Board of Somerset County Library Trustees
Regular Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, February 14th, 2018 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Princess Anne Library
Present: Ann Smith, Board President; Marlena Turner, Board Vice President; Lois Outten, Board Treasurer; Marilyn Cottman, Board Member; Heather Hurst, Board Member; Beth Holmes-Mayson, Associate Board Member; Ed Goyda, Library Director; Kayla Hodgson, Princess Anne Branch Manager; Jaime Bradshaw, Crisfield Branch Manager; Jan Gorely, Administrative Assistant. Absent: Keisha Evans, Board Member; Father Robert Laws, Board Member.
Call Meeting to Order
President Smith called the meeting to order at 4:07 p.m.
Consent Agenda
- Approve minutes from the regular meeting of December 13th, 2017
- Approve financial reports for the period from July 1, 2017-December 31, 2017
- Approve financial reports for the period from July 1, 2017- January 31, 2018
President Smith asked for a motion to approve the Consent Agenda. Motion was made by Ms. Outten, seconded by Ms. Cottman, and the Consent Agenda was unanimously approved.
LIBRARY ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT: Ed Goyda
Mr. Goyda presented his Director's Report for December 2017/January 2018.
Mr. Goyda mentioned that Becky Pratte is two courses short of her Master's Degree in Education, and that LSTA Staff Development funds have been shifted to her program for the balance of the fiscal year.
Mr. Goyda discussed a fine amnesty program both branches will be doing March 1st-10th. The program will allow patrons to donate non-perishable items for $1 off fines. A list will be made of what items will be acceptable. Donations will be routed through the Seton Center in Princess Anne and Immanuel Church in Crisfield.
Next, Mr. Goyda shared plans that have been made for the upcoming summer reading program, "Libraries Rock". Both branches will be having a kick off block party on June 23rd. A schedule of performers is listed below.
June 28: Reptile Wonders July 3: Listen. Learn. Play July 9: Cascading Carlos July 11: Turtle Dance (Princess Anne only) July 17: Amazing Josini August 1: Science Tellers August 6: The Bubble Lady
Mr. Goyda stated that the week of the July 22nd hasn't been filled yet, but there are two options. It was also mentioned, that the 'Turtle Dance' is being paid for by ESRL and is limited to one branch.
Mr. Goyda reported that the staff training with Google for Business has been completed and that both branches are fully operational with using it. He also stated that a training manual for the library's website is underway with intentions to get more staff involved in content creation.
President Smith asked for a motion to approve the Director's written report. Motion was made by Ms. Cottman, seconded by Ms. Turner, and was unanimously approved.
Branch Highlights
Crisfield: Jaime Bradshaw reported that during the month of December, the Crisfield branch offered a variety of holiday craft programs for all ages, in which each event was well attended. It was also mentioned that Ashley Gilson and Jaime were invited to the Crisfield High School on December 18th to provide an information table for their 'Family Night'. They also attended a Judy Center event held at Woodson Elementary, 'PJ Literacy Night' on January 23rd.
Princess Anne: Kayla Hodgson reported that the Princess Anne branch had over 300 community members joined them for milk, cookies & photos with Santa on December 2nd following the Princess Anne Holiday Parade. She also mentioned Becky Pratte's outreach with Greenwood Elementary school. Becky has been recording video messages promoting the library that are being shown daily on the morning announcements.
Governance: A Revised Sick Leave Policy was included in the packet and is listed below.
6.6 Sick Leave
Paid sick leave is offered by the library to all employees for periods of temporary absence due to illnesses or injuries. The employee may use leave for the following reasons:
- To care for or treat the employee's own mental or physical illness, injury, or condition.
- To obtain preventive medical care for the employee or family member.
- To care for a family member's mental or physical illness, injury, or condition.
- For maternity or paternity leave.
- Medical or mental health attention; Services from a victim services organization; or
- Legal services.
Family members are defined as:
- Spouse or domestic partner.
- Child, including biological, foster, adopted, or step, as well as one for whom the employee has legal or physical custody or guardianship, or stands in loco parentis (i.e. acts as the parent, regardless of the legal relationship), or child's spouse.
- Parent, including biological, foster, adopted, or step for the employee or the employee's spouse, as well as one who was the legal guardian of or stood in loco parentis to the employee or employee's spouse, or parent's spouse.
- Grandparent, including biological, foster, adopted, or step, of the employee.
- Grandchild, including biological, foster, adopted, or step, of the employee.
- Sibling, including biological, foster, adopted, or step, of the employee.
Sick leave is earned at the rate of one (1) day a month. Sick leave for part time employees is pro- rated on the number of hours worked. Once an employee has been employed at the library for six (6) months, they may request sick leave before it has been earned for up to five (5) working days. All vacation time must have been used first and the additional unearned days will be granted on a case-by-case basis by the Director.
Employees who are unable to report to work due to illness or injury should notify their supervisor before the scheduled start of their workday if possible. The supervisor must also be contacted on each additional day of absence.
