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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 Bensalem Branch. The meeting was called to order at 5:33 p.m.
Present were: Det Ansinn, President;
Roberta Foerst, Secretary; Jerry Balchis, Treasurer; Mary Ann Beltz and
Christina Paugh-Greenwood, Board Trustees; 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 March 17, 2009 was made
by Beltz, SECONDED by Foerst and APPROVED unanimously.
STAFF REPORTS
Report
of Branch Manager/ Bensalem
Branch
Bensalem Branch Manager Lisa Kern thanked the board for their support of the luncheon provided on National Library Workers Day. She discussed the past year’s changes that have occurred at Bensalem. The parking lot repair was completed quickly with minimal disruption to service. Staff used the downtime to do a thorough weeding of books. She said patrons had a smooth transition when the library reopened, commenting on the “new books” that were very easy to see and find as a result of the clean look from the weeding project. She invited board members to check out the new passport office, a dedicated room for the completion of passport applications that affords agents a more productive procedure by allowing for an office and waiting area in one space. Within the past year Stephanie Deeter was named as Assistant Branch Manager, and she has jumped right in by creating exciting children’s programs and providing more outreach and in-house visits. A partnership with the Bensalem School District resulted in a combined effort to provide library cards to every 11th grader attending Bensalem High School. Bensalem library staff worked hard to organize the process, and it was a positive experience for everyone. Two other partnerships are with Build Better Bensalem Today (BBBT), where they have incorporated One Book, One Young Child, and Vita Education Services, whose ESL students are provided with library tours, library cards and information on library services.
Report
of Executive Director (submitted in writing)
Executive
Director Martina Kominiarek thanked Lisa Kern and the Bensalem staff for all
the work they do and all the assistance they provided during the many changes
over the past year. She also thanked Facilities Manager Joe Thompson and office
staff for delivering food to all the branches on National Library Workers Day.
The
DCAC meeting will be held on May 12, 2009, with the discussion focused on
budget talks. State funding cuts of 2.8% have been incorporated into the
proposed budget. The DCLC opted to cancel the Proquest database because of low usage and as a money‑saving effort. The DCAC will
additionally review the budget and decide what to do in anticipation of more
state budget cuts.
Report of Public Services
Director (submitted in writing)
Sue Ziegler acknowledged the board meeting attendance of union stewards Beryl Heisman and Alison McDonough.
Report
of Chief Financial Officer
MOTION
to APPROVE the payment of bills for March 2009 in the amount of $472,001.29 was
made by Beltz, SECONDED by Foerst and APPROVED unanimously.
CFO
John Doran reported that March was a relatively good month for BCFL
investments. He said that the completed audit was expected to be delivered next
week, with a meeting scheduled with the auditors to review their findings.
MOTION
to APPROVE the March 2009 financial statements (subject to audit) was made by Foerst,
SECONDED by Beltz, and APPROVED unanimously.
Web
Coordinator Presentation
Web
Coordinator Jen Mueller gave a presentation on the BCFL web site redesign,
showing board members how it will look and its features. It was asked if the
online calendar will feature board meeting locations, dates and times. Although
it is not currently utilized for this, it was agreed that they will be when the
new web site is activated. Board member photos will be added to the web site.
Collection
Management Director
Janet
Marnatti, Collection Management Director, reported on the status of the
Bensalem library renovation. Architects presented both her and Joe Thompson
with options for the renovation, and she discussed these with the board. She
showed the board how the new combination circulation and reference desk will
look. She noted that all lighting will be replaced in the library, as it
currently is not illuminating the books on shelves the way it should, and it
would be more energy efficient. The library is trying out a moveable laptop
table that library users seem to be enjoying. The table would replace end
tables and allows users to get near available outlets. Another proposed
purchase would be for a security device called Lock-A-Shelf that provides zero
theft of DVDs and video games. It also saves on staff time, as it is completely
self automated. Bensalem library would pilot the device. The board requested
more information on the unit before moving forward.
CMD
Marnatti said that they are looking toward fourth quarter completion of the
renovation project, with funding provided by income generated from the on-site
passport office.
Board
Committee Reports:
Board trustee Mary Ann Beltz reported on the
committee’s discussion regarding using PayPal to receive donations, especially
as the web redesign will include donor pages. With the cash register project
moving forward, they discussed the possibility of patron payments being made
using credit cards for fines. At this point it is a Sirsi issue, and staff
members are looking into the options available.
Currently, there is a vacancy on the board, and
the Governance Committee worked on determining a profile of what
characteristics would add the right experience to the board to make it
balanced. Board president Det Ansinn was asked to pass the recommendations onto
the commissioners. Additionally, the committee is working on the development of
a board manual with each committee member responsible for a section of it.
Correspondence – Submitted in writing
Public Comment – No public commented.
Unfinished
business – None
New
Business – IT Director Mike Schabert reported
on the success achieved using Unique Management Services for a trial period,
with a significant return on investment noted. He recommended continuing with
them on an annual basis.
A MOTION to APPROVE the continued
use of Unique Management Services, Inc. was made by Foerst; SECONDED by
Balchis; and unanimously APPROVED.
There
being no further business, a MOTION to ADJOURN was made at 6:47 p.m. by Beltz,
SECONDED by Paugh-Greenwood; and so MOVED.
Respectfully
submitted,
Pamela J. Riley
Executive Assistant
APPROVED
BY BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MAY
20, 2009
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Copyright
© 2005 The Bucks County Free Library
