
Draper.
There
being no further business, a MOTION to ADJOURN was made at 6:10 p.m. by Beltz,
SECONDED by Balchis and so MOVED.
Respectfully submitted,
Pamela J. Riley
Executive Assistant
APPROVED BY BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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Copyright
© 2008 The Bucks County Free Library
