SCARBOROUGH PUBLIC LIBRARY
Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Trustees
September 15, 2022
4:30 p.m. - Video Conference
Attendees: Bill Donovan, Susan Powell, Jon Anderson, Dave Dittmer, Judy Johnson, Ellen Detlefsen, Allen Paul, Anne Janak, Jim Kupel, Kim Corthell, Peter Freilinger, Barbara Kapp, Lenore Rapkin, Catherine Morrison (Ass’t. Director), Nancy Crowell (Director).
The meeting was called to order at 4:33 by the President, Bill Donovan.
Adoption of the Minutes of June 16, 2022 and July 14, 2022: Motion to adopt made by Anne Janak, seconded by Ellen Detlefsen.
Discussion: It was noted that neither Peter Freilinger nor Barbara Kapp would vote, as they were not present at the meetings. Anne corrected the minutes by noting that she was not absent from the meeting, she joined on speaker from France.
All voted in favor of the corrected minutes, with the exception of the two abstentions noted above.
Treasurer’s Report: Dave reported that we were a little above budget, our income was slightly down but better than projections. Peter noted that higher interest rates will increase our income, something that could be taken into account for budget purposes.
Motion to accept made by Ellen Detlefsen, seconded by Anne Janak, carried unanimously.
Library Director’s Report: Nancy reported that the Library has hired two new part time employees, Karen Foley as a substitute as the Circulation Desk, and Patricia Remillard has joined as a page. It is noted these are not added hours, but an adjustment to schedules. Susan and Nancy will be meeting with the town Sustainability Committee. The Chamber of Commerce has donated $2500 to support the Vote YES campaign.
Allen informed us that the Route 1 access road to the Town Hall and the school are off limits on Election Day, but it is permissible to stand outside the school entrance door without identifying yourself as a library supporter. We can have a library table just to promote library services.
Town Councilor’s Remarks: Jon reiterated that the Council vote to proceed with the library’s request to place the expansion project on the ballot was a 5-2 vote in favor; and that the Council decided to table the MoU for another month. He also noted that the Chair of the School Board, and the Superintendent, would like a school representative to serve on the Building Committee. Jon also reported that Nancy and Susan had attended a meeting of the Council Communication Committee. Jon is trying to get the Council to prepare an FAQ re the expansion project including the impact of the expansion on taxpayers.
The Council is planning to have a Canvas Day towards the end of October to let people know exactly what is on the ballot and to encourage people to get out to vote.
Susan remarked that April Sither had requested that the Library note the increase in our operational costs as well as the cost to taxpayers in our FAQ. We have already calculated our operational costs, and are awaiting Tom Hall’s figures on the taxpayer impact before updating the FAQ, both on the website and in the print edition.
President’s Remarks: Bill was concerned that the MoU might become a problem and after the meeting he spoke to Tom Hall who agreed to meet together with Bill and Jon to address this but felt the Library would be able to handle any pushback it presented. Jim commented that the MoU is not legally required to be completed and signed prior to the election, but in the interest of transparency and good form we should do it in a timely fashion. Tom Hall had felt it was a good way to explain to the Council the total cost of the project beyond building costs. Jim opposed our posting the MoU, he felt it would just creative another narrative and provide a distraction, but after much conversation back and forth it was decided that in the interest of total transparency, we should definitely post it once it is signed. The Council votes to give Tom the authority to sign the MoU.
Bill reported that Kate Borduas was in charge of the Letters to the Editor campaign and commented on its progress. Board members can submit on their own, speaking as private citizens.
Consent Calendar: Motion to accept made by Allen Paul, seconded by Ellen Detlefsen, carried unanimously.
Annual Reports: Table until October meeting as not all reports are in.
Unfinished Business
Building Project Update: Susan reported that this is now a quiet phase until the referendum has passed. In the MoU the makeup of the building committee will be changed to include people with construction experience; Tom Hall or another representative from the Town, and maybe someone from the School Board. Do we need to form a special committee to look into finding and outfitting a temporary space?
Nancy has been in touch with Peter Hatem, who is a real estate lawyer, to help with this. We need to be in touch with commercial real estate people to put the word out. Susan felt there was some urgency in putting such a committee together as this will be an immediate concern once the referendum passes.
