Thursday, December 1, 2011

Minutes of November 7, 2011

The monthly meeting of the Haverhill Library Association was held at the library and called to order by Board of Trustees Chairman John Landrigan at 7:30 P.M. on November 7, 2011. Present were Trustees John Landrigan, Vesta Smith, Sue Lewis & Mike Marshall and Librarian Nanci Myers.

Minutes of the October 3, 2011 meeting were approved.

State Library Van: John presented a copy of a letter in support of continuation of funding for the Inter Library Loan van which he sent to the NH State Library on behalf of our board. Nanci showed copies of a petition signed by library patrons and a letter written by one patron which had also been forwarded.

Building: Russ Wilcox submitted a bill ($5,189.86) for work completed thus far on the east gable end and rear of the building; he will complete the west end next year. The letter for matching Byrne Foundation funds is still planned, but has not been sent yet. We still need to find a new contractor for the slate roof repair.

Financial Report: We received only $29.48 income (from ‘Earnings from Investments’) during October. Before the end of the year, we expect to receive significant further payments from the Town of Haverhill and the Mildred Page Bequest. Because not all of the work on the building planned for this year has been completed, we will not expend all the funds expected this year for that project and part of the $25,000 transferred from our investment portfolio remains available for use next year.

Librarian’s Report: Nanci did not have a report available but felt that attendance and circulation are down slightly. She reported CD’s and DVD’s are popular and we had a discussion of Kindle e-readers and titles, which our library does not have. Nancy said that Piermont Library does have Kindles and they are popular there.

Fund raising / Programming: Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre is scheduled for the next book discussion on November 14. John’s planned October essay writing workshop did not attract enough participants to go forward. Mary Emig has offered to volunteer the use of her home and supplies for a Tea which would benefit the library. If approved by Mary, we plan to hold this Tea on December 10. We discussed possible program activities to be held during the event such as book displays, book recommendations and perhaps live music by David Heintz’ band students.

New Business: John prepared a proposed Budget for 2012. After discussion, it was amended to increase from $14,000 to $15,000 the amount to be requested from the Town of Haverhill. John said he will prepare a presentation to the Select Board supporting this increase. Vesta moved, and Sue seconded, a motion to accept the amended budget. John submitted a calendar of meetings and events for next year. A planned discussion of Board development was deferred to the next meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 P.M. The next meeting will be held at the library at 7:30P.M. on December 5, 2011.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael Marshall

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Minutes of October 3, 2011

The October monthly meeting of the Haverhill Library Association was held at the library and called to order by Board of Trustees Chairman John Landrigan at 7:30 P.M. on October 3, 2011. Present were Trustees John Landrigan, Vesta Smith, Ken Frank, Jane Darby & Mike Marshall and Librarians Nanci Myers and Anne Ballam.

Minutes of the August 29, 2011 meeting were approved.

Building: Ken provided an update on building repairs. Russ Wilcox has worked on the east gable end of the building and is now working on re-pointing bricks on other parts of the building. Ken will check on when work on the west gable end will be done. Hayward Slate has neither signed a contract with the library nor taken any steps to begin work; Ken will seek another slate roof contractor. John told the board he learned that the North Haverhill Library has some slate left over from recent repairs that we may be able to obtain. John reports he is still pursuing the challenge in fund raising by the Byrne Foundation and will be sending out letters soon.

Financial Report: John provided financial statements for the end of September, noting that our fund raising is falling behind projections. He will look into the possibility of saving some money through a pre-buy of gas. A review of the 2012 budget will be held at the next monthly meeting.

Librarian’s Report: Nanci reported she had been extremely busy and that library use has increased over the last several months. She has found an Information Technology person who will look into problems with the library’s routers. Ken Frank will donate a refrigerator for use at the library; Mike will look into obtaining cups & lids for use with the new Keurig coffee machine. Nanci reports she knows someone who may be able to get author Chris Bohjalian to present a program at our library

Fundraising / Programming: The Fall Book Sale has earned almost $600, but that is still less than projected. Many books are left over; Mike will bring worthless books to the recycling center in Newbury and books in good condition (but which are not considered to have any value to our sale) to a book picker. The plight of the West Hartford, VT library suffering great losses in the recent floods was discussed and it was decided the Anne would look through our children’s books to see if there are any we might donate. The next book discussion will be on October 10 for Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. John still plans to start an essay writing workshop on October 11. The next installment of the Book Club for Writers will be held on October 27. Ken volunteered to donate two turkeys to be raffled; no action was taken on that for the present time. The possibility of the library sponsoring the Fall Festival next year was discussed and will be considered further. Although our fund raising efforts have not reached our goals for this year, it was agreed that there was not anything we could do this years

