TOWN OF PROVINCETOWN

Public Library

Board of Library Trustees

Minutes of Meeting January 23, 2006

Meeting held at Provincetown Public Library, 356 Commercial St.

Members Present:             Marcia Fair, Chair; Mick Rudd, Vice Chair (arrived 7:45 pm); C.J. Noyes, Secretary; Paul Benatti, Cathy Metzger

Others Present:             Library Director Debra DeJonker-Berry

Members of the Public:  James Cole

Call to Order:            Marcia Fair called the meeting to order at 7:15pm

 

Public Statements:  There was none.

2.   Minutes:   Paul Benatti moved and CJ Noyes seconded the motion to accept the minutes of November 21, 2005.  The vote was 3-0 in favor, with 1 abstention and 1 not present.  Paul Benatti moved and CJ Noyes seconded the motion to accept the minutes of the joint meeting with the Board of Selectmen on December 5.  The vote was 3-0 in favor, with 1 abstention and 1 not present.  Later, upon Mick Rudd’s arrival to the meeting at 7:45 pm, CJ Noyes moved and Mick Rudd seconded the motion to accept the minutes of December 5, 2005.  The vote was 3-0 in favor with 2 abstentions.

 

Agenda:  CJ Noyes moved and Cathy Metzger seconded the motion to accept the Agenda as presented by Marcia Fair.  The vote was 3-0 in favor, with 1 abstention and 1 not present.

 

Chair’s Report

Lipton Cup:  Marcia asked Mick Rudd to update the Trustees regarding the Lipton Cup.  The Cup will be returning to Town on a TBA date after 02/14/06. Mick informed the group that the display case has been finished and installed in the Library.  Mick acknowledged the fine craftsmanship of the display cases and recommended a letter of thanks be sent to the Cape Cod artisan who built them, Adam Levinson, with a copy to Bill Schneider, Tourism Director. Mick noted that the display case for the Lipton Cup has been alarmed and Deb added that the alarm system for the entire Library building has been installed.  Mick expressed his satisfaction with the fact that now the Lipton Cup will be given the respect it deserves.  He mentioned the Cup will also be honored on June 14th during a celebration marking the date of the Town’s incorporation.  Bill Schneider is reaching out to Unilever, the parent company of Lipton, to see if they would like to participate in the celebration of the Lipton Cup

 

Belfry Update:  Marcia reported that the Belfry was moved in November.  She spoke to John Corbett, who is a Steeple Jack with Meeting House Enterprises.  This firm was responsible for renovating the UU years ago.  Although he is no longer doing Steeple Jack work, John said he would be able to act as a consultant for the Library project if it can wait until May 1st.  Marcia and Deb will send him the Coastal Engineering specs and are scheduled to speak to John on February 2nd.

 

Deb received a call from Lynn Kortenhaus, a Communications Consultant.  Lynn offered to connect Deb with a Tom and Steve Payne of Payne/Bouchier, a reconstruction firm located in Boston.  Apparently, they are familiar with the Belfry from vacationing in Provincetown and are interested in helping, possibly pro-bono.  Lynn has set up a conference call for Marcia and Deb with Tom and Steve on January 26th.  If this option works out, Marcia/Deb will get back to John Corbett and thank him but let him know that the Belfry project cannot wait until May.

 

Building Fund:  Marcia directed the Trustees’ attention to the Gift Report and Cash Report for November and December located in their information packets.  Marcia highlighted the December report in which income reflected 115 individual gifts, of which 50, or 43.4%, came from first-time donors.  The total amount donated in December was $18,380 with an average of $159 per gift.  Marcia mentioned that 350 letters of advisement for the IRS were being sent out in January.  Also a few Pledge Balance letters will be sent out.

Marcia & Deb picked out two Allison Joseph Storyteller Chairs.  They have been delivered and they are waiting for two others for the Reading Room.  They are also awaiting a Nelson Hitchcock Table that was funded by Scholastic Publishers.  A plaque on the Newspaper Stand was given by a woman from NYC in memory of her mother.

2005 Town Annual Report:  Marcia directed the Trustees’ attention to the 2005 Annual Report that she completed writing on behalf of the Board of Library Trustees.  She thanked the Trustees and asked them to review it at their convenience.

 

Meetings & Publications:  Marcia announced that there were two meetings 1) Legislative Breakfast on March 31st and 2) Mass. Library Trustee Symposium that the P-Town Library Trustees could attend if interested.  Marcia directed the Trustees’ attention to the recent issue of the Library Journal in which the Provincetown Library is mentioned.

 

Director’s Report

 

FY07 Budget:  Deb said that the meeting with the Board of Selectman to review the FY07 Budget is scheduled for Tuesday, January 24th.  She said the Town Manager has already reviewed and approved it.

