MINUTES

Board of Trustees

Barrington Public Library

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Library Board Room

281 County Road, Barrington RI 02806

Members Present:

Dan O'Mahony, Stephen Palmer, Judy Ryan, Vince Wicker

Absent: Cindy Kaplan, Joseph Schall, Laura Young

Presiding: Vince Wicker

Also Present: Debbie Barchi, Director

Meeting brought to order at 7:08 p.m.

Minutes from the February 16, 2012 meeting were approved (motion by Palmer; second by Ryan).

Financial Reports:

Accepted. Expenditures are on track for this point in the fiscal year.

Statistical Reports:

Accepted. It was noted that the use of digital media is increasing. Annual statistics must be reported to the RI Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS) in August.

Director’s Report:

The library’s programs have been very popular, with overflow attendance in some instances.

The library subscribes to a service that offers over 500 online classes; this is not a statewide services but available only to individuals with a Barrington Public Library card. It was suggested that we try to get publicity about the service in the Barrington Times. The Director will try to include statistics on class enrollments in the library’s annual report.

The library, via the Ocean State Library (OSL) network, also offers homework help online (2-10pm).

Q: Has the library ever offered workshops to the public to learn about the library resources available?

A: This might be a good activity for National Library Week (April 8-14).

It was suggested that there are opportunities to reach out to affinity groups to attract people into the library (e.g., Barrington Preservation Society and Museum, RI Genealogical Society).

The Town Manager’s proposed budget presented to the Appropriations Committee included staff salary increases and funds for a new elevator and new carpeting on the second floor.

The deadline for applying for a Champlin grant is in July; the library is considering two proposals: (1) security cameras around the building (Director will talk with other Town departments for support and collaboration on this item); (2) a new self-check-out machine to replace the existing vintage model.

Director announced that she has been appointed the incoming president of OSL; her term will begin in May 2012. She plans to visit every public library in consortium to discuss plans for future.

Old business:

None.

New business:

a)      April Meeting – The Board discussed the possibility of moving the date of the April meeting since it fell during school vacation week. After briefly reviewing possible upcoming business, the Board decided to cancel the April 19 meeting (motion by Ryan; second by O’Mahony). The Board will resume with the standard meeting schedule in May.

b)      Discuss Open Meeting Laws – Members of the Board reviewed information regarding open meetings laws in general and procedures for executive sessions in particular. The Board will be sensitive to the requirement that any decisions in executive session must be reported on in open session. There also was a reminder to guard against a “rolling quorum” (i.e., a series of one-to-one discussions or communications that collectively would constitute a quorum of a public body). One easy way to avoid such a situation is by not using the “reply to all” feature when responding to any email announcements, since doing so may inadvertently prompt discussion among the members receiving the email message.

Agenda for May 17, 2012 Meeting (April 19 meeting cancelled):

Old business

a)      FY 2013 budget

New business

a)      Planning for Volunteer breakfast (Thursday, June 14 from 8-10am)

Meeting adjourned at 7:48 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Dan O’Mahony, Secretary

Barrington Public Library Board of Trustees

MINUTES

Corporation

Barrington Public Library

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Library Board Room

281 County Road, Barrington RI 02806

Members Present:

Dan O'Mahony, Stephen Palmer, Judy Ryan, Vince Wicker

Absent: Cindy Kaplan, Joseph Schall, Laura Young

Presiding: Vince Wicker

Also Present: Debbie Barchi, Director

Meeting brought to order at 7:49 p.m.

Minutes from the February 16, 2012 meeting were approved (motion by Palmer; second by Ryan).

Financial Reports:

Monthly Coastline Trust Company report accepted for information. Treasurer requested that these reports be mailed out prior to the monthly meetings (rather than distributed at the meeting) so that it can be reviewed in preparation for the Trustees meetings.

The balances of the Corporation accounts were reviewed.

Two primary sources for account revenues are: (1) endowment revenue; (2) gifts from Friends of the Library (e.g., revenue from FOL sales of books). Sometimes other gifts are received as well.

Old Business:

a)      Director discussion with architect – Director consulted with Jeff Hoover from Tappe Architects to determine a ballpark estimate of the cost of possible library renovation projects. He estimated the construction costs to be between $120 and $150 per square foot, plus 25% for contingencies (i.e., total estimated project costs = $190 per square foot). Based on the dimensions of the recent first floor renovation, the estimated size of a renovation of the library’s second floor was between 13,000 and 14,000 square feet. Thus, the estimated cost of a cosmetic renovation to the second floor would be roughly $2.5 million.

b)      Status of Bookkeeper Position – The estimated rate for service of a bookkeeper is $30-$40 per hour. We need to estimate the amount of time such services would be needed (aside from working on the IRS-990 form). We should try to set things up so that the person can do the work most efficiently (remotely if necessary) so we don’t waste the person’s time or the Corporation’s resources (e.g., someone having to drive an hour to do less than an hour of work). Treasurer will meet with Val for more information.

c)      Fund Raising – no discussion

New Business:

None

Agenda for May 17, 2012 Meeting:

Old business:

a)      Status of bookkeeper position

b)      Fundraising

New business:

a)      Meeting with Coastline Trust Company account manager: (1) report on past performance of accounts; (2) discussion of possible changes to distribution of allocations. Treasurer will contact Coastal to arrange for May meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 8:11 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Dan O’Mahony, Secretary

Barrington Public Library Corporation