If an employee is absent for three or more consecutive days due to illness or injury, the library may require a physician's statement to verify the disability and its beginning and expected ending dates. Such verification may be requested for other sick leave absences as well and may be required as a condition to receiving sick leave benefits. Sick leave can be carried over year to year and a portion of it can be applied towards retirement.
There is no cap on accrual of sick leave; it is unlimited.
If an employee uses all their accumulated sick leave, they must also use accumulated vacation leave before they can apply for leave without pay for a period not to exceed one (1) year. Usage of advanced sick leave may be requested and must have the approval of the Director.
Student Cards
The agreement as discussed with Dr. Gaddis was identical to the agreement in Wicomico County, which states that cards will be available to all public school students allowing them to borrow three books from the juvenile collections and access to computers and databases within the library. The school board had questions regarding the privacy of student data and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Their lawyer has vetted the agreement, and the School Board is prepared to agree Tuesday, February 13th.
Next steps are to design the flyer for distribution to parents and set up the technical end of the data transfer. Mr. Goyda is working on the technical end.
Mr. Goyda mentioned that as soon as everyone/everything is ready, there will be a soft launch, then in May the actual launch will take place.
President Smith asked for a motion to accept the contract for the virtual student cards. Motion was made by Ms. Turner, seconded by Ms. Outten, and was unanimously approved.
Strategic Plan: Surveys & Committee Memberships
As part of the strategic plan, committees were discussed for the following categories: Arts & Culture, Children's Services, Community Outreach, Staff Development, Technology & Workforce Training and Teen Services. At the discussion, it was decided that there should be approximately five people per committee, made up of board, staff and community members. Board and staff members have been chosen for each committee and are listed below.
Arts & Culture Board Representation: Ann Smith, Robert Laws Staff Representation: Danielle Craige, Jennifer Lewis
Children's Services Board Representation: Marlena Turner Staff Representation: Ashley Gilson, Becky Pratte
Community Outreach Board Representation: Beth Holmes-Mayson, Heather Hurst Staff Representation: Anna Fontaine, Jo Wooster
Staff Development Staff Representation: Gabe Stuckey, Troy Gale, Sam Eddington (ESRL)
Technology & Workforce Training Board Representation: Lois Outten, Marilyn Cottman Staff Representation: Gabe Stuckey, Jesse Drewer, Michele Henry
Teen Services Board Representation: Keisha Evans Staff Representation: Ashley Gilson, Terron Corbin
A timetable is listed below.
Immediate: Begin recruitment of community members By February 24: Close of surveys By March 2: Data processed By March 17: Kick off (joint meeting of all committees) By April 7: Two meetings, or meeting, then focus groups, then meeting, per committee By April 11: Board discussion By April 30: Plan refinement Early May: Public presentation
Each element of the timetable was discussed. The kick off meeting is planned for March 15th in Crisfield. Mr. Goyda asked to have the board meeting originally scheduled for April 11th moved to April 25th to have more time to input data and planning. He will be making a PowerPoint presentation to walk through the statistics.
President Smith asked for a motion to change the April Board Meeting from April 11th to April 25th. Motion was made by Ms. Turner, seconded by Ms. Hurst, and was unanimously approved.
Maryland Library Association
The Maryland Library Association Conference is May 2nd through May 4th. Mr. Goyda stated he would like to close all branches on May 3rd for all staff to attend the MLA Conference.
A motion was made by President Smith to close the library May 3rd for the staff to attend the MLA Conference. The motion was seconded by Ms. Outten, and was unanimously approved.
Executive Session
President Smith asked for a motion to enter executive session. Motion was made Ms. Hurst, seconded by Ms. Cottman, and board unanimously agreed to enter executive session. Roll Call: Ms. Cottman, yes; Ms. Outten, yes; Ms. Hurst, yes; Ms. Turner, yes; Ms. Smith, yes. The board entered executive session at 5:14 p.m.
Ms. Hodgson, Ms. Bradshaw, Ms. Gorely and Ms. Holmes-Mayson left the meeting at 5:14 p.m.
Ms. Holmes-Mayson left the board meeting at 5:15 p.m.
The board discussed upcoming staffing changes.
President Smith motioned to go out of executive session; motion was seconded by Ms. Hurst. Roll Call: Ms. Cottman, yes; Ms. Outten, yes; Ms. Hurst, yes; Ms. Turner, yes; Ms. Smith, yes. The board exited executive session at 5:18 p.m.
END OF Executive Session: PERSONNEL
Appointment: Caprice Harris, Library Assistant
President Smith asked for a motion to accept the appointment of Caprice Harris. Motion was made by Ms. Hurst, seconded by Ms. Cottman, and was unanimously approved.
Appointment: Noah Pfirman, Library Page
President Smith asked for a motion to accept the appointment of Noah Pfirman. Motion was made by Ms. Turner, seconded by Ms. Cottman, and was unanimously approved.
Promotion: Michele Henry, Technical Services Assistant
President Smith asked for a motion to accept the promotion of Michelle Henry. Motion was made by Ms. Outten, seconded by Ms. Hurst, and was unanimously approved.
Adjourn Ms. Hurst motioned to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Cottman seconded the motion, and the motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 5:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Jaime K. Bradshaw Crisfield Library Branch Manager