The Town of Lincoln, MA - Library Trustees

Emily is stepping down as chair as of Dec. 16, 2003 meeting, due to family and other responsibilities, and will resign from the board as soon as we find her replacement. She wrote a letter saying this and thanking us all for the enriching opportunity to have been a trustee for the past 10 years.

Jenifer reported on Capital Planning Committee meetings of 11-5 and 11-12-03. Library’s request for window repair, blue stone terrace and chimney repair were all deferred until we get facilities review. Committee asked Barbara to recheck color of snow rails on front roof, but approved expenditure. Committee authorized Library to get quotes for full facilities review and to bring their choice of a contractor to the FinCom for a Reserve Fund Transfer to pay for study. Once study is done and it is clear what repairs need to be made, then Library can apply to Cap. Plan Com. for money (approx $100K will be set aside for this). The CPC wanted the trustees’ opinion on the possible new wireless access point in library. We discussed this and voted unanimously to accept wireless access point for wireless computer hookup.

There was a discussion as to what has been observed and what we should do given that it is late November and we don’t really know what the extend of non-visible problems there are. We decided we are happy for now with no big project after DPW leveled a couple of the blue stones. We will add it to facilities review list.

Marshall passed out the gift brochure he had redesigned, we made minor edits, and we decided not to send it out as a town mailing now as it was too close on the heels of vault brochure. We will make some for leaving on counter in library for now. Al suggested we ask Dan Watt, someone who helped Lexington Library fundraise, to January meeting. Someone also suggested we have celebration for student video interviews of people who moved to Lincoln in 1950s and make that a small fund raiser by selling videos.

b. Dept. of Conservation and Recreation Grant application. Jenifer and Mary Van Vleck from LLCT are working on this with help from Tom Gumbart (Conscom) and Barbara Myles. Will focus on native trees and plants, invasives and restoration ecology. Grant will provide books, video, speakers, etc. on these topics if we get it. Jenifer plans to send application in this week to state.

The library submitted a reserve fund transfer request to the Finance Committee in October to address three safety problems at the front entrance: (1) snow cascades off of the roof above the entrance and book drop areas and (2) the Gund chimney is leaking and creosote (a substance that can cause neurological disturbances) is oozing through the walls into the Children’s Room, and (3) the bluestone terrace is uneven and is a tripping hazard. This request was put on hold until the library wrote detailed specifications for the work to be performed and obtained a warranty for the work to be performed.

Using the information provided with price quotes from contractors, I wrote detailed specifications for (1) installing snow rails on the roof above the front entrance and book drop areas and (2) repairing the Gund chimney. Earl Midgley, Lincoln’s Building Inspector, reviewed these specifications and made suggestions for improvements on November 6. At the Capital Planning Committee on November 12, the snow rail installation was put on hold until more information is provided to the Finance Committee about the type of metal chosen for the snow rails. The metal chosen was red brass, which will match the library’s gutters. One of the Capital Planning Committee members, however, believes that the snow rails should match the color of the slate shingles on the roof. The repair to the Gund chimney was also put on hold because there is a concern that there could also be a flashing problem with the chimney that the contractor did not identify during the July water test of the chimney.

Although the library still does not have detailed specifications for the repair of the bluestone terrace, we have secured the services of Vinnie DeAmicis, the Superintendent of the Highway Department, to make temporary repairs to the uneven bluestones. His work will make the terrace safer until permanent repairs are made in the spring.

I will submit a revised reserve fund transfer request at the Capital Planning Committee’s November 19 meeting that will only include the snow rails. Colin Smith, Chairman of Lincoln’s Historic District Commission, has graciously agreed to write a letter to the Capital Planning Committee explaining that the architecturally correct color for the snow rails is red brass. The library is located in the historic district, which is why I requested Mr. Smith’s advice about the color of the snow rails.

On September 26 the library requested $15,000 to repair or replace library windows. The library had received a price quote of $3,800 in July to repair the windows in the Children’s Room turret and a carpenter identified many window problems in the Gund Building during his site visit on September 9. He later sent the library a price quote for $14,300 to repair the windows. Surprisingly, only $4,800 of this amount is to repair windows in the Preston building. Most of the Gund building windows are showing signs of wood rot. At the October 1 Friends of the Lincoln Library meeting, I learned about the Community Preservation Committee’s grant, which has a category for historic preservation. The grant proposals were due on October 14 and I filed a proposal requesting $18,100 to repair the library’s windows.

Colin Smith came to the library on November 1 to follow up about the library’s grant request to the Community Preservation Committee. Bob Bottino and I gave Mr. Smith a tour of the library’s windows. Mr. Smith also determined that the window problems were much greater in the Gund building than in the Preston building. He looked at the architectural plans and had some concerns about the flashing inside the windows.

