2010-10-13
TOWN OF BERLIN
BERLIN-PECK MEMORIAL LIBRARY BOARD
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2010
APPROVED
Members Present:
Frank Steele, Chairman Donna Moore
Sharon Powell Elaine Borselle
Carol Welz Jane Sorbo
John Day
Juliet Benjamin, Recording Secretary
Excused:
Elizabeth Bennett, Vice Chairman
Staff in Attendance:
Helen Aveline, Library Director
Cathy Nelson, Assistant Library Director
1. CALL TO ORDER:
Chairman Steele called the meeting to order @7:00 P.M.
2. AUDIENCE OF CITIZENS:
None
3. DISPOSITION OF MINUTES, Wednesday, September 8, 2010:
Assistant Dir. Nelson noted that the new Library Director’s last name
was misspelled in two places in the minutes, it should be Helen Aveline. John
Day made a motion to approve the Minutes of Wednesday, September 8, 2010
as corrected. Elaine Borselle seconded the motion and the Minutes were
unanimously approved.
4. LIBRARIAN’S REPORT – DIRECTOR AVELINE:
Directors Report – Dir. Aveline noted that the transition has been
smooth and she has been busy meeting with staff and has had a meeting with
Town Manager McNair at the Town Hall. She noted that she has not been
bored and everyone has been lovely to her. She also had her first meeting with
the Capital Improvements Committee to discuss capital requests for the library.
Director Aveline and Assistant Dir. Nelson reviewed the Monthly Report
for October 2010.
A new Library Page, Amanda Aziz, has been hired. Sue Fracasso is
working on a modified work schedule.
Berlin-Peck Memorial Library Board Minutes – 10/13/2010 - Page 2
Asst. Dir. Nelson was not sure whether the Saturday Lego program will
take place due to a conflict with other Saturday sport and church activities.
But another Lego program is planned to take place during the holiday vacation.
A Halloween program will be held on the last Thursday of October with
costumes and goody bags.
The Sam Pasco Orchestra will not be at the library this year. The
Kiwanis usually support this event and are unable to do it this year. Dir.
Aveline hopes that they will return next year.
An R.E.A.D. program will be held in February with two Burmese
Mountain Dogs. Children read to the dog, which has been shown to be good
practice for children who are shy at reading out loud.
Dir. Aveline will be having a “Maintain Your Brain” program sponsored
by the Alzheimer’s Association. She has spoken with Tina Doyle the Senior
Center Dir. about having this program. A date has not been set for this event.
Asst. Dir. Nelson noted that the Berlin Citizen and the Herald have
interviewed Dir. Aveline and articles should be in the papers soon. Dir. Aveline
has also spoken with the newspaper reporters about the Job Now Program.
Dir. Aveline plans to have her staff form a Program Planning Committee
and take that responsibility over from the Friends. A representative from the
Friends would be on the committee and they would plan events for the library
for the year.
Asst. Dir. Nelson discussed the Technology Sandbox program that is
being planned. This would allow the public to be exposed to the newest reading
technology innovations, such as Kindle. She said they plan to demonstrate one
or two new technologies each month. She also discussed a grant for two Sony
Book Readers.
5. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT:
Chairman Steele reported that Dawn Stepensky has resigned from the
Board.
6. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS:
?
Budget Committee
Current Budget FY2010-2011 – Asst. Dir. Nelson noted that 44% of the
Substitute Account has been used to date and the budget is in order.
?
Friends Committee
Dir. Aveline and Asst. Dir. Nelson both attended the latest Friends
meeting last week. The Friends had approved funding for staff to enter
the town wide Scarecrow Contest, but the deadline is tomorrow so
participation by the library staff has been cancelled. Next Wednesday,
October 20, the Friends will be hosting the program “How to take the
th
Berlin-Peck Memorial Library Board Minutes – 10/13/2010 - Page 3
down out of downsizing” at 7:00 pm. Next month they will have the
author Matt Dix speak about his book and copies will be available for
sale at the library. The Friends will be purchasing museum passes for
the New England Air Museum.
?
Personnel Committee
?
Policy and Bylaws Committee
Asst. Dir. Nelson said that pages of policy changes and a new directory
page are in the mail to the Library Board Members.
?
First Floor Expansion Committee
7. COMMUNICATIONS:
8. OLD BUSINESS:
9. NEW BUSINESS:
Asst. Dir. Nelson discussed the article about Radio Frequency
Identification. This appeared in the Courant and was included in the mailing
this month to Library Board Members.
Asst. Dir. Nelson also reviewed the funds which provide support to the
library in the form of books or permanent structural additions to the library.
10. ADJOURNMENT:
Carol Welz made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:05 PM. The
motion was seconded by John Day and unanimously approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Juliet K. Benjamin, Recording Secretary