Cambridge Public Library

Board of Library Trustees Minutes

A regular meeting of the Board of Library Trustees was held on Monday, October 2, 2000 in the Director’s Office of the Main Library. The following members of the Board of Library Trustees were present:

• Ms. Janet Axelrod
• Mr. Andre Mayer
• William Barry
• James Roosevelt
• Nancy Woods

also present:

• Susan Flannery, Director of Libraries
• Philecia Harris, Assistant Director
• Marilyn Gagalis, Administrative Assistant

Minutes of the September meeting were approved.

Correspondence was acknowledged.

Susan Flannery and Andre Mayer reported that they had been working on the strategic plan for the library during the past month and should have it prepared to present to the board in November.

Ms. Flannery also informed the Board that the City Council will dedicate their October 30, 2000 meeting entirely to discussing library site issues, specifically the report submitted by the firm of Pfeufer/Richardson of Cambridge. A notice about this meeting was placed in the Friends of the Library monthly newsletter. Bill Barry will speak for the Board of Trustees at this meeting and Nancy Woods will complete a timeline of the library expansion project for this City Council meeting and to publish in the Cambridge Chronicle.

Board members discussed at length the draft of the Trustees communications plan that was developed by Nancy Woods. It was unanimously decided that this plan should be immediately implemented to keep the citizens of Cambridge informed about the future of the library and the direction of the Board of Library Trustees. The Communications Plan will be discussed again next month after the board’s revisions are completed by Nancy Woods.

The plan consists of five divisions: Goals/Future State, Messages, Audiences, Strategy and Tactics. It was decided that this document will be updated on a regular basis to reflect any change in status or planning on the part of the Trustees. In addition, Ms. Flannery will arrange a meeting between the Board of Trustees and the Editor of the Cambridge Chronicle to alert him of their intent to keep the citizens of Cambridge well informed.

Susan Flannery updated Board members on the library’s participation in the City’s "Cambridge 2000" celebration. On December 7, 2000, all libraries will present poetry readings. The Valente Branch and the Central Square Branch will also project poetry onto the outside walls of their buildings. Following this, search lights from each library location will be displayed in the sky, converging over Cambridge.

Susan Flannery reported that she had met with the Friends of the Library and they were actively planning their Garden Tour for 2001. The date has been set as May 20, 2001.

There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m. The next meeting of the Board will be on Monday, November 6, 2000 at 6:30 p.m. in the Main Library.

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Andre Mayer, Secretary