LIBRARY COMMISSION MEETNG, November 3, 2003
Present: Commissioners: Chairman Patrick Markey, Commissioners Bettye Webb and Helen Boyle.
Absent: Grisel Gonzalez, Jerold Duquette, Jennifer Dugan Murphy
Staff: Library director Emily Bader; Carol Leaders, clerk
Citizens: Nine citizens from six branches
The meeting was called to order at 5:34 by Chairman Markey, and the minutes were approved.
NEXT MEETING Because commission business appears to be less urgent, it was decided to reduce the frequency of meetings to once a month. The next meeting will be Tuesday, December 2 in the community room of the central library. (Thereafter, regular meetings will be on the second Tuesday of the month, the January 2004 meeting being set for Tuesday the sixth.)
LIBRARY STAFF HIRES Hiring staff for branches which will be re-opened or increase hours is almost complete. The volunteer coordinator has been hired and will begin work on Monday, November 17. Training sessions are on-going for new and returning staff. Commissioner Webb had several detailed questions on training.
OPENING DATES FOR ALL BRANCHES Schedules of expanded branch hours citywide were distributed. Pine Point is now open additional hours; Liberty Street re-opened on November 3; and Forest Park will open on November 8. East Springfield and Mason Square will open the week of November 10.
MASON SQUARE Unresolved questions remain vis a vis differentiation of the Mason Square branch library from the Urban League. For example, the Urban League is said to be planning a mid-November “grand opening” in “collaboration” with the Library Department; however Chairman Markey noted that a joint event “may not be in the library’s best interest.” Emily Bader reports that the UL proposes locating a large brick lawn sign “incorporating” library information, something which Mr. Markey said would be a mistake.
The commission was also presented with a copy of the McKnight Neighborhood News for September 2003 summarizing a meeting between the McKnight Neighborhood Council and staff of the Urban League. In it, a several confusing statements are attributed to UL president Henry Thomas including an allusion to a library “partnership” between the Urban League and the Library Department, his view that “‘Everyone who comes through that door will be an Urban league customer,’” and provision by the Urban League of “‘guaranteed paid volunteers’” to help staff the library. [Other articles in the newsletter spoke disapprovingly of the Urban League’s purchase of the newly renovated Mason Square branch library building and the resulting reduction in the branches capacity to provide an appropriate level of library service to the community.]
HANDICAP ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES DPW head, Al Chwalak, in a phone conversation with Chairman Markey, expressed “total agreement” with the commission that neither the State Street nor Edwards Street parking lot is near enough to provide handicapped accessible parking for the central library. The site Chwalak and Markey agree would be more suitable is the lot between the Science Museum and the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum where five handicapped spaces have already been laid out. The next step is a meeting, to include a representative of Christ Church Cathedral, with Joe Carvalho of the SLMA.
USE OF THE CENTRAL LIBRARY FOR COMMUNITY EVENTS In response to a request from a community group for use of the central library community room, Ms. Bader noted the need for the commission to formulate a policy for responding to this and other requests. She read part of a policy developed by library staff and approved by SLMA decision-makers and also provided commissioners with policies from other library systems and a related article from a professional journal. She will also obtain copies of city policies for use of public buildings such as Symphony Hall.
QUADRANGLE GATES It was noted that restricted access to the Quadrangle through the single Edwards Street gate now opened during the day and future access to the back door of the library after completion of the “Welcome Center” present problems for both library users and neighborhood residents. Mr. Markey will investigate whether having received state funds for the Seuss sculpture park obligates the SLMA to provide greater access to the Quadrangle.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT Janet Kelly of Read Write Now received an AWARD as a Literary Champion for her work on adult literacy; copies of published work by Read Write Now students were shown to commissioners.
An RFP (request for proposals) issued for private CUSTODIAL SERVICES at all branches has been awarded in the amount of $45,000, a savings of $35,000 over the amount in the budget. Work will be done after hours four days per week with branch supervisors responsible for seeing that work is done properly. The contract is now being prepared, and the vendor has agreed to begin work at once.
An RFP for SECURITY AT 6 BRANCHES resulted in the hiring of Jackson Security which provides security for the “Y” and Early Childhood Centers of Greater Springfield. The $70,000 contract will provide 9 hours of security at each branch after school, evenings and Saturdays beginning next week. It includes a provision for adding temporary security at other branches on an as-needed basis. Security needs are based on problems documented in “incident reports” completed by library staff.
The department is now getting quotes for SNOW REMOVAL.
Due to normal wear and tear, the ROOF over the old part of the city-owned Sixteen Acres branch has begun to leak and needs work. Architect Steve Jablonski is drawing up specs for repairs gratis. The cost estimates are in the $6000 to $8000 range; replacement would come to $30,000. Water has entered the library, but has not damaged any library materials.
This year’s budget includes $50,000 in revenue to be raised through FUND RAISING. Emily presented a brief report from a fund raising consultant who recommended taking a long-range approach including not only an annual appeal, but a capital improvement fund, planned giving, and setting up a library foundation. Short term, it was suggested that the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts might be approached.
TWO RESIGNATIONS were reported in the IT department, one a networking specialist and the other the operator of the computer lab: one person was promoted internally, and a second returned to work for the SLMA. Commissioner Webb suggested that a part-time student worker might be considered; Emily said a student might be suitable for the lab, but not for the networking position.
PROPOSED BY-LAWS Discussion of proposed by-laws for the commission has been postponed to the next meeting when all commissioners, particularly Commissioner Duquette who has expressed special interest in this topic, can be present.
NEW BUSINESS Neighborhood residents complained of chronic maintenance problems including overgrown shrubs, weed overgrowth, and disposition of plowed snow in the SLMA’s State Street parking lot. Emily Bader promised to meet with SLMA trustee chair Mike Wallace on this matter.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:50pm
OBSERVATIONS The central library community room continues to provide an excellent meeting space for the commission, particularly in terms of its acoustics, an important consideration in light of two hard-of-hearing citizens who attend meetings. However, the need to cross State Street in the dark to reach the parking lot presents problems which will only get worse once winter is here in earnest.
Commission attendance at this meeting was disappointing, particularly since the meeting had been re-scheduled to accommodate those with election day commitments. Attendance seems to be a particular problem for Commissioner Gonzalez who now has missed more meetings than she has attended.
Commissioners are to be commended for their growing inclusiveness in accepting in-put from citizens and responsiveness to citizens’ issues. Were other boards and commissions to follow their lead, the city would be much better off.