Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library Board meeting highlights 6-18-12

JUNE 18, 2012

• Resident complaint
• Salary increases
• Barbara Trepal retires
• May Public Service Report highlights

Board member James Posch was absent.

Resident complaint

A resident came to the board meeting to ask, “What happened to our libraries?” Explaining that she had gone to the library needing to find a quiet half-hour to take a test, she said experienced noise from teens and children, including a crying baby, as well as from library staff. The man sitting next to her was eating pizza and french fries and was hostile when asked how long he planned to be there. She complained to a librarian but was told that the library is a “community center.” Told that she would find quiet in the basement, she went there to find it empty and underutilized. She commented that the eaters and children should be the ones in the basement, not those who come to find quiet. She said she considers use of the library space a moral and ethical issue. Both Board President Esther Moss and Director Nancy Levin acknowledged her comments. Levin indicated that the issue would be discussed and she would phone the resident with a reply.

Salary increases

The board approved a 3 percent wage increase for the majority of staff, who have not had an overall wage increase since the 1.5 percent increase granted in 2010 to restore the 3 percent salary rollback in 2009.

Barbara Trepal retires

Barbara Trepal, part-time children’s services associate at the Noble Neighborhood Library, will retire Aug. 1 after 10 years of service. The retirement resolution passed by the board mentioned her dedication and willingness to help other library staff in reference and circulation, as well as her expertise in planning programs.

May Public Service Report highlights:

• On May 14, Mark Bassett, scholar in residence at the Cleveland Institute of Art, gave a lecture on WPA ceramics from Noble and Oxford Elementary schools.
• Pat Gray, Coventry librarian, met with Suzanne DeGaetano of Mac’s Backs and Jane Kessler of Appletree Books to plan the Cedar-Coventry Author Series for fall 2012.
• Seventy-five kindergarteners from Roxboro Elementary took the fourth annual tour of Coventry Village Library. Librarians told stories and explained the role of the library.
• Noble Neighborhood Library began offering the afterschool snack program an extra day, increasing supply to 70 snacks.
• Noble Neighborhood Library will provide monthly book talks at the Senior Lunch Program at the Warrensville Community Apartments, a senior living facility.
• Michael Jerman, landscaper at Noble Neighborhood Library, met with the liaison to the Nepalese community to make plans for a vegetable garden at Noble that the Nepalese will help plant and maintain.
• At University Heights Library on the fourth Wednesday of each month, Jerry Sims, an RN from the Cleveland Clinic Community Wellness Program, does free blood pressure and weight screening.
• The Cleveland Museum of Natural History presented a program on dinosaurs at the University Heights Library.

LWV observer: Anne S. McFarland.

These meeting summaries are abstracted from LWV observers’ written reports. The summaries have been edited and prepared by Anne McFarland, Charlene Morse, and Maryann Barnes. To receive e-mail postings of full reports, send an e-mail to mbarnes9515@gmail.com or join through Google groups using “lwv-chuh observer reports” as a search phrase.

These reports contain member observation and selected highlights of public meetings and are not official statements of the Heights Chapter of the League of Women Voters Cuyahoga Area. This disclaimer must accompany any redistribution of these reports.