The meeting was called to order by president John Landrigan at 7:34 PM. Present were Jane Darby, John Landrigan, and Vesta Smith, trustees, and Nanci Myers and Anne Ballam, librarians. John noted two discussion items not on the agenda: board development and fund-raising ideas. The minutes of the August 27 meeting were reviewed but not approved, lacking a quorum.
Building
Ken has rebuilt the front walk and has taken down the growth in the back yard. These were big jobs for which he should be properly acknowledged. Perhaps we will put up a sign in the foyer as we did to thank Mike Welch for this work on the floors. The new walkway has drawn considerable comment and praise. Russ Wilcox is continuing with the brickwork on the west façade. In addition, on his own initiative, he spent quite a bit of time helping Ken with the walkway and the brush clearing.
Meanwhile, Nanci reported a new issue. As a result of the water problems in the east vault room earlier in the year, water has seeped into the masonry in the first floor ceiling, and dust is falling into the children’s section. Russ Wilcox had a look and said that, while there is no pressing danger, this will continue to happen until the ceiling is redone. Nanci will talk with Russ about submitting a bid for this work.
Financial Report
John reviewed the financial report, noting that with the completion of the third quarter, he has added the column of percentages to show how we stand going into the final quarter of the year. Nanci and Anne asked about the book budget; they are slightly ahead of budget not greatly so. John will be preparing a draft of the 2013 budget for review at the November meeting. He asked that all trustees be thinking of ideas for new fund-raisers for the coming year.
Librarians’ Reports
Nanci reported that the adult side has been “super busy” this summer, and that she has signed up 24 new patrons since May. She notes that she is still in need of the shelves that she has discussed, and she has been moving books around in anticipation of new shelving. She will await Mike’s return to the area, since he thought he’d be able to assist there. The annual visit by the middle school students is scheduled for Friday, October 5. Anne reports that she had nine regular participants in the Summer Reading Program, plus some other occasionals. Thanks are especially owed to the Pike Store, which donated coupons for free individual pizzas.
Fundraising/Programming
Book Sale: the book sale took in $539 on the 22nd and about $50 has come in since; combined with some earlier book sale income, we have now exceeded our projected income in this area. Nanci reported one patron comment that the sale could have been better publicized. Publicity and other ideas for next year include: announcement on the town listserv; listing on the sign in front of the town offices; cross-promotion with the other libraries; offering ancillary events such as face-painting for kids; ask Alumni Hall about scheduling a concurrent event.
Event Space: Discussion of Nessa Flax’s offer to do a program led to a discussion of our lack of programming space. Now that the growth in the back yard has been cut down, there may be an opportunity to create a summer event space there, perhaps with benches, an awning that would stay up for the season, even a brick-paved area. Nanci is already in discussions with the prison work program about another project, and she will inquire about having the program help us create an event space out back.
Fall Events: John noted that the writing workshops will begin this Saturday (Oct 6), that the fall book discussion series will begin Oct 8, and that there will be another installment of the Book Club for Writers discussions on Oct 25.
New Business
NHLTA: John reported on the open discussion sponsored by the New Hampshire Library Trustees Association and hosted by the library in Warren.
Banned Books Week: Nanci noted that she has a display planned.
Board Development: The board identified three candidates to approach with the suggestion that they would start in January.
Mystery Date: Nanci described a new program she is considering, Mystery Date with a Book. Patrons are presented with a selection of books wrapped in plain paper and invited to borrow one to read.
Holidays: Nanci would like to hold a raffle for a holiday gift basket as a fund-raiser. It would be displayed some 3-4 weeks prior to the drawing, and would feature high value gifts. Nanci and Anne will develop a list and will seek suggestions from trustees; we will ask trustees to donate the items for the basket. Vesta reminded us that we need a permit from the town to conduct a raffle.
Adjournment
The next meeting will be held Monday, November 5.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Minutes of August 27, 2012
The meeting was called to order by president John Landrigan at 7:35 PM. Present were Landrigan, Mike Marshall, and Vesta Smith, trustees. The minutes of the August 6 meeting were reviewed but not approved, lacking a quorum.
