Board of Somerset County Library Trustees
Regular Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 4:00pm Princess Anne Library via Zoom
Present: Ann Smith, President; Marlena Turner, Vice President; Lois Outten, Treasurer; Board Members: Jayna Grant, Beth Holmes-Mayson, Karen Riggin; Associate Board Members: Tim Spillane, Jennifer Timmons; Ed Goyda, Library Director; Kayla Leimbach, Princess Anne Branch Manager; Jaime Bradshaw, Crisfield Branch Manager; Nora Hoffman, Bookkeeper/Admin. Assistant
Absent: Marilyn Cottman, Board Member
Call Meeting to Order
President Ann Smith called the meeting to order at 4:08pm.
Consent Agenda
Approve minutes from the regular meeting of October 14, 2020 Approve financial reports for the period from July 1, 2020 to October 31, 2020 Approve financial reports for the period from July 1, 2020 to November 30, 2020
President Smith asked for a motion to approve the Consent Agenda. Motion was made by Lois Outten, seconded by Marlena Turner and unanimously approved.
Branch Highlights
Crisfield: Jaime Bradshaw, Branch Manager
Ms. Bradshaw reported that staff members had continued to create and add content to our social media sites. We had introduced "Staff Pick Saturday" on our Facebook page, sharing different staff members' book/author recommendations with a small blurb about why they encourage others to read their choices. A "Would You Rather Library Edition" game had also been posted on our Facebook page. Our October and November YouTube videos had a combined total of 395 views, with the top video being our Cooking with Your Library-Marshmallow Pumpkin Pie video leading with 69 views. Our Fall Zine was almost complete.
Staff Development: The annual MLA conference kicked off in October, and staff had been participating in various virtual sessions regularly.
Outreach: The Crisfield Elks Lodge was creating a "Drive Thru Winter Wonderland" this December, and their goal was to decorate the outside cul de sac of the Elks with the biggest holiday light show in Somerset County so families could drive through for free and enjoy the holiday season. The library donated boxes of lights and an inflatable to help contribute to this community event.
Future Happenings: We would be giving gifts to all of the residents in Tawes Nursing Home and Manokin Manor. Each gift bag would include a fleece blanket, puzzle book with highlighter, socks, hair comb, facial tissues, and a card colored by our patrons and many students at Holly Grove Christian School.
Princess Anne: Kayla Leimbach, Branch Manager
Our Fall Reading Challenge wrapped up with final totals of 5 teens and 17 children participating via Beanstack. Raffles were drawn and various STEM prizes were awarded via Facebook. "Programs to Go" continued to be extremely popular and we had again increased the number of holiday kits to meet demand. We had 8 patrons join us at Book Discussion Group via Zoom to discuss the Maryland One Book in October and 10 patrons join us in November.
Our Children's virtual programming on Facebook had been doing very well; weekly 'Read a Book with Miss Dani' had 721 views in October and 276 in November while bi-weekly Storytime with Karen had 444 views total during the months of October & November. Karen's new program "Early Lit Minute" had 308 views during October & November.
Outreach: Karen & Kayla completed a 6 week course through the American Library Association on "Homeschoolers in the Public Library." Staff continued to take Virtual MLA Classes that would run thru January. Our proposal had been accepted and Ms. Leimbach, Ms. Bradshaw, and Mr. Goyda would be presenting at MLA/DLA 2021.
Future Happenings: The Branch was decorated for the Holidays and Programs-to-Go continued to fly out the door. We had already begun planning and purchasing supplies for our programming in the New Year. We planned to continue our Book Discussion Group & Computer Classes virtually in early 2021.
Library Director7apos;s Report
Mr. Goyda presented his Director's Report for October and November 2020.
Core Services
Reopening Phase 3: We remained in Phase 3, with the only limitations in place being the earlier closing times to accommodate the Team A/B shifts, the meeting room closures, and the removal of toys and manipulatives from the Children's Areas. We continued to not charge for copies and prints.
Enoch Pratt Free Library discussed the data being generated nationally about coronavirus's ability to survive on library materials with the Maryland Department of Health and recommended reducing quarantine times from one week to two days. This reduction had been implemented.
Programs to Go: The Programs to Go had been chosen through February. Construction of the January kits was underway.
Programs to Go kits had tripled program "attendance," and the recorded virtual programs had been quite popular. Children's programming alone had more than 2,000 views in October and November, and 740 To Go kits were distributed. Children's attendance in October and November 2019, not counting the Halloween events, was 500.
Mr. Goyda stated that, even without the COVID issue and an eventual resumption of in-person, scheduled programming, the continuation of these asynchronous options would be of great service to our patrons.
Vertical File Digitization: The authority control to place Library of Congress Subject Headings on all items was complete. Technical Services Librarian Gabe Stuckey was continuing to scan, Mr. Goyda was continuing to process the images, and Digital Maryland would be handling the uploads, at least until the other two parts of the process were 100% complete.
Community Outreach
Crabber Newspaper: We had reserved our spot in the April edition of the Crisfield High School newspaper for a summer reading promotion.
Maryland Library Association Legislative "Day": Library Legislative Day, typically held in Annapolis early in the legislative session, was being moved to a virtual event, from January 19 to 29.
