January 2009
| MINUTES OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES’ MEETING
January 14, 2009 | | Present: Alice Winn, Robert Dilts, Michele O’Brien, Lisa Perrault, Nora von Stange, Lee Ann Podruch, Kip Roberson | | The meeting was called to order at 4:03 p.m. | | Alice Winn moved to approve the minutes of the November 12, 2008 Trustees’ meeting and LeeAnn Podruch seconded the motion. The minutes were approved by vote of the Trustees. | | Lisa Perrault presented Treasurer’s reports for the periods ending December 31, 2008. She reported that the Trustees’ finances are in line with budgetary expectations and that there are no financial concerns at this time. | | Kip Roberson presented a summary of the budget through December 2008. | | He reported that gifts of appreciation were given to the Library’s volunteers, and that the holiday staff dinner was enjoyed by all. | | Circulation for December 2008 increased 24.2% over the same month last year, a statistic that is attributable in significant part to the larger selection of audio/visual materials that are available to patrons. | | The December programming event was the Holiday Stroll, during which 190 people stopped by the Library to decorate a holiday ornament. The Library kept its doors open beyond normal hours to enable visits during the Holiday Stroll. The Friends plan to form a committee dedicated to developing programming. Kip shared the ideas of a Scrabble night and a knitting night, which have been popular events at other libraries. | | Kip is working on submissions to establish the Library’s eligibility for the final Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Opportunity Online Hardware Grant Program, through which the Library may be eligible for new and replacement hardware, funding for tech support and training and participation in a national advocacy training program. | | The foundation will notify libraries in March of their eligibility to participate in the second step of the grant process. Grants are awarded in July 2009. | | The Friends have started to plan and make distributions of funds raised at the October book sale, and are soliciting ideas. Projects in the works include increased museum passes, a new book display rack for an ongoing book sale, a new signboard and themed backpacks for children to check out. | | The Northland Janitorial cleaning project has been invoiced, but not completed, and there will be follow-up prior to paying the final installment. The upholstery has yet to be cleaned. The total costs are being shared by the Library ($500), the Friends ($1,000) and the Trustees ($1,800). The capital project to replace the roof will be deferred to next year. | | The Trustees reviewed the Library’s submission for the Town Annual report. | | The Friends received $2,000 from the Forrest and Frances Lattner Foundation; the donation is dedicated to the needs of the children’s room. The Library also received a gift of the twenty volume Oxford Dictionary from Ruth Frothingham in memory of her husband, Bob. | | Kip, Bob Dilts, Michele O’Brien and Lisa Perrault met with the Selectboard to discuss the requested budget increases, particularly a request for $12,500 for an expansion study, as envisioned by the Library’s five year plan. Because the funds are | | not available at this time, the Trustees plan to present the same request in next year’s budget proposal. The Trustees discussed the idea of soliciting private funds to enable the study. They further discussed compiling a list of past donors who might be interested in contributing to that project and/or the building fund. Development of the building fund was also discussed. Dean Pierce and/or Paul Bohne will be asked to attend a Trustees’ meeting to discuss any applicable design and/or zoning regulations as well as the physical parameters available for expansion on or adjacent to the Library’s present building. It was recommended that Kip and a representative from the Trustees periodically attend a Select Board meeting. | | The newly formed Policy Committee, Kip, Michele O’Brien and Nora von Stange scheduled a meeting to begin review and revision of the Policy, beginning with the sections on behavior, the bulletin board and the conference room. It was noted that a matter of concern is the behavior of children who regularly spend after school hours at the Library. The Policy will be reviewed with that issue in mind, and it may be appropriate to contact the schools for assistance in communicating guidelines for appropriate library conduct to their students. | | Bob Dilts reminded the Trustees that there are and will be vacancies on the Board and that applications or letters of interest are considered in the month of March. | | Staff self evaluation forms will be reviewed at the next meeting. Alice Winn reminded the Trustees of a new evaluation form that Rob Geisler provided. It will be circulated and reviewed at the next meeting. | | Assessing progress with respect to the Long Range Plan and developing a new long range plan was discussed. | | Ideas for fundraising were discussed, including a presentation from chef Chris Kimball and a another Samuel de Champlain anniversary presentation. Nora von Stange, who attended the January Friends meeting, read a list of notes and ideas compiled by Cathy Townsend from her attendance at the ‘Friends, Fundraising and 501(C)(3) Midstate Regional Library meeting. | | The meeting adjourned at 5:05 p.m. |
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