Building
John noted that the brickwork on the west façade is now underway, and that Ken still intends to repair the front walk, but has not yet set a date.
Financial Report
John reviewed the financial report, noting that it does not reflect the August salaries for the librarians due to our early meeting date. He also noted the contributions received so far in response to the annual appeal.
Fundraising/Programming
Book Sale: the book sale is scheduled for Saturday, September 22. The trustees will visit the library as they have time available before the sale to work on sorting the books. We will again seek to borrow the Ed and Anne’s tent. Mike will check with the guy who took our left over books last year and see if he will do so again this year. Nanci has arranged to have the Currier brothers help move books on the day of the sale.
NHLTA: John mentioned the open discussion scheduled by the New Hampshire Library Trustees Association, which will be hosted by the library in Warren. He plans to attend.
Writing Workshop: John reviewed his revised plan to offer three half-day fiction writing workshops in the fall.
New Business
Tasco Alarm System: Mike reported his experience with the alarm system that brought out an emergency response team. John will consult Ed Ballam about the alarm. Banned Books Week: John noted as an FYI that Banned Books Week is coming up at the end of September. This is an annual program organized by the American Library Association.
Adjournment
The next meeting will be held Monday, October 1.
Building
John noted that the brickwork on the west façade is now underway, and that Ken still intends to repair the front walk, but has not yet set a date.
Financial Report
John reviewed the financial report, noting that it does not reflect the August salaries for the librarians due to our early meeting date. He also noted the contributions received so far in response to the annual appeal.
Fundraising/Programming
Book Sale: the book sale is scheduled for Saturday, September 22. The trustees will visit the library as they have time available before the sale to work on sorting the books. We will again seek to borrow the Ed and Anne’s tent. Mike will check with the guy who took our left over books last year and see if he will do so again this year. Nanci has arranged to have the Currier brothers help move books on the day of the sale.
NHLTA: John mentioned the open discussion scheduled by the New Hampshire Library Trustees Association, which will be hosted by the library in Warren. He plans to attend.
Writing Workshop: John reviewed his revised plan to offer three half-day fiction writing workshops in the fall.
New Business
Tasco Alarm System: Mike reported his experience with the alarm system that brought out an emergency response team. John will consult Ed Ballam about the alarm. Banned Books Week: John noted as an FYI that Banned Books Week is coming up at the end of September. This is an annual program organized by the American Library Association.
Adjournment
The next meeting will be held Monday, October 1.
Minutes of August 6, 2012
The meeting was called to order by president John Landrigan at 7:30 PM. Present were John Landrigan, Mike Marshall, Susan Lewis, and Vesta Smith, trustees. Susan Brown was also present to explain the Founders Day plans to the trustees.
250th Anniversary Celebration
Susan Brown explained the plans as they stand now for the Newbury/Haverhill 250th Anniversary Celebration taking place next year. There is a sponsors book that can be pre-purchased that will contain pictures of homes in the area. The book will be available November 1, 2012.
December 31, 2012 is the kick-off ball for the year-long celebration.
Founders Day will take place May 18, 2013. There will be activities in the Clifford Building from 10-12 in Woodsville, NH. At 2 pm the Charters will be read on the commons of both Newbury and Haverhill. There will be crafts and vendors set up at the commons, and if the library would like to do something the offer is there. At 3 pm the committee would like the school to plan a program about the town.
New Business
The Historical Society has requested the use of the library’s storage space until the work in Pearson Hall is complete. They will bring in a storage consultant who will help organize the space efficiently. The trustees voted to allow the Historical Society to use the vault. The trustees who are also members of the Historical Society abstained from voting. It was brought up that that the HLA is not responsible for damage due to fire, water, humidity, and theft.
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the June 4 meeting were approved as presented.
