TOWN OF PROVINCETOWN

Public Library

Board of Library Trustees

Minutes of Public Meeting September 17, 2008

Meeting was held at the Provincetown Public Library, 356 Commercial Street.

 

Members Present:  Mick Rudd, Chair; Paul Benatti, Secretary; Jim Cole; Lyn Kratz

Members Absent:  Tom Boland

Others Present:  Mary Nicolini, Debbie DeJonker-Berry, Library Director

Call to Order:  Mick Rudd called the meeting to order at 7:19pm

 

1.  Public Statements:  There were no public statements made.

 

2.   Minutes:  Jim moved to accept the minutes of the August 14, 2008 BOLT meeting as amended.  Paul seconded the motion.  The vote passed 3-1-0. 

 

3.   Agenda:  There were no changes to the agenda.

 

4.     Chair’s Report –  

 

a.  Introduction of Mary Nicolini, Assistant Director - Mick introduced Mary to the BOLT and welcomed her.  He commented on the items that she’s accomplished so far. 

 

b.   Landscaping - Meeting Recap – The library has received an anonymous donation of $100,000 to be used to fund Martha Lyons, once the façade is restored.  The library had a meeting with Martha on September 9th where they talked about time lines for the project.  She will have general design options at the next meeting.  She will need to incorporate American Disabilities Act requirements into the design.  Mick stated that meeting the standards of the ADA and the Provincetown Historic Committee regarding access to the front of the building will be challenging.

 

c.   Façade Bids – The bids have been published and are due October 22nd.  They will be reviewed by DPW and the Town Manager’s Office and Coastal Engineering.  Relevant bids will come to the library through the Board of Selectmen.

 

d.  Great Schooner Regatta Captain’s Party – This was the first attempt by the library to have a private event at the library during closed hours.  Guidelines issued by the Licensing Department were followed.  Approximately 150 attended and the BOLT felt that the event was a success.

 

5.   Resource Development Report –

 

a.  Packard Event Recap – Lyn reported on the Packard event stating that it was more successful than last year’s event.  A total of $18,995 was raised including the Ann Packard painting which raised $5,500, which will go to the Supporters.  Fifty-three people attended the event, fewer than last year, but those who couldn’t attend sent money.  There is a discussion to move the event to Saturday night instead of Friday night.  Mick thanked Lyn for her hard work.

 

b.   Rossmore Event Recap – The fundraising event held at Rhoda Rossmore’s house raised $4,167, and was enjoyed by those who attended.

 

c.   Women’s Week Event:  Mary Oliver reading – The BOLT discussed ticket pricing, and it was decided that general admission would be $25, VIP tickets would be $40.  The BOLT reported that the event was in the Women’s Week guide and also online.  Procedures are set up for the selling of tickets.  The BOLT further discussed details.

 

d.   Cash Report - $14,167 was raised in the month of August.  Of that total, $4,167 was from the Rossmore fundraiser; the remaining amount came from the Anne Packard event.

 

6.   Director’s Report – (see below for a full report) 

 

7.  New Business:

 

Larry Schiller is awaiting word from the library regarding possible collaboration between the newly forming Norman Mailer Writer’s Colony and the library.  Mick said that this is an opportunity for the library to support this kind of academic project.  Debbie stated that the winter would be a better time to consider this.

 

The Friends are interested in paying to have the carpets cleaned on the 1st and 2nd floor, and to have the Rose Dorothea pictures framed.

 

Mary and Mick are going to meet with the Kelly Foundation regarding a $2,500 grant to upgrade the kiosk downstairs in connection with Heritage Day 2009.  The library wants the kiosk to be more interactive, allowing the viewer to select a variety of videos to watch relative to the town’s heritage.

 

9.   Other Business and Correspondence:   

 

Deb is planning to have a draft of the Long Range Plan ready soon so that the BOLT can vote on it at a    future meeting.

 

The next meeting of the BOLT was left undecided at this time.

 

Adjournment:  Jim moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:20pm.  Paul seconded the motion.  The vote passed 3-0-2.

 

These minutes were approved by a vote of the Provincetown Library Board of Trustees present at their meeting on ________________.

 

 

Respectfully submitted: ______________________________              ___________________________

Library Board of Trustees signature                          Title

 

 

 

 (Minutes prepared by Jean Jarrett)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Library Director’s Report

September 2008

 

The Library has had a very busy summer. The newly installed (August 2007) people counter shows  317,110  people visiting.  This has long-term implications in terms of building maintenance, and the exiting library staff’s ability to provide good service. 

We have had several problems with the air conditioning which now appear to be solved.  The DPW Department authorized EF Winslow to install a remote control unit so that they can monitor the system and make adjustments as needed.  In addition, Winslow replaced a motor on the air conditioning, and everything has worked well since then.  In addition, the master light switch has been replaced, and the elevator has a new clutch.

The Friends of the Library had a successful summer book sale season (Still two more book sale series to be held in September and October).  As a result, they have purchased new magazine racks to replace the existing ones that have cracked plastic exteriors, have purchase two new book trucks, and were able to match a private donor so that we were able to buy two more new comfortable lounge chairs (an exact match) for the Reading Room.

Library Assistant Director Mary Nicolini and Trustee Lyn Kratz have worked very hard this summer, and the results are several successful events including Rhoda Rossmore’s Funraiser and the Annual Packard Gallery event. In addition, the Great Provincetown Schooner Regatta Captains Party was held at the Library after hours and provided a model as to how the Library might be used as a Special Event venue in the future.

I have been working on annual state reports.  The ARIS and the Net Lender are complete.  The State Financial and Compliance Reports will be finished by week end.  The new Long-Range Plan is in your packet awaiting corrections and approval.

The façade is out to bid.  Filed sub-bids are due October 1 and general bids October 15.  Coastal Engineering has already had responses on some of the filed sub-bids (roofing and masonry).  In addition, the results of the exterior color analysis are in from BHC (Required by Mass. Historic as part of the grant award) and the building was originally a dark tan, progressing to cream, beige and white.  There have been 16 layers of paint on the building over the years.  The tan color was a very thin layer.

The Landscaping Committee met with Landscape Architect Martha Lyon and Engineer John Bologna for the first time last week.  Coastal Engineering produced a new site plan which was very helpful to the landscape architect.  The Committee had a very productive meeting, and there is general consensus amongst.  For the next meeting, Martha will come back to the group with several conceptual ideas.

Mary, Mick, Lyn and I have had several meetings with Larry Schiller of the Norman Mailer Writers Colony and Stephen Borkowski to discuss possible collaboration with the Colony.  There is a strong interest in re-configuring the out building into a Scholars Center.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Debra DeJonker-Berry,

Library Director