Library board meeting notes: 24.06.13

A Quincy Votes! member attended this meeting, which was held at the Adams Shore Library Branch at 8:30 am. While care has been taken in their creation, these notes are not official meeting minutes and may contain errors or omissions. 

Summary of Meeting:

• New Trustee added, Roy Caley. He was present for his first meeting.

• Director Slymon provided a detailed overview of all the changes implemented since her arrival in the summer of 2022.

• March and April minutes approved. [The following are comments from the Quincy Votes! member, who observed previous meetings:  The approved March minutes have only the names and addresses listed of the five people who spoke in the public comment section. These were members of the City of Quincy Republican Committee that spoke asking the Trustees to accept their book donation, since Director Slymon refused the donation. There is no comment or note of the topic discussed or of the reason these people were speaking to the Trustees. If you want more details, see my notes on the March 14th meeting. The approved April minutes erroneously say the March minutes were approved on April 11th; the March minutes were approved June 14th.]

• Director's report was a slide show of 2024 accomplishments, including improvements in:

  • Safety

  • Start of Library of Things

  • Updating policies (room use is just one), and creation of new policies where needed

  • Adding Video Games collection

  • Created a five-year strategic plan

  • Grand opening of the Cranium Maker Space

  • Physical improvements to Adams Shore and North Quincy branches

  • Completing an appraisal of all artwork, rugs, furniture and having most fragile paintings sent for conservation

  • Initiation of collaboration with Police Department, Father Bills, Manet and other groups

• Friends of Thomas Crane are doing well, some changes are expected with their change in leadership. 

• Next meeting: September. Trustees don't meet in July and August.

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More Detailed Notes of the Discussion:

• Welcome new Trustee Roy Caley. New trustee.  

• Approval of April 2024 & May 2024 Minutes

May minutes has corrections, they were sent out. Not approved, not enough people who attended.  

May 10th:  minutes, have deferred as there were not enough people who attended the meeting to approve/accept. 

April minutes.  Approved and accepted.

March amended minutes are in packet.  Approved and accepted.

• Director’s Report:  Slide show:  Fiscal 2024 accomplishments:

Safety enforcement tracking

Additional safety trainings

Access to webinars

Established radio codes for common scenarios

If this/then that sheet  (what do you do during certain scenarios)

Safety chat

Adding new tracking system: PITS, built for librarians by librarians, all staff have access

Library of things:  going very well.

Archives and Special Collections

Staff of 3

Offices/policies, reading room, Crowley collection (history of Quincy)

Stamos collections (entirely about Squantum)

Furniture preservation

Re-stocking stacks in Aiken

Art and Artifact Appraisal

Having most urgent items framed/using appropriate materials

Moving to Chromebooks to improve system/IT

Creation of Strategic Plan FY25 - FY30

Adding Video Games

Initiation of the Quincy Collaboration: Thomas Crane Public Library, Quincy Police Department, Father Bills, Manet Health, Baycove, and City of Quincy Community Liaison. At our last meeting, we are all seeing the impact of a new drug in the city and we received updated medical information. This collaboration is lifesaving. 2 overdoses have occurred in the library. 

Lactation Pod: Dedicated private space. 

Built out programming room in children's room, added new storage.

Updated and adopted many policies: 

Meeting room use

Teen card issuance

Photography

And many more

Self-Checkout system:  a new, more reliable one

The Cranium

Makerspace was created through donations from grants, earmarks, gift, matching funds

Runaway success.  Seats fill up as soon as they are opened.

Staffing needs assessment

Library assistants have permanent homes

Branch Custodian (based in NQ, but every afternoon go to Adams Shore and Wollaston)

Additional staff requested, not approved.

North Quincy Branch Parklet

Open by end of month

50k grant given to NQ Business District

Working w/ Parks and Natural resources, public buildings, Dept. of Public Works

Includes table with chessboard

Adams Shore

Painted, wood repaired, new azaleas planned

In Progress

Reference offices

IT Offices

Wollaston Basement

North Quincy Offices

Emergency plan

New Cameras / working with QPD and City Hall

Opening Teen Room Door

Opening Richardson Door (this summer)

• Summer 2022:  One on Ones (when Director Slymon first started).  Asked all staff the same questions.  Compiled the results of the answers, and here is an update on the progress made on those answers:

What do you like best: Variety, staff, helping patrons, outreach, readers advisory, making a difference. Fellow staff members was the biggest response. This is an amazing team that likes and respects each other and has great professionalism. Helping people was second. 

What would make work more enjoyable? Security, more staff, flex schedule, more off-desk time. In response to this, we added second security officer. Designed branch custodian to include security jobs. (Important for North Quincy and Main branches). Added work from home (at different intervals). Given people more off-desk time, and goal is 50% (doing outreach, running programs, doing higher thought work). New breakroom. Added more staff meetings, more staff to help with collection development. Dedicated Library Assistant in the children's room; got custodians sweatshirts. 

In response to the question "What do you want"?  New lamps, added 5 FT positions, Bluetooth speakers. Not everything is completed. Some items we have in progress: more IT training time, redo bathrooms in community room, new windows in Richardson. More individual workspaces.  More storage space.

If you could change one thing? Security, Paid Leave.