Nursing Home Outreach: Ms. Bradshaw had prepared and would soon be distributing Christmas gifts as outreach to the residents at Tawes Nursing Home and Manokin Manor.
Community Partnership
Charging Station: Delmarva Power would be installing an electric vehicle charging station in the rear of the Crisfield parking lot in early December.
Eastern Shore Regional Library: The regional directors continued to meet weekly, and a reopening tasks force had been meeting biweekly.
Gold Star Marker: The post for the Gold Star Marker for the Crisfield Library, acquired in conjunction with the Garden Club and American Legion, was installed December 7. The Garden Club would submit groundbreaking photos to the County Times; the dedication remained delayed.
Internal Development
Facilities: As part of their CARES Act funds, the County would be installing automated restroom fixtures and automated external defibrillators in Crisfield and Princess Anne.
Maryland Library Association Conference: The 2021 Conference had been moved to a virtual event in the first week of May. Ms. Bradshaw, Ms. Leimbach, and Mr. Goyda would be presenting "Outreach When You Can't Go Out" on May 4.
Spirit Week: Ms. Bradshaw had planned Christmas Spirit Week for the week of December 14.
State Report: The FY20 State Report had been submitted.
Zoom: The State had expanded the number of Zoom administrative accounts, giving Mr. Goyda and Mr. Stuckey administrative controls, in addition to existing accounts for Ms. Bradshaw, Ms. Leimbach, and Children's Services Coordinator Karen Earp.
Youth Services
Summer Reading 2021: We were beginning to put in the orders for summer reading tote bags, T-shirts, and prizes. We were not going to schedule major performers for the summer, given the potential contingencies and reports statewide that paid, live, virtual performances had not seen attendance sufficient to justify the expenditures.
Virtual Programs: Ms. Earp had set up a regular monthly cycle of an Early Literacy Minute, two story times, two STEM programs, and four book readings, the last by Dani Craige.
Website: Ms. Earp had put together several themed booklists for the website.
President Smith asked for a motion to approve the Director's Report. Motion was made by Beth Holmes-Mayson, seconded by Jayna Grant and unanimously approved.
Governance
Confirmation of Online Vote - Appointment of Board Members: We needed a confirmation of the November 7 email vote recommending that the Commissioners appoint Jayna Tawes Grant to complete the unfinished term of Fr. Rob Laws and appointing Tim Spillane as 1st Associate Member and Jennifer Timmons as 2nd Associate Member. Associate Member is a non-voting position.
President Smith asked for a motion to confirm the online vote for appointment of the new board members. Motion was made by Beth Holmes-Mayson, seconded by Marlena Turner and unanimously approved.
Confirmation of Online Vote - New Year's Eve Closure: We needed a confirmation of the November 24 email vote closing the libraries on New Year's Eve, allowing adjustments to the staff schedule to give everyone a continuous week and a half off over the holidays.
President Smith asked for a motion to confirm the online vote for the New Year's Eve closure. Motion was made by Karen Riggin, seconded by Marlena Turner and unanimously approved.
Confirmation of Online Vote - Patriot Banners: We needed a confirmation of the November 17 online vote allowing the City of Crisfield to include the library parking lot light poles in the patriot banners project, given that the number of banners will be limited to two per pole, the pole on the ramp will be excluded, the banners will be displayed from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and damaged banners will be promptly removed.
President Smith asked for a motion to confirm the online vote for the Patriot Banners. Motion was made by Beth Holmes-Mayson, seconded by Lois Outten and unanimously approved.
Fine-free Libraries (SB524/HB1000): President Smith had submitted a letter to the legislature supporting a veto override on the Fine-free Libraries Bill, which passed by a sufficient margin during the last session, but was vetoed by Governor Hogan due to concerns about coronavirus's effect on the state budget, as was any other bill with any fiscal impact.
Zoom Board Meetings: The Board's inclination at the October meeting was to continue virtually for December and go from there. The Board's inclination at this time was to plan for an in-person February meeting, at the Crisfield Library, and adjust as necessary.
Deposit-Only ATM Card for Bookkeeper: In lieu of utilizing the night drop for after-hours deposits, which
PNC Bank had begun charging for, a deposit-only ATM card was recommended for the bookkeeper, Nora Hoffman.
President Smith asked for a motion to approve the use of a bookkeeper deposit-only ATM card. Motion was made by Lois Outten, seconded by Karen Riggin and unanimously approved.
Executive Session
President Smith made a motion to enter executive session, seconded by Marlena Turner, and roll call was taken.
Director's Performance Review Follow-up: President Smith had compiled and distributed appraisals from the Board and the Director's self-evaluation.
Suspended - Resignation of Shanlaia Jackson, Library Assistant: Mr. Goyda advised the Board that Shanlaia Jackson has taken a full-time position with the School District and submitted a letter of resignation. That letter had been withdrawn, and she would continue to work evenings at the library.
President Smith made a motion to exit executive session, seconded by Beth-Holmes-Mayson, and roll call was taken.
Adjournment
President Smith request a motion to adjourn the meeting. A motion was made by Beth Holmes-Mayson and seconded by Jayna Grant. The motion was unanimously approved and the meeting adjourned at 4:45pm.
Respectfully submitted, Nora Hoffman Somerset County Library Bookkeeper/Admin. Assistant