1. CALL TO ORDER

President Kippy Piedici called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. in the Bernards Township Library Lower Level Conference Room.

2. SUNSHINE LAW REMINDER

In accordance with the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Law of 1975, notice of the meeting was posted on the bulletin board in the Reception Hall of the Municipal Building, Collyer Lane, Basking Ridge and the Bernards Township Library Public Notices bulletin board; was mailed to The Bernardsville News, Bernardsville and the Courier News, Somerville; was filed with the Township Clerk; and was posted on both the Township’s website and the Library’s website.

3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

4. ROLL CALL

Present: John Carpenter [arrived 7:32], Mary Jane McNally, Tim Opremcak, Vivian Pagoulatos, Kippy Piedici, Zina Pozner, Santosh Subramanian, and Cynthia Yin

Absent:

Also Present: Ruth Lufkin

5. PUBLIC COMMENT

There was no public comment.

6. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

MOTION 18-19 was made by Tim Opremcak and seconded by Vivian Pagoulatos to approve the minutes of the April 25, 2018 meeting as written. With Santosh Subramanian abstaining, the motion passed unanimously.

7. PRESIDENT’S REPORT

· Kippy reminded Board members to pay attention to deadlines in the time-sensitive material she sent them at 12:35 yesterday, May 29, 2018.

· Kippy drew the Board’s attention to two Letters to the Editor in support of the Library that were published in the May 17, 2018 issue of The Bernardsville News. These letters, written by Kippy and Vivian Pagoulatos, are the first two of the Board’s letter writing campaign promoting the Library and its services.

8. DIRECTOR’S REPORT

· Ruth distributed a copy of “Library Card Perks: Free to You,” a flyer listing the benefits of having a library card, that the tax office will include in its next mailing to Township residents.

· MAIN successfully installed an upgrade to Polaris, the software that runs its catalog. This upgrade happened during the night, May 22-23, to minimize disruption to service.

9. COMMITTEE REPORTS

A. Treasurer/Finance—Vivian Pagoulatos

· Vivian reported that spending is on target.

· Janitorial services for the Township have been rebid and the new cost to the Library will be $33,000. Because this is a substantial increase over last year, the Library will need to shift some money to the appropriate budget line.

· The Finance Committee met to complete a reserve analysis. MOTION 18-20 was made by Santosh Subramanian and seconded by Cynthia Yin to adopt the Library Reserves and Capital Projects funds allocation changes for 2018-2019 proposed as of May 30, 2018. With a roll call vote, the motion passed 8-0-0.

B. Friends of the Library Liaison—

Kippy reported that the Friends Annual Fund Drive solicitation has been mailed; several people have reported receiving it.

C. Land and Building—Cynthia Yin

Cynthia reported that there is still slightly more noise in the Program Room than we had hoped. Jorge Casacuberta, the recently appointed Director of Public Works, visited the Library and heard the sound level. He may re-visit the Library, with a representative from the engineering firm that conducted the feasibility study, to see if any improvements can be made.

D. Legislation & Advocacy—Mary Jane McNally

· Mary Jane reported that Library Link NJ, the cooperative that provides delivery and other valuable services to all types of libraries in New Jersey, is in danger of being dissolved because of funding shortages. Within the next few weeks, the cooperative will hold a Virtual Town Hall and conduct the Annual Membership Meeting at which options will be discussed.

· Kippy reported that NJLA is still pursuing an increase in per capita state aid. Both Library Link and per capita state aid are struggling financially because of many consecutive years of flat library funding at both the state and federal levels.

· The State Library is still developing guidelines for the Library Construction Bond Act that was signed into law earlier this year.

E. Personnel—Mary Jane McNally

MOTION 18-21 was made by Zina Pozner and seconded by Tim Opremcak to adopt a resolution honoring Pegeen Mendizabal on the occasion of her retirement effective May 1, 2018. The motion passed unanimously.

MOTION 18-22 was made by Cynthia Yin and seconded by Santosh Subramanian to acknowledge the appointment of Karen Andriolo to the recently established position of full-time Senior Librarian – Emerging Technologies, effective May 21, 2018. The motion passed unanimously.

MOTION 18-23 was made by Cynthia Yin and seconded by Zina Pozner to acknowledge the appointment of Rachel Talbert full-time Librarian - Teen Services, effective June 18, 2018. The motion passed unanimously.

F. Policy—Zina Pozner

No report

G. Strategic Plan—

Ruth mentioned that she is waiting for a report from Anthony Iovino.

H. Technology—Tim Opremcak

No report

I. Township Committee Liaison—John Carpenter

John announced that Aileen Larkin Carr will be joining the Library Board in June to fill the remainder of the term left vacant by Scott Ross’ resignation.

10. OLD BUSINESS

· Vivian continued a discussion of the letter writing campaign to promote the Library in The Bernardsville News and other local news outlets. Zina volunteered to write a letter about summer reading and Santosh agreed to start the letter soliciting volunteers for a generator task force.

12. NEW BUSINESS

· MOTION 18-24 was made by Tim Opremcak and seconded by Vivian Pagoulatos to adopt a resolution thanking Victor Mendizabel for his significant contributions during the Phase II construction of the Library’s Space Reorganization project in 2016 and 2017. The motion passed unanimously.

· MOTION 18-25 was made by Zina Pozner and seconded by Cynthia Yin to spend $200 from Reserve Line 8-01-LI-R02-003 – Hull, Robert – Library Bequest for a Commemorative Tree in Victor’s honor to be planted on the Library grounds in Fall 2018 and recognized also by name on the plaque at Town Hall. With a roll call vote, the motion passed 8-0-0.

· Ruth told the Board that she will be away late June and Supervising Librarian – Children’s Services Ellen Ryan will represent Ruth at the next Board meeting.

· MOTION 18-26 was made by Vivian Pagoulatos and seconded by Santosh Subramanian to adjourn the meeting at 8:16 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.

· The next meeting of the Bernards Township Library Board of Trustees is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., June 27, 2018.