Canton, Massachusetts · Saved source text

Feb 11 2019

Library · Source meeting date: 2019-02-11 · Record 65104

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Canton Library Board of Trustees 
Minutes of February 11, 2019 
 
Attendees: Chris Untersee, Bernie Mendillo, Joan Schottenfeld, Emily Prigot, Mike Sundin, Dorothy Shea & 
Peg Mead. 
 
The meeting was called to order at 7:31 pm. 
 
Minutes: 
A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of December 17, 2018. These were unanimously 
approved. A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of January 14, 2019. These were 
unanimously approved. 
 
Director’s Report: 
 Our young tween and teen patrons continue to visit the library daily in large numbers after school each 
day. In response to the behavioral challenges posed by having such large numbers of teens in our open 
space we have instituted the following changes: 
o The Maker Space is now booked either by appointment only or is available during scheduled 
times for programs or supervised use. 
o The Aldrich Room is now booked each afternoon for teen and tween usage during the peak hours 
of 3-6. This allows for groups to hold meetings in the evening and gets us through the busiest 
time for crowd control. 
o Allowing youth to eat in Aldrich Room and setting expectations for cleaning up in that space. 
o Installing and repositioning the video cameras in both the Maker Space and Aldrich Rooms, and 
making the public aware that surveillance is occurring. 
o Actively engaging with the School Resource Officers who have made their presence known both 
in the library and at the schools. 
o Requiring youth to sign in to any programs they attend at the library. 
o All library staff making consistent efforts to communicate with each other when corrective 
action is taken with a patron or group. 
I am thrilled to share with you the following report from our Reference Librarian, who has been on the 
frontlines dealing with these issues: 
The limiting of the Maker Space to appointment only and the use of the Aldrich Room as a 
“containment” area for the after-school crowd is working very nicely. The kids have been 
instructed and reminded that if they are enjoying snacks and other food in there, then they are 
responsible for cleaning up and have been provided with paper towels, disinfectant wipes and the 
ever-popular carpet sweeper. (Everyone loves the carpet sweeper!). So far, it looks like a 
workable solution and is a far cry from where we were just a month or so ago. There is a huge 
decrease just in foot traffic between the MSpace, café area, Aldrich room and YA or other 
“hangout” area. Rosie has provided ample entertainment and equipment and the room 
accommodates various activities simultaneously—video/gaming, Mac use, socializing, (actual!) 
homework, and just hanging out. There have been several occasions when a meeting is 
scheduled in the evening but the kids are warned, asked to tidy up and vacate the room a half 
hour before the meeting, which has worked out well so far.

I am hopeful that these changes will continue to improve the noise levels and lessen the disruption for our 
other patrons while we work to redesign our space so that it more appropriately addresses the needs of all of 
our patrons. 
 The Behavior and Conduct subcommittee has had one meeting to review our policies and is continuing 
to look at the issue. We hope to have a proposed policy for the full Board to review this spring. 
 Laura Strata from the MBLC will revisit the library at the end of March to tour our space again. At that 
time the bulk of the weeding of the physical collection should be complete and a fresh look at our space, 
with a true understanding of how much space we truly need to devote towards print materials will be 
undertaken. 
 On 2/1/19 Carolyn Elkort and I met with Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Fischer-Mueller. I took this 
opportunity to introduce myself and give Dr. Fischer-Muller and overview of our services for youth age 
10-18. We engaged in an extremely productive meeting where Dr. Fischer-Mueller wholeheartedly 
embraced the concept of collaborating with the library to host a middle school after-school homework 
center at the library in the fall. 
Dr. Fischer-Mueller has offered to staff the homework center with current middle school teachers, who 
will be possibly be paid for through stipends, have the schools deliver pizza to the program weekly, and 
work with the library to build relationships with the high school honor society to recruit teens to serve as 
tutors. More information will be coming after I set up a meeting with Principal Shannon. 
Dr. Fischer-Mueller recognized the strain on our resources we have been dealing with having such large 
numbers of teens and tweens in the library each day after school. She pledged to have the schools assist 
to us by providing food for our half day programs, and on 2/6/19, Martha Lawless, the Food Services 
Director for the schools personally delivered food for our half day events. 
 The company who was slated to repair the library’s roof has gone out of business. The project was rebid 
and a new contractor has just been approved by the town to complete the work. An estimated completion 
st 
date is now April 1. 
 Ebook circulation has been skyrocketing. For the past six months we have made considerable efforts to 
devote a larger portion of our collection development resources towards e-books. This infusion of 
capital and staff attention has resulted in an incredible surge in borrowing. Halfway through this year we 
have already circulated almost 67% of the total number of Ebooks we did last year. Most encouragingly, 
we are now circulating at levels closer to our peer libraries. 
 OCLN has been working with Overdrive to rollout a reciprocal borrowing arrangement with other 
library networks, such as Minuteman and Sails. This pilot program allows OCLN patrons to use their 
library card to search the Overdrive catalog of the other networks, thus expanding access to Canton 
residents. This week the Boston Public Library joined the pilot program, which will enhance the user 
experience for our patrons tremendously. The board discussed advertising this benefit to our patrons. 
 OCLN Membership voted in January to move forward with automatic renewals for library materials. We 
will still locally decide which parts of our collection to include in this program, however for most 
traditional library books and media our patrons will now have one automatic renewal of the standard 
borrowing period. For example, a library book that is older than six months typically gets checked out 
for two weeks. If, at the end of the two weeks that item is not returned, it will now automatically be 
checked out for an additional two weeks to our patrons. Items that are on hold for someone else will not 
be automatically renewed. The Sails network has had success with this program, and patrons very much 
enjoy the convenience of this program. Concerns for Canton primarily involve the reduction of late fees 
as a source of revenue. 
 Abington, Weymouth, and Marshfield, have eliminated fines for their collections. Quincy has eliminated 
fines for teens and children materials. Walpole has now indicated that they will likely move towards 
eliminating fines in FY20.

