Board of Somerset County Library Trustees
Regular Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, April 14, 2021; 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Crisfield Library & Via Zoom Link
Present: Ann Smith (President), Beth Holmes-Mason (Vice President), Karen Riggin, Tim Spillane, Jennifer Timmons, Jayna Tawes Grant, Ed Goyda (Director), Jaime Bradshaw (Branch Manager), Kayla Leimbach (Branch Manager), Nora Hoffman (Administrative Assistant).
Absent: Lois Outten (Treasurer)
Call Meeting to Order
President Ann Smith called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.
Consent Agenda
- Approve minutes from the regular meeting of February 10, 2021.
- Approve financial reports for the period from July 1, 2020 – February 28, 2021
- Approve financial reports for the period from July 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021
A motion to approve the Consent Agenda was made by Karen Riggin, seconded by Tim Spillane, and unanimously approved.
Branch Highlights
Crisfield: Jaime Bradshaw discussed the Crisfield Library staff's work on filming tutorials and creating book and program displays. Additionally, the library was now on eight social media platforms. Staff had been preparing for summer reading and planned to utilize their outdoor spaces, with the first program being the kick-off featuring Turtle Dance Music on June 15.
Princess Anne : Kayla Leimbach discussed the Princess Anne Library's positive feedback received from the community, particularly from parents, for our ongoing programs-to-go and curbside pickup during the pandemic. Youth Services Coordinator Karen Earp has begun work on the "500 by 5" program with the Judy Center with the goal of promoting early literacy.
Library Director7apos;s Report
Mr. Goyda presented his Director's Report for February – March 2021.
Core Services
Reopening Phase 4 would go into effect on May 3. Restrictions on wearing masks, social distancing, 50% capacity in the meeting room, Plexiglas shields, closed water fountains and the book quarantining period would remain in place until local/state guidelines begin to change.
Changes included expanding evening hours to 6:45pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays and fully restoring furniture to public areas. Additionally, fees for copies, prints and fax would be restored and we would slowly begin in-person programming beginning with a hybrid Book Discussion Group. The Health department had cleared us to open the meeting rooms as long as we added a screening form to the reservation form.
Team restrictions would be lifted and full time employees would work four days in branch / one day from home. Some cross-branch shifts would resume.
Vertical File Digitization: A press release was included in the Crisfield Times on April 7, and the collection had been linked to the website. Work continued on correcting the OCR text and adding the files into Digital Maryland's database.
Community Outreach
County Times: Our "Outreach When You Can't Go Out" presentation, COVID response, and the vertical file digitization project had all been included in the County Times.
Library Zine: We were currently taking submissions for the spring edition and the Winter Zine had been published.
Program Booklets: We resumed publishing program booklets in March, in-house on a monthly basis.
Community Partnership
A Vehicle Charging Station was installed in Crisfield on April 7.
Gold Star Marker: The Garden club was looking at a September 29 (Gold Star Mother's and Family Day) dedication and was working with Delmarva Veteran Builders to design and construct a wall with the service emblems.
National Library Week was featured on April 4 to 10 on our Facebook Page.
Internal Development
Automatic External Defibrillators: In early February, the County installed AEDs at both mainland libraries. We would be looking to provide training in tandem with renewing CPR certifications.
Computer Replacement: All desktops were replaced using Services Enhancement funds. We planned to replace patron laptops early in FY 2022. MLA Conference: All staff had been registered for the virtual conference in early May.
Statewide Interlibrary Loan: The current vendor contract was expiring this year, and the State was currently considering two vendors.
Youth Services
500 by 5: Ms. Earp was working with the Judy Center to replace 1,000 books before kindergarten.
The Princess Anne Children's Room had been reorganized, allowing for more floor space and reading areas.
Summer Reading: We would again be using a virtual model with Beanstack but would also have paper options for those unable or unwilling to use the online module.
A motion to accept the Director's Report was made by Beth Holmes-Mason, seconded by Jayna Tawes Grant, and unanimously approved.
Governance
Approval of online votes to recommend the appointments of Tim Spillane and Jennifer Timmons to the Library Board and to appoint Beth Holmes-Mason as the Vice President: A motion to approve appointments was made by Ann Smith, seconded by Karen Riggin and was unanimously approved.
Auditor Selection: A motion to approve TGM Group as the auditor for FY 2020 was made by Beth Holmes-Mason, seconded by Tim Spillane, and unanimously approved.
Business office request to pay certain bills as received: A request was made by Nora Hoffman to automatically pay bills from certain vendors (ADP, Bank of America, the City of Crisfield, and Xerox) who have short due dates. These bills would be reviewed at the next regularly scheduled bill approval.
A motion to allow paying of these bills as received was made by Ann Smith, seconded by Jayna Tawes Grant, and unanimously approved.
Update on Fine Free Libraries (SB524/HB1000): Mr. Goyda noted that Governor Hogan's veto had been overridden. There was one small surprise with the State Library's interpretation of the act – that the "clean slates" on July 1, 2021 included the waiving of lost item fees for minors but the effect is only a few hours of database work on June 30. Funding increases from the bill will not be seen until FY 2023.
On other legislation, the Public Libraries eBook Access (HB518), "requiring a publisher who offers to license an electronic book to the public to also offer to license the book to public libraries in the State on reasonable terms that would enable public libraries to provide library users with access to the electronic book" had been signed. The High Performance and Green Buildings (HB86), requiring all new construction or substantial renovations that the State provides more than 25% funding for to meet LEED Silver or equivalent standards, did not make it through the Assembly.
Executive Session
A motion to enter into executive session was made by Ann Smith, seconded by Tim Spillane, and unanimously approved.
A motion to exit executive session was made by Beth Holmes-Mayson, seconded by Tim Spillane, and unanimously approved.
Resignation of Jo Wooster, Library Assistant: A motion to accept the resignation of Jo Wooster after 23 years of service was made by Beth Holmes-Mayson, seconded by Jennifer Timmons, and unanimously approved.
Adjourn
A motion to adjourn was made at 4:35pm by Beth Holmes-Mason, seconded by Karen Riggin and, unanimously approved.
Respectfully submitted, Kayla Leimbach Princess Anne Branch Manager