2021-02-10 Minutes
Meeting of the Board of Trustees
Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Brockway Memorial Library Reference Room
The meeting called to order at 8:30 a.m. Present were Michelle Brown, Library Director, Kathleen Redmond,
President, Christine Gay, Vice President, Cheryl Gowing, Laura Farley, and John Camp, Secretary.
Public Comment: None
Presentation: None
Guests: None
1. Approval of the Minutes of the January meeting: Ms. Gay moved to approve the minutes; Ms.
Farley seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
2. Community Alliance Report: Ms. Gowing reported on the February Miami Shores Community
Alliance Meeting via Zoom and presented the report.
a. The focus of the Mayor’s Report is:
i. The Mayor’s Ball 2021 fundraising event in March will be entirely virtual. The theme of
the event is “Raise Up,” a week-long event designed to secure grant funding.
ii. Each member organization is asked to prepare a 59-second video answering the question
“What Has Being a Member of the MSCA Done for Your Organization?”
3. Financial Report:
a. Ms. Brown highlighted two changes to the report:
i. Because of the challenges posed by the Covid pandemic, the Library has had to add an
additional day of cleaning service, resulting in an increase from $800 to $900 per month.
ii. The report reflects a decrease for digital services as a result of the conversion from RB
Digital to Overdrive, resulting in a decrease in expenditure from $2,000 to $1,817.
b. Ms. Brown reported that Yoga on the Library Lawn, the first program for which the Library has
charged a fee, has been well-attended and been a success.
c. Ms. Brown reported that the Village has requested that all Departments submit their capital budget
requests for the next fiscal year(s). In connection with that, Ms. Brown will re-submit three items:
i. Conversion of the windows on the front façade of the building to impact-rated windows
ii. Refurbishment of the building’s front steps and portico
iii. New carpet
d. Ms. Gowing moved to accept the report, Ms. Farley seconded the motion, and it passed
unanimously.
2
4. Circulation Report: For the month of January, the Library circulated 2,317 items, and 206 holds were
placed. The total circulations were 269 fewer than the prior month. Total circulations for January were
2,424 fewer than January 2020. This discrepancy is accounted for by the fact of the Covid pandemic
generally and the Library’s Covid-related reduced schedule.
Because of the conversion from RB Digital to Overdrive, which was implemented on January 28, 2021,
digital magazine checkout numbers are to be determined. There were no searches on Ancestry. Because
of ongoing COVID restrictions, the Library continues not to have volunteers to archive materials. Thus,
there were no items digitally archived in January.
The Library added 123 adult items, 30 children/youth items, and 46 media items. 36 outdated books were
weeded from the collection, mostly adult biography and miscellaneous other titles. Staff repaired 117
items.
The Library added 14 patrons in January – 10 adult residents, 1 child resident, 1 adult resident, and 2 child
non-residents. The total patron count is currently 6,498.
5. Old Business: None
6. Other Items
a. Re-opening: The re-opening / Covid procedures currently in place are working well. There has
been a steady stream of patrons but never so many that the staff feels overwhelmed or
uncomfortable. The Library was open on Saturday for the first time since last year on the first
Saturday of February 2021, and it went well.
b. Parking: The parking spaces on the south side of the property do not currently have signage
informing drivers that the spaces are for Library patrons only. Those spaces are often occupied by
patrons of the businesses in the block south of the Library. Ms. Brown will re-visit the issue of
parking-restriction signage and report back.
c. Osher Lifelong Learning would like to re-start its relationship with the Library, albeit only
virtually at the present time.
d. One Day University: A proposal was made that the Library consider providing offerings through
One Day University, an organization that offers, as the name suggests, single session lectures by
college and university professors on a variety of subjects.
e. Library addition construction update: The construction fencing has been put in place, and Stobs
Brothers is beginning construction. The contractor estimates that the project will take five months
to complete. As an initial issue, the Library and Stobs Brothers have had to address the location
of the wheelchair-accessible ramp during construction. The first plan was to locate the ramp at
the south side of the building; however, the new addition will have handicap access that will also
serve as the emergency exit for wheelchair-bound patrons and guests. Thus, a temporary ramp
will be installed at the front entrance to accommodate visitors during construction.
Ms. Brown reported that all furniture and equipment for the new wing has been selected, although
concern was expressed over the timing of the delivery of those goods due to ongoing Covid-related
supply chain challenges.
3
f. Miami Shores Community Alliance Video: Ms. Brown reported that the Library staff is
preparing a presentation using puppets to describe everything the Library has been able to do for
children’s programming because of grant money it has received from the Alliance.
g. In-Person Events: The Library is exploring re-starting in-person events. Such events would be
only on weekday mornings, when there is less traffic in the Library, would require pre-registration,
and would be limited in the number of people who can attend.
7. Announcements:
a. National Library Week is April 4 – 10, 2021.
b. Virtual Village Kids’ Book Club: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein –
February 18, 3:30pm (registration required)
c. Virtual Brockway Reading Circle: Bad Blood by John Carreyrou – February 8, 7:00pm
d. Murder at the Library Virtual Book Club: One Day You’ll Burn by Joseph Schneider. This event
features the author and requires registration in advance.
e. The next scheduled Board meeting is Wednesday, March 10, 2021 at 8:30am.
8. Public Comment: None
9. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn made by Ms. Gay; seconded by Mr. Camp. Meeting was adjourned at
9:07am.
Respectfully submitted by John A. Camp, Secretary