 The Milton Art Museum is requesting that the library accept the loan of “Mutter und Kind” by the Dutch 
painter, Cornelis Bisschop. The museum will either provide an insurance rider or a waiver of liability 
which will be reviewed by Town Counsel. A motion was made to accept the loan of the art for an 
indeterminate period of time pending the resolution of the insurance issue. The motion was seconded 
and unanimously approved. 
Budget Update: 
 The town’s HR department and Finance Director has put a 2.5% cost of living increase into the FY 20 
Library Director’s Salary line. Funding the salary line in this way will insure that there are adequate 
st 
funds available on July 1 to pay for the basic cost of living allowance given to all town employees. 
Additional discussion about salary and performance review will happen during contract negotiations in 
the spring and hopefully by getting on the same contract cycle as other town employees the issue of 
timing won’t occur again. Chairman Mendillo has met with Jody Middleton to discuss this matter. 
 The library will present our budget to the Finance Committee on 2/13/19 at 7:00 PM at Town Hall. 
 The library will present our Capital requests on 2/19/19 at 7:00 PM at the Armando Center. 
 The library will meet with the Board of Selectmen to discuss our budget on 2/26/19 at 6:00 PM at Town 
Hall. 
 Attached is an updated accounting of library finances. 
 
Friends Report: 
 The Friends are planning a Friend of the Year Celebration for Maeve Moore on Saturday, March 2, 2019 
from 3 pm to 5pm. 
 Love Your Library Membership Drive! The Friends have been coordinating with the Board of Trustees 
to table our programs and encourage membership with the Friends. Response has been good. 
 Emily Prigot and Mike Sundin are going to invite the Friends executive board to the next Board of 
Trustees meeting. 
 A decision was made to cancel the January coffeehouse due to weather. The performer has been 
rescheduled for the next season. 
 John McCauliffe, blues and folk performer, will appear at the Coffeehouse on Saturday, Feb. 16. 
 
Meeting Room Applications: 
 The board agreed that the board room can be used for groups at Director Round’s discretion. 
Strategic Plan Review: 
 The board began reviewing the action plan for 2018. Each month the board will review one goal. After 
updating the Strategic Plan with the state, Director Rounds will be applying for grants to expand some of 
the action plans. 
o Goal 1: develop services and programs that support and enhance the potential of the Canton 
community and each of its residents to reach his or her goals: 
 Increase and improve communication and outreach to constituent and under-served 
groups: ESOL, Literacy, assisted living, nursing facilities, Senior Center and homebound 
adults 
 Director Rounds will explore coordinating with the Stoughton Library Literacy 
program.

 Director Rounds will contact the Senior Center to find out what services the 
library can provide. 
 A problem was identified in that many of the activities identified will require the 
services of our Community Outreach Librarian, Carolyn Elkort, who is already at 
capacity. 
 We need to continue to create a library presence at community events to engage 
non-users. 
 A program has been put in place to help high school students get library cards 
through the Canton HS librarians and use the Canton Public Library resources. 
 
 
Upcoming Programs and Events: 
 
 A schedule has been put in place for the Maker Space. We hope to add additional hours in the future, but 
for now have one afternoon and one weekend program each week. Appointments are also available and 
that is a popular option too. Programs are varied and serve youth and adult users. 
 
 Artisan Cheese Making at the Library Tuesday, February 26, at 7pm 
We will be hosting Malinda and Phillip from Professor Chef for a demonstration on how to turn a gallon 
of milk into Mozzarella, Ricotta, and more! Everything you see you will be encouraged to try at home, 
but don’t leave before you get a taste! This event is open to all ages. Registration will be required. 
 
 Art History Lecture at the Library Thursday, February 21, 2019 at 7pm in the community room. 
We will be hosting a lecture presented by ARTMATTERS, the art awareness program designed to 
encourage a loving relationship with the visual arts. Their programs are fun, entertaining, and 
inspiring. The topic will be Pablo Picasso. 
 
 Author Talk with Jane Healey, March 13 at 7pm. 
Historical fiction author Jane Healey will discuss her highly anticipated 2019 release The Bean town 
Girls, a historically accurate account set in 1944 against the backdrop of WW ll. Her visit will be during 
Women’s History Month and celebrates women’s important roles during WW II. The real-life Red 
Cross Club mobile Girls themselves made this work of historical fiction possible. 
 
Future meeting dates: 
March 18 
April 22 
 
Meeting was adjourned at 9:06 p.m. 
 
 
Respectfully submitted, 
Peg Mead, Clerk