In attendance were Nina North-Murphy, President, presiding; John Dubinsky, Alison Ferring, Janet Rainford, Keith Savage, Thomas Schlafly, David Sweeney, and Vince Volpe.
Also present were Chief Executive Officer Waller McGuire and staff members Tiffany Davis, Cathy Heimberger, William Jackson, Stephanie Jones, Kathy Leitle, Mary Meyer, Joe Monahan, Angie Miraflor, Daisy Porter-Reynolds, Justin Struttmann, and Jen Wiese; Liz Reeves, Library Foundation; and Lisa Stump, Lashly & Baer.
The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Ms. North-Murphy.
Minutes:
Mr. Schlafly’s motion, seconded by Mr. Dubinsky, to approve the minutes of the July 6, 2020 meeting was approved.
President’s Report:
Ms. North-Murphy reported that a nominating committee has been appointed with Mr. Schlafly as chair and Mr. Savage and Mr. Sweeney as members. The committee will bring to the full Board a slate of officers and a vote will be held at the October meeting.
Ms. North-Murphy and Mr. Dubinsky have been in contact with some of their counterparts on the St. Louis County Library Board to talk about ways the two systems can cooperate.
Fiscal Affairs Committee:
Mr. Volpe gave a report of the fiscal affairs committee and the discussions of the current budget as well as prospects for next year’s budget. Mr. Jackson presented the Financial report. Mr. Struttmann discussed salary increases in the lower six bans of the pay scale to accommodate changes in Missouri’s minimum wage law. He also reported that the plan is to propose a conservative budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
Chief Executive Officer’s Report:
- Mr. McGuire reported that because of a technical issue, the recording of the July 6, 2020 Board Meeting was inaudible. Measures have been taken to make sure this does not happen again.
- Mr. McGuire read a paragraph from an article that appeared on the website of KQED, a northern California source connected with NPR and PBS. The article, “How Libraries Stretch Their Capabilities to Serve Kids During a Pandemic,” detailed what Libraries around the country were doing to continue summer programs during the pandemic. The article included information about SLPL’s conversion of summer camps from in-person to virtual and quoted Program Coordinator Jenny Song.
- Board Members and Mr. McGuire discussed ongoing efforts of the Library to help overcome the digital divide in St. Louis.
- Ms. Porter-Reynolds gave on overview of Library services currently in place. Most locations are open with limited services six hours a day, six days a week. Cabanne and Divoll are closed for building repairs. Operation Food Search is distributing meals to children at Carpenter, Central, and Julia Davis. Locations are distributing masks provided by the City of St. Louis and have given out 7,500 masks. Volunteer notaries from the Jewish Community Relations Council notarized 158 mail-in ballots for the August 4 election. Based on new studies of the longevity of the virus on Library materials, the quarantine time for returns increased from 72 hours to 96 hours.
- Board Members discussed concerns about some customers not wanting to wear masks as well as what age children should be required to wear them. Mr. McGuire has received a report on this topic from Lashly Baer and will send it to all Board Members.
- Ms. Wiese presented the HR report and stated that she is currently negotiating the medical benefits package for next year.
- Mr. McGuire stated that the Foundation report was in the Board packet.
- Mr. McGuire thanked staff for working hard during these trying times. Administration is closely watching the situation and adjusting as needed to both provide services to customers and to keep customers and staff safe. He will continue to update Board Members as needed.
Mr. Dubinsky’s motion, seconded by Ms. Ferring, to adjourn was approved.
The meeting ended at 6:26 p.m.
At the regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Public Library on August 3, 2020, the following actions were taken:
| Mr. Schlafly moved | that the Board approve the minutes of the July 6, 2020 meeting. MOTION APPROVED (In favor Mr. Dubinsky, Ms. Ferring, Ms. North-Murphy, Ms. Rainford, Mr. Savage, Mr. Schlafly, Mr. Sweeney, and Mr. Volpe.) |
| Mr. Dubinsky moved | that the meeting be adjourned. MOTION APPROVED (In favor Mr. Dubinsky, Ms. Ferring, Ms. North-Murphy, Ms. Rainford, Mr. Savage, Mr. Schlafly, Mr. Sweeney, and Mr. Volpe.) |