Nancy also reported that they have a meeting with the Sustainability Committee on the 21st. The School Committee has sent a list of their concerns, and Nancy is currently drafting a response. There is the issue of traffic related to this, but we need to know if that is the library’s problem to deal with or the schools’ issue. Nancy has also been working creatively with Deanna to be come up with a plan for serving school children if our temporary space is not close by.
Fundraising Campaign: Bill reported that our progress is good and we continue to exceed expectations. Nancy reported that we are preparing grant applications to a Family Foundation and to two local banks, they will be ready to go out tomorrow and are in the range of $20,000-$25,000. Nancy also mentioned that a patron, who had given a gift to the campaign, later returned to the library and gave Catherine a check for $20,000, saying “you are going to need this!” Jim asked if we knew which campaign the donor supported, and if not did we need to ask; Nancy knew it was the Impact Campaign. Nancy then reminded us all that we can go to the website and make a donation to the Yes campaign. In answer to a question from Bill, Jim remarked that the Yes Committee was well on its way to achieving its budgeted goal.
There followed a discussion on whether or not trustees wanted to continue to receive emails from Nancy forwarding comments she has received from voters. Jim felt it was a distraction for us at a busy time, others preferred to be informed about how voters are thinking. The question was unresolved.
Review of Council Vote on Bond—Council Communications Coordination: This was covered earlier in the meeting.
Citizen Campaign: Jim had nothing to report on the campaign.
New Business
Motion: The PNG Committee moves to affirm the electronic vote electing Barbara Kapp to the Board to fill an unexpired term ending June 2024
The motion was made by Susan Powell, seconded by Ellen Detlefsen, carried unanimously.
Review of timely policies—Challenged materials, soliciting, filming inside building: Nancy alerted us to challenges currently being faced by libraries throughout the country: the banning of books; First Amendment issues; and soliciting. We are carefully ensuring that our policies are in place and up to date. Catherine noted that patrons requesting a book be withdrawn are asked to fill out a form that requires some work on the part of the person requesting the withdrawal—we don’t simply rip books off the shelf. Our policy states that if we have a challenge Nancy makes the decision, and should the challenger disagree, the decision then goes to the Board. Ellen suggested forming a committee to deal with this, and Nancy agreed, suggesting it could be the responsibility of an executive committee or a policy committee. Catherine then moved on to address the First Amendment Audit situation, where people are showing up in municipal and other public buildings filming workers and others who are present, trying to fluster staff members and then film their reactions, which are then shown on YouTube. We have a policy that does not allow photography of individuals without their permission. Our library staff has watched training videos to be prepared should someone show up here with a camera, and we have been advised that we can disallow filming in staff areas and other designated areas. Dave voiced concern about any photography in the Children’s Area, which is particularly vulnerable because of its openness.
All of the above issues will be dealt with initially by the PNG Committee.
At 5:47, both Susan and Jon left the meeting.
Social Media Training—Facebook and Instagram: Nancy will send out a survey that Ellen has prepared for the Board to assess our comfort level with social media. Ellen would like us to maximize what we can going into the referendum.
Items for the Next Agenda: Annual reports; Audit presentation
Trustee Comments: Ellen held up a sign that she brought back from upper New York State with the caption Strong Libraries, Strong Communities. It’s a very colorful sign, picturing a community that is both diverse and inclusive, and she has received permission to use it. Jim remarked that the Vote Yes signs would be available shortly and he would encourage all of us to take one, although if we do not feel comfortable with making a political statement he thought Ellen’s sign was a good option.
Allen asked about the logistics concerning manning a table at the Farmers’ Market and Nancy replied that she and Lucy Norvell are the point people taking care of the setting up and taking down. Nancy also said they have in the past had a sign-up sheet asking people for their support, but it is now asking people if they would like to take a sign, write a letter to the editor, are they planning to vote yes. There are library materials on our table as well, and we try to make it an opportunity to connect with voters.
Bill encouraged Board members to sign up to take a shift.
Judy commented on complaints she received about the book sale where there were a lot of books on the floor, apparently because there were not enough tables to go around.
Anne Janak made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Ellen Detlefsen. The meeting was adjourned at 6:00.
Respectfully submitted,
Lenore Rapkin,
Secretary