Donations
VHS tape donations were discussed. The condition of many of the tapes is poor and we are essentially just throwing them away. A discussion followed about whether we should discourage the donation of VHS tapes or if we should just take them and along with the other things people also donate. It was decided to leave it the way it is.
Progressive Dinner
The last word on the dinner was that it had been cancelled. We are awaiting final word on this.
Building
Russ Wilcox: has not come yet, was supposed to be here is July. Ken will call him.
Walkway: The bricks need to be lifted and new sand needs to be brought in. We can fill in where the puddle forms near the road. We can set up a day when Ken can do this with help from other trustees.
Backlot: Scrape top layer off -- should be done in either spring or fall.
Financial Reports
The bill for the roof repairs has been paid. The annual appeal has come in which brought in $2,000.
Fundraising/ Programming
John will be working on a Thank You Letter which will be sent shortly for the annual appeal. The Byrne Foundation matching funds grant that we were approved for last year were discussed and John said he would work on a letter to send out for that.
Nessa Flax, a local author wants to offer a program at the library. The trustees approved of this.
John is working on getting another writing workshop together this year.
There will be a fall book sale as well. A date to be determined with input from the librarians.
Correspondence
The trustees received a letter requesting information. The information requested was sent previously or will be shortly.
Adding Documents/Procedures to Website
A discussion about putting information on the HLA’s website followed. It was decided unanimously to put the HLA’s policies and procedures on the website but not the minutes from 2009.
Librarians’ Report
There was no librarians’ report as Anne was on vacation.
250th Anniversary Celebration
Susan Brown explained the plans as they stand now for the Newbury/Haverhill 250th Anniversary Celebration taking place next year. There is a sponsors book that can be pre-purchased that will contain pictures of homes in the area. The book will be available November 1, 2012.
December 31, 2012 is the kick-off ball for the year-long celebration.
Founders Day will take place May 18, 2013. There will be activities in the Clifford Building from 10-12 in Woodsville, NH. At 2 pm the Charters will be read on the commons of both Newbury and Haverhill. There will be crafts and vendors set up at the commons, and if the library would like to do something the offer is there. At 3 pm the committee would like the school to plan a program about the town.
New Business
The Historical Society has requested the use of the library’s storage space until the work in Pearson Hall is complete. They will bring in a storage consultant who will help organize the space efficiently. The trustees voted to allow the Historical Society to use the vault. The trustees who are also members of the Historical Society abstained from voting. It was brought up that that the HLA is not responsible for damage due to fire, water, humidity, and theft.
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the June 4 meeting were approved as presented.
Donations
VHS tape donations were discussed. The condition of many of the tapes is poor and we are essentially just throwing them away. A discussion followed about whether we should discourage the donation of VHS tapes or if we should just take them and along with the other things people also donate. It was decided to leave it the way it is.
Progressive Dinner
The last word on the dinner was that it had been cancelled. We are awaiting final word on this.
Building
Russ Wilcox: has not come yet, was supposed to be here is July. Ken will call him.
Walkway: The bricks need to be lifted and new sand needs to be brought in. We can fill in where the puddle forms near the road. We can set up a day when Ken can do this with help from other trustees.
Backlot: Scrape top layer off -- should be done in either spring or fall.
Financial Reports
The bill for the roof repairs has been paid. The annual appeal has come in which brought in $2,000.
Fundraising/ Programming
John will be working on a Thank You Letter which will be sent shortly for the annual appeal. The Byrne Foundation matching funds grant that we were approved for last year were discussed and John said he would work on a letter to send out for that.
Nessa Flax, a local author wants to offer a program at the library. The trustees approved of this.
John is working on getting another writing workshop together this year.
There will be a fall book sale as well. A date to be determined with input from the librarians.
Correspondence
The trustees received a letter requesting information. The information requested was sent previously or will be shortly.
Adding Documents/Procedures to Website
A discussion about putting information on the HLA’s website followed. It was decided unanimously to put the HLA’s policies and procedures on the website but not the minutes from 2009.
Librarians’ Report
There was no librarians’ report as Anne was on vacation.
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