New Business: The board decided not to respond to a manuscript concerning the town’s libraries by Robert Fillion. Alumni Hall Director Keisha Luce approached the library with a proposal that Alumni Hall, the Haverhill Library Association and Haverhill Historical Society have a joint community program at Christmas. Vesta suggested the library could serve tea at Alumni Hall during some event and Jane suggested a guided historical walking tour of the neighborhood; no action was taken on these ideas. The board voted to send a letter to the State of NH in support of maintaining the State Library Van and Inter-Library Loan Program. Nanci reported she has obtained about 25 signatures on a petition to the State and some patrons have indicated to her that they will send personal letters.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 P.M. The next meeting will be held at the library at 7:30P.M. on November 7, 2011.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael Marshall

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Minutes of August 29, 2011

The September monthly meeting of the Haverhill Library Association was held at the library and called to order by Board of Trustees Chairman John Landrigan at 7:35 P.M. on August 29, 2011. This meeting was held one week earlier than normal due to September 5th being Labor Day. Present were Trustees John Landrigan, Vesta Smith, Sue Lewis, Jane Darby and Mike Marshall.

Minutes of the August 1, 2011 meeting were approved.

Written financial statements were not available, but John Landrigan reported that, as approved at the August 1 meeting, he had transferred $25,000 from our investments with Fidelity and had paid the first bill for the brick repair.

John Landrigan informed us that a written work by Robert Fillion about the town’s libraries has been received with information from Mr. Fillion that he intends to publish the work in about two months.

The Fall Book Sale will be held on September 10 this year. Phil and Kevin Currier have already helped to carry donated books upstairs and will help also on the day of the sale. Plans were made for sorting books and having personnel available the day of the sale.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:07 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael Marshall

Friday, July 1, 2011

Minutes of June 6, 2011

Haverhill Library Association
Minutes of June 6, 2011 meeting

The monthly meeting of the Haverhill Library Association was held at the library and called to order by Board of Trustees Chairman John Landrigan at 7:30 P.M. on June 6, 2011. Present were Trustees John Landrigan, Vesta Smith & Mike Marshall and Librarian Nanci Myers.

Minutes of the May 9, 2011 meeting were approved with the notation that the book discussion of Will in the World, How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare would be held on June 29, not 28. A discussion was held regarding the best way to answer a letter from Robert Fillion requesting research material.

Work has not yet started on repairs to our roof and gable ends and there was no new information offered about a cleanup day for the library’s grounds. John reported that he sent letters requesting funding for the building repairs to six foundations and received two replies. The Cogswell Benevolent Trust has requested more information and the Byrne Foundation sent us a check for $3,000 with an offer to give us $2,000 more if we can match it in fundraising. We discussed the possibility of making another appeal to our Annual Appeal list and also to area businesses in an attempt to raise these matching funds. Discussions of the proper way to acknowledge donors to such an appeal were held with the possibilities using the Library’s web page, FaceBook, newspaper ads and/or a sign in the library for that purpose. Even with more successful fundraising, it appears that the balance of funds to pay for the roof and brick repairs will have to be withdrawn from our investments.

John explained that a deposit of $240, received from the Annual Appeal, does not appear in the financial report; the actual total received from the Annual Appeal is $1,700, not $1,460, and therefore the Total Income figures for May and Year to Date are under-reported by $240. John noted that the report shows a large gap between income and expenditures, but that will close with the expected large payments still to be received from the Mildred Page Fund and Haverhill Corner Precinct.

John plans to man a book sale table at the Haverhill Congregational Church’s strawberry festival. A book discussion of Will in the World, How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare will be held on June 29 to mesh with Alumni Hall’s summer Shakespeare festival. The status of the Autumn Festival formerly sponsored by RSVP is still unknown and we will wait to see what happens before we attempt to make plans to hold another pig roast such as we did at last year’s festival. Looking ahead, the Board agreed to hold an Author’s Luncheon with Jane Cleland on April 15, 2015.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 P.M. The next monthly meeting will be 7:30 P.M. at the library on Monday, July 11, 2011, which is one week later than usual due to the Fourth of July holiday.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael Marshall

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Minutes of May 9, 2011

The monthly meeting of the Haverhill Library Association was held at the library and called to order by Board of Trustees Chairman John Landrigan at 7:30 P.M. on May 9, 2011. Present were Trustees John Landrigan, Vesta Smith, Sue Lewis, Ken Frank, Kathy Schiffman, Jane Darby & Mike Marshall and