MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE OLD BRIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY
JANUARY 11, 2006
OLD BRIDGE, NEW JERSEY
Present:
Joseph Nuzzo, President
Kathryn Arabia, Secretary
Steven Goldman, Treasurer
Tara Flynn-Rozanski, Trustee
Dr. Joan George, Trustee
Barbara Cannon, Mayor’s Alternate
Mary Ann Clementi-Jones, Supt of Schools’ Alternate
James Phillips, Mayor
Margery Cyr, Director
Maria Nowak, Executive Assistant
Absent:
Mary Chamberlain, Vice President
Guests:
Bina Desai
Debbie Delaney, Circulation Services Coordinator
Patrick Gillespie, President, Old Bridge Council
Larry Redmond
The President called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and announced the meeting had been advertised and would be conducted in accordance with the Sunshine Law. Kathryn Arabia called the roll.
Mrs. Cyr introduced Bina Desai, the Mayor’s new appointment to the Library Board. Ms. Desai will be sworn in at the earliest possible moment. The Board members introduced themselves and the Mayor shared some of Ms. Desai’s background.
Mrs. Cyr introduced Debbie Delaney, new Circulation Services Coordinator. Mr. Goldman welcomed Mrs. Delaney. Barbara Cannon stated she worked with Mrs. Delaney at East Brunswick Public Library. She is a good employee and recommended her highly to Mrs. Cyr.
Mrs. Cyr informed the Board that Arlene Robinson could not make the Board meeting to accept her Certificate of Appreciation for her 35 years of service to the Library.
Motion: made by Steve Goldman, seconded Joseph Nuzzo, to approve the following resolution:
The Old Bridge Public Library Board of Trustees recognizes Arlene Robinson on the 35th anniversary of her employment with the Library and thanked her for the service to the Library and the people of Old Bridge.
All in favor.
Reorganization
President Nuzzo turned the meeting over to Barbara Cannon to conduct the election of officers for the year 2006.
Nominations for the Office of President
Steven Goldman nominated Joseph Nuzzo for President; seconded by Dr. Joan George. There were no other nominations.
Vote: All in favor.
Barbara Cannon turned the meeting back over to President Nuzzo.
Nominations for the Office of Vice President
Joseph Nuzzo nominated Kathryn Arabia for Vice President; seconded by Dr. Joan George.
Steven Goldman nominated Mary Chamberlain.
Vote: All in favor.
Nominations for the Office of Secretary
Steven Goldman nominated Tara Flynn-Rozanski for Secretary; seconded by Dr. Joan George. There were no other nominations.
Vote: All in favor.
Nominations for the Office of Treasurer
Kathryn Arabia nominated Steven Goldman for Treasurer; seconded by Tara Flynn-Rozanski. There were no other nominations.
Vote: All in favor.
Minutes
Motion: made by Steven Goldman, seconded by Kathryn Arabia, to approve the minutes from the December 14, 2005 Board meeting. All in favor
Finance
Payment of Bills
Motion: made by Steven Goldman, seconded by Tara Flynn-Rozanski, to approve the January 11, 2006 bill listing in the amount of $112,505.59. All in favor
Movement of Monies
Motion: made by Barbara Cannon, seconded by Joseph Nuzzo, to approve the movement of monies from the following commitment payable line items to commitment payable Furnishings and Equipment to assist with the cost of upgrades/replacement of computers:
Commitment Payable:
Library Supplies $38.65
Processing Supplies $133.20
Postage $894.82
Advertising & Publicity $2,536.72
Building Repairs $1.00
Mrs. Cyr explained to the Board that all the obligations for these monies in commitment payable have been met. The commitments payable monies are supplementing the cost of the computers; and the balance of the cost will be paid from the current operating budget.
Dr. George asked if the laptop computer ordered was replacing one. Mrs. Cyr said that it was and that the Library currently has two laptop computers and one is no longer functioning at all. The laptops are used for programs and staff training.
Mrs. Cyr affirmed that there is an inventory of computers and it is available should a Board member wish to see it.
Mr. Nuzzo asked how often computers are checked for viruses. Mrs. Cyr said the staff of the Electronic Resources Department does monthly checks on all computers in the Library for viruses and spyware.
All in favor.
Annual Audit for Fiscal Year 2004/2005
Steve Goldman gave an explanation of the annual audit and some history about the accounting firm that performs this service for the Library. As there were no questions about the audit, the following motion was made:
Motion: made by Steven Goldman, seconded by Kathryn Arabia, to accept the 2004/2005 audit as presented. All in favor.
Resignation
Motion: made by Dr. Joan George, seconded by Steven Goldman, to approve the resignation of Amit Raval, substitute LA 1, effective December 31, 2005. All in favor. Assistant Director Search
Mrs. Cyr reported that the Library has received approximately a dozen resumes from interested candidates. The staff interview committee has narrowed down the resumes to five for the first interview. The interviews will start on January 17, 2006.
There was discussion about the process to be followed for the second interview. The Board agreed that there should be Board involvement in the second round of interviews for this important administrative position. Mrs. Cyr will keep the Board apprised of the status of the interview process.
Library Board Committees for 2006
Mr. Nuzzo would like each Board member to submit a resume to him so that he can decide on the best committee membership. After reviewing resumes, Mr. Nuzzo will then appointment the committees. Mr. Nuzzo stated what he is looking for is what each Board member is interested in and their ideas; and he would like to put people on committees where their skills could best serve the Library.