2005 Town Annual Report:  Deb directed the Trustees’ attention to the 2005 Library Director’s Annual Report that she has written.  She thanked the Trustees and asked them to review it at their convenience.  Deb mentioned that the Town Clerk will be giving the Library a focus in the Annual Town Report.  Marcia thanked Paul Benatti for his input into the Town Annual Report.

Building Report:  Deb stated that the 1 year contract with Scanlan expires in February and she is eager to finalize who has responsibility for fixing the various items on the building punch list.  The most significant issues involve the windows and doors.  In addition, some caps on the sprinklers keep falling off and a few of the sprinkler pipes in the attic need to have their elevation adjusted.  The chimney cap, which was lost during the storm, needs to be replaced.  The architect said this shouldn’t happen.  Deb mentioned that Craig Gabri has recently rejoined Scanlan and has been assigned as the Project Manager.  She is pleased with this as Craig is a good communicator and has good follow-up.  Already Craig has ordered a new cap for the chimney.  CJ Noyes asked if anything will be done about the heat build-up that occurs in the Library in the summer.  Deb wants to try opening the roof hatch this summer to see if that helps.  Marcia mentioned that SUV screens are needed to protect the art work on the 2nd floor.

Rose Dorothea:  Deb said that the sails have been fire-proofed and returned.  She shared a quote with the group from Flyer’s Boat Shop for $2,500 to put the sails up.  The Trustees discussed this.  Mick suggested that a little research be done to see if the spars could be improved before raising the sails.  He is curious to see if a better display rig could be put on and the sails mounted on something that looks closer to what the spars would have been made of.  CJ added that they consider whether or not all the sails had to go up at once.  Deb cautioned that they shouldn’t delay too long since the sails shouldn’t stay folded up due to their recent fire-proofing treatment.  Mick thought that perhaps the Nautical Museum in Hyannis may be a resource.  Cathy Metzger offered to discuss the Nautical Museum as an option with her colleague at The Center for Coastal Studies.  Mick closed the discussion upon verifying that the group was interested in proceeding with doing more research about other options.

 

Tours/Events: Deb said that she was informed that insurance is needed for the Out at the Library Exhibit from the San Francisco Library scheduled to appear at the Provincetown Library from the end of May through the middle of June.  Deb investigated it and this supplemental insurance will cost only $25. 

Deb and Marcia were contacted by David Kaplan to see if the Library would be interested in participating in the Tennessee Williams Festival in Provincetown during the last week in September 2006.  Deb wants to reach out to the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum to see if they would like to collaborate.  One idea is to research mention of Tennessee Williams in the newly digitized past issues of the Advocate.

Nautilus Club:  Deb distributed and asked the Trustees to review and approve an agreement drafted by the Nautilus Club concerning the permanent loan of the Quilt hanging in the Library Quiet Reading Room.

MOTION:  Paul moved and CJ seconded the motion to accept the written agreement for the handling and care of the Quilt as proposed by the Nautilus Club.  The vote was 5-0 in favor.

Deb also mentioned that the Library had received a $200 grant for Literacy that was applied for by the Nautilus Club for the Library.

Digitization:  Deb announced that they will be “flipping the switch” on Friday, January 27, to go live on the website with the digitized issues of the Advocate.  As of Friday, patrons can access on the website digitized back issues of the Advocate for the years 1918, 1931-1934, and 1936-1967.

Personnel:  Deb announced that the internship of Agnes Imecs will be coming to an end and she will be returning to Romania.  Deb and Marcia acknowledged how talented Agnes is and are providing references for her as she applies to various Masters of Library Science programs in the U.S.  The Library Staff, Volunteers and Trustees are invited to a farewell party in Agnes’ honor which is scheduled for Friday, January 27 at 5:30 PM upstairs at Napi’s.

New Business:  There was none.

Other Business and Correspondence:  Marcia read aloud a letter from the Joint Committee for Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development thanking the Library Staff for the recent tour of the Library they were given. Marcia pointed out that the new Tourism Event Calendar in the Banner mentions the Library.

Marcia stated that the Exhibit and Displays Policy needs to be reviewed and integrated with the Community Special Events Policy.  She asked the Trustees to review these two policies and to be prepared to provide input at the next meeting.

Marcia informed the group that this past December’s circulation was at 4638.  This was the highest ever for a December.

Next Meeting:  The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 6, 2006 at 7:15 p.m. in the Library. 

Adjournment:  Cathy Metzger moved and CJ Noyes seconded the motion to close the meeting at 9:06pm.  The vote was 5-0 in favor. 

These minutes were approved by a vote of the Provincetown Library Board of Library Trustees members present at their meeting on _______February 6, 2006________________.

Respectfully submitted:

_________C J Noyes _____________                 _____Secretary________

Library Board of Library Trustees signature                           Title

Minutes prepared by Liz Angelino