What can't we do now?  Paid parental leave (Quincy has opted out). Discounted MBTA passes

What we have completed: Better closing procedures, better merchandising, cleaner buildings, increased foot traffic, people got raises with a new salary range review. Look at them next contract as well.

What did they want from Director? Fresh outlook, cleaner building, less tolerance for long-term bad behavior, better advertising and outreach. We have provided grief counseling, and counseling for financial, or other concerns.  

What are we still working on? Better cameras, continue reducing bad behavior (really severe bad behavior has dropped) and new signage.

What we haven't made progress on? Third Librarian for children's room, and more flexible work time in the contract.

What would you like to see from me (Director Slymon)? Being positive, fair, visible, honest, build trust, transparency and have an open mind. In response, I have initiated Director chats where anyone can come and talk about anything with me.

• Treasurer’s Report

  • Citizen's account is finally paying interest. Got a call from Tina Cahill. Recommending South Shore Bank. Would the trustees consider switching from Citizens to South Shore? It could be super complicated. Needs to be done by Finance Committee. Next step is to contact them, and negotiate the rate. There are four or five accounts under a Master account. Master account is for donations, other accounts are designated (such as for medical textbooks). We are down to six accounts. 

  • Being a board appointed by a mayor has certain constraints.  

  • Donations from Della Chiesa and others get deposited in one of those accounts.

  • There is a policy that says you have to donate a certain amount of money to have a named fund.

  • Liberty is creating a trustee handbook. Director Slymon is also working on something similar.

  • Funds in the Swab account have benefited from recent market swings. There are five accounts in Swab. 
     

• Friend’s Report

  • Friends meeting on Tuesday, June meeting was last for the year.  Approved their budget for the next physical year.

  • Last year they spent down a lot of their bank balance (which is good).

  • FY25 is looking good; Jennifer Sammons is new president, and has a fundraising model, to go away from the $10 membership. Thinking about asking for donations at events.

  • Programming has doubled since last year. Children's program breaking attendance records.

  • Moved some expenses from Friends to Library (movie licenses for example). 

  • Friends have cut lowest use passes and Trustees of Reservations parking pass to save some money.  Director Slymon did a cost-benefit analysis on these to identify the ones that are used most and least.  Least used were cut. 

  • With these changes, was able to keep programs. Adult programming is going like gangbusters.  Increased line items for concerts to pay performers. Usually have about 80 attendees or so. (Max is 100 in the Richardson Room per fire code). 

  • Bookstore is doing well.

  • Will be meeting w/Friends over the summer. Jennifer is working on marketing and publicity. Adding in merchandizing for Friends.

  • Bookstore:  have already broken $20,000 in sales, first time since COVID

Old Business

• VOTE Meeting Room Use Policy / have to be Quincy-based org or Quincy resident. / Want to move to a "yes" model, but only a set, delineated time that the library is not using it. (Room will be used for set times for library programming and not available for booking at those times).  Added an additional room on the second floor as available to be reserved as well.   ** approved and accepted**

• VOTE Strategic Plan / draft provided. Approved and accepted

  • Action Plan:  Start talking about Wollaston. Trustees owns Wollaston (not the City). Has issues (not accessible, has wasp problem, is close to two other libraries, will ask FY26 for $100k for feasibility study, as there are areas of the City with no library close).

  • Celebrate Quincy 400. Will ask Trustees / foundation for dollars when the committee decides what is doing. (Suggestion of bunting in windows).  Will have dollar estimate for the next couple of weeks.

  • Facilities Improvements:

    • Roof (required to use original materials as much as possible)

    • Repointing and more

    • Offices being built

    • Wollaston: asbestos and mold mitigation

    • NQ Offices in the basement

    • Wayfaring: incredible signage, in English and other languages

    • Expanding multilingual materials (adding Spanish and maybe another).  Not just Chinese.

• VOTE FY25 Action Plan. Accepted and approved.

• Presentation of Amended Study and Conference Room Policy. Updated and approved.

• Presentation of New Brand / new logo, be better for stationary and signage. Does it need to be run by the mayor? Chairperson Mitchell wants to run it by the mayor first. Does not need to be voted on. This is a courtesy review by the Director to the Board.

• Annual Budget Review / not ready, budget committee will have to meet and have special meeting, we haven't approved or examined the budget. Director Slymon sent a budget, what are the next steps?  This is project budget for Trustees, should have it by July 1st, but we don't have to. Budget committee is going to meet and look at budget and determine if anything needs to be revised, and then go back to Director Slymon and talk about it and then vote. Budget committee has not met. There is no timeline as to when these things were happening. Budget committee meeting has not yet been scheduled.  Budget committee is Mr. Arthur Foley (Treasurer), Ms. Corine Mitchell (Chairperson) and Ms. May Assaf (Vice Chairperson).  Director Slymon requests budget be confirmed by July 1st.  Director Slymon would like to have a list of Board committees and members. 

• By-laws Review / need to be reviewed. Been in the works for three years, with no changes. It includes duties to Treasurer. This is still in progress.

New Business

● 2024/25 Calendar

Thursday at 8:30 (2nd of every month)

Look for schedule of meetings in Library calendar, they will be posted.