I reported the extensive window damage to Emily Althausen and she recommended that I call Kathy Glick-Weil, who was the library director when the Gund addition was built, to find out if there is a warranty we can take advantage of. Ms. Glick-Weil told me on November 6 that there is no building warranty but that she knows someone who had Marvin windows and had to have them all replaced. She advised me to find out if the library’s windows are defective. I searched the Internet and found that there was a class action law suit against the Marvin Window Company for windows sold between 1985 and 1989 because of a defective wood preservative used during the manufacturing process. There was a settlement but it only provides a 33% discount of the cost of replacement windows. It does not cover the cost of removing the defective windows or installing the replacement windows.

After hearing this information and giving the Capital Planning Committee the spreadsheet of outstanding building projects, the committee reasserted the need for a full facility review of the library. They will not fund building repairs until after the facility review is completed. I am currently getting price quotes from three contractors for the facility review. The library will submit a reserve fund transfer request to the Finance Committee to pay for the facility review.

Chuck Miller, Lincoln’s Director of Management Information Systems, presented information technology related capital expenditures to the Capital Planning Committee for five new PCs to replace five Windows 98 PCs, a second-hand server from Town Offices, a firewall and access points for a wireless local area network (LAN). Last month I applied for and received a grant from Comcast to cover the entire cost of installing a cable modem and providing Internet access. A wireless LAN will make it possible for our patrons to use their own laptop computers to search the Internet at the library and download information directly to their laptops. As demand for Internet access increases, the library will not have to meet this demand with further investments in desktop PCs. Instead, the library can continue to provide eight public access PCs and some patrons will bring their own laptops to gain access to the Internet.

Comments about the new diagonal parking on Library Lane are 57% positive and 43% negative. Since mid-October, the comments are 64% positive and 36% negative. Patrons generally prefer diagonal parking over parallel parking but some patrons are concerned about the loss of parking spaces and the difficulty of seeing oncoming cars when backing out of the diagonal spaces.

Sixty-five patrons completed the Library Lane survey during October. The survey asked patrons for information about when they use the library, if they have difficulty finding a parking space, what they do if they do not find a parking space, how safe they find parallel parking compared to diagonal parking, if their cars were ever damaged on Library Lane, and provided room for comments. The worst time for finding a space to park is during events at the library or at the white church. Thirty-two percent reported that they have difficulty finding a parking space either very often or somewhat often. When patrons cannot find a space on Library Lane, 51% park elsewhere, 42% leave and try another time, 3.5% wait for a space, and 3.5% go home or to another library. Although, I am not a statistician, it is a big concern for me that 32% of these patrons are having difficulty finding parking and that 42% of them are leaving and trying another time. As library director, I do not want the lack of parking to interfere with providing library services to our patrons. I do not want that 32% to quit on the Lincoln Public Library!

Library Lane parking is still the top staff concern. There are times when patrons complain to staff they cannot find a parking place on Library Lane. Advising patrons to park on Bedford Road or Old Lexington Road does not make them happy. On a positive note, temporary lighting was installed on November 10 and has made it much easier for people to find their way along Library Lane.

The scope of the oral history project has grown since last month. When Jeanne Bracken and I described our project to Sarah Andrysiak, she told us that Mary Pappas is planning a similar project through the schools. (Mary Pappas was a producer with ABC News.) Amy Gavalis and Jane Flanders contacted Mary Pappas and discovered that she needs our help to make her project work. She has contacts in the schools and will teach an elective in the spring but needs materials from the vault and people for the students to interview and videotape. We met on November 2 for a brainstorming session. Ms. Pappas plans to have students work in teams of three students to create a documentary about Lincoln. A copy of this documentary will be put in the vault for future generations. The library will also have circulating copies of the documentary. As a result of this project, the students get the opportunity to work with a real television news producer and learn how to make a documentary, the library gets valuable information about Lincoln history that is currently lacking in the vault, and some of Lincoln’s residents get the opportunity to tell their stories. To celebrate the successful completion of this project, the library will host the premiere of this documentary in the spring.

Kudos go to Jeanne Bracken and Ellen Sisco for their seamless efforts to introduce Al Blanchard at his talk on October 22. Jeanne provided excellent research and a written introduction but due to family illnesses, she was not able to introduce Mr. Blanchard. Ellen delivered Jeanne’s introduction and the show went on as scheduled without a glitch. Mr. Blanchard is a Lincoln resident and a mystery writer. He read from his latest book and answered questions from aspiring authors.