Dr. George asked if Mr. Nuzzo was going to take into consideration the Board members’ preferences for participation on committees. Mr. Nuzzo said that he would factor in those preferences.
Background Checks
Mrs. Cyr reported the State of New Jersey informed the Library today that background checks on anyone under the age of 18 will produce a report with no information as juvenile records are sealed; but would take the Library’s $18.00 and run a background check if we requested one.
The Board asked Mrs. Cyr to call Attorney Scott Smith and explain to him the dilemma and get his suggestion as to what the Library should do.
Dr. George expressed concern about establishing a policy which treats some staff differently from others. It was agreed that if a background report does not exist, that spending the money to request it is wasteful and a misuse of tax dollars.
Mr. Nuzzo stated Mrs. Cyr should contact Scott Smith for guidance; but at this point the best thing to do with the open page position is to hire the individual if he or she meets the criteria, the references are good and the application is filled out properly.
The Board all agreed (depending on Scott Smith’s recommendation) that the Board’s motion on background checks can be amended at the February meeting.
Old Business
Roof Repair
Mrs. Cyr reported the Library’s roof repair has been totally completed.
Mrs. Cyr said she has the bill from the contractor for the repair; but is waiting for Mr. Henry to come and look over the repair before the bill can be approved for payment.
Mrs. Cyr reported that there was one additional leak discovered over the weekend and that the contractor came immediately to fix it. While there, he discovered that the coupling that goes up the sides needed to be re-caulked. Of serious concern is his report that the stucco on the outside of the building is starting to degrade. The degrading of the stucco has nothing to do with maintenance but it is normal wear and tear. It only has a certain lifetime. The Library will get a couple more years; but we need to know that it will need to be replaced.
New Business
Brunetti Foundation
Mrs. Cyr informed the Board the Brunetti Foundation donated $1,000.00 to the Library.
Karma Foundation
Mrs. Cyr informed the Board the Library has been awarded a $500.00 Karma Grant to purchase furniture for the Teen Department.
The Laurence Harbor Branch staff is still working on the grant they are putting together for the Karma Foundation to purchase folding doors to close off the reading area when movies are shown at the library.
Pilot Project
Mrs. Cyr gave an overview of the Overdrive pilot project which will enable Library customers to download audiobooks from the Library’s web page. This project is a joint project between Infolink and Central Jersey Regional Library Cooperative. LMxAC, the Library’s automation consortium, is funding the participation of all the LMxAC libraries in this project this fiscal year. Sara Hansen has served on the committee to make the first book selections.
English as a Second Language/Needs of the Old Bridge Community
In discussions for the direction of library services and how we can best serve the community, the Library has become aware that the non-English speaking population in Old Bridge is not served well by the Library. The Library does have foreign language collections in Russian, Gujarati and Spanish. The Russian and Gujarati collections have been under development for several years and the Spanish collection is new this year. Demographically, the Spanish speaking population is the largest in Old Bridge. But all of these collections are very small.
Wendi Smolowitz will coordinate the ESL project and is reaching out to other libraries and other communities to learn how they are serving this population and programs they have for this.
There was extended discussion about how to work with other community agencies to enlarge the scope of the project.
Problems on the Grounds of the Building
There is a triangular section at the front entrance to the Library where the grass and dirt has worn away. Last week, a woman slipped in this area and fell in the mud. Mrs. Cyr informed the Board she has sent a memo to Michael Jacobs and Rocky Donetelli about the problem.
Mr. Goldman reported there is also a problem with the stand up lighting in the middle of the parking lot and Mrs. Cyr will follow-up with Township about this problem.
Former Board Member
Mr. Goldman asked to have Linda Seiler invited to the February Board meeting to present her with a Certificate of Appreciation for her service on the Library Board.
Mrs. Cyr will extend the invitation.
Library Sign
The Board asked the Library to consider a new sign for the outside as many members are not happy with the present sign. After a discussion on the outside Library sign, Mrs. Cyr said she will look into this and have some suggestions for the February Board meeting.
Board Meeting
Mr. Goldman asked for either the April or May Board meeting to be held at the Laurence Harbor Branch. The Board agreed that the April meeting will be held at the Laurence Harbor Branch.
Kathryn Arabia asked the Board to consider a half-day team-building workshop, at which members could discuss our public library mission , present and perceived future opportunities and obstacles, and how we might bring our collective strengths together to accomplish them. (i.e. all constituents: Board Members, Director, Staff and Community). There was a discussion about how a facilitator might increase the success of such a workshop. Mrs. Cyr will reach out to identify a facilitator and find out what he/she would cost. It was agreed that such a workshop could be held at a location other than the Library.
Mr. Goldman asked about the bookdrop and why it jams sometimes over weekends. Mrs. Cyr agreed that this was occasionally a problem and that it was caused by a poor design of the chute of the bookdrop. To replace the exterior bookdrop would be a capital project as it goes through the outside wall of the building.
Adjournment
Motion: made by Steven Goldman, seconded by Kathryn Arabia, to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 p.m. All in favor.
Respectfully submitted:
Tara Flynn-Rozanski, Secretary
Library Board of Trustees
Date Approved: February 8, 2006
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