DRAFT Minutes of the Board of Trustees
Oct. 2, 2023
President Franklin Bennek called the meeting to order at 7:08 PM.
Members present: Franklin Bennek, Jane Pingelski, Cathy Lozier, Catherine Bailey, Emma Mackey, Mo Kelly, Rose Farr, and Librarian Rebecca Fasulo. Also in attendance was Sara Dallas from SALS.
Sara Dallas Report: Sara gave an overview of SALS and announced that the Annual Dinner will be held at Fort William Henry in 2024. In light of current challenges presented to libraries in recent days, Sara recommended that board members do not engage when confronted in public and for the library to follow policies already in place. She also encouraged us to join the Unite Against Book Bans initiative.
Minutes of the previous meeting: Minutes from the July 10th meeting were read. A motion was made by Catherine and seconded by Cathy to accept the minutes. The motion was carried with all in favor.
Treasurer’s Report: The treasurer’s report was read and discussed. A motion was made by Franklin and seconded by Catherine to approve all paid bills. The motion was carried with all in favor. A motion was made by Cathy and seconded by Mo to accept the treasurer’s report. The motion was carried with all in favor.
Librarian’s Report: The Librarian’s report was presented with highlights as follows:
- Story time is scheduled to start up again
- Sales were down from previous years at the Annual Book Sale
See attachment for complete librarian’s report
A motion was made by Jane and seconded by Emma to accept the librarian’s report. The motion was carried with all in favor.
Old Business:
Strategic Plan – committee reports:
Michael/Franklin/Mo: Construction of WIFI Shelter has been completed! A ribbon
cutting will take place at the Hometown Fall Festival.
Trustee Training:
Reminder to Board members to check the SALS website for training opportunities. Give information to Becky as soon as training is completed.
Library birthday – The library will turn 100 in 2027. A board committee should decide when and how to celebrate this milestone. Becky doesn’t think we want to let it pass without some acknowledgement.
Cyber insurance: The Board all agreed that adding $100,000 Cyber Liability to our existing insurance would be sufficient. The estimated pro-rated change in premium is $217, effective 9/14/2023, and the annual change in premium is $225.
MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication): This was turned on as of 9/29/2023.
Library of Things Policy (Fishing Poles): We are working on having a small collection of kids fishing poles for the public to borrow starting in the spring.
New Business:
Naloxbox Program: A motion was made by Emma and seconded by Rose to approve partnering with the Saratoga County Department of Health to provide opioid overdose rescue kits “Naloxboxes” in the library.
Staff Transitions Committee: As there will be retirements in the near future, a committee will be needed, that should include staff, to work on what will be needed for staff transitions so that new hires will come on board with as much help as possible. Emma volunteered for the committee.
Rockwell Falls Library: They are temporarily closed due to staffing issues. We are seeing added business from their users. We are not able to cooperate with Farm 2 Library pick-ups while they are closed.
Adjournment: The motion was made by Cathy and seconded by Mo with all in favor to adjourn the meeting at 8:28 PM.
Next two meetings: Dec. 4, Jan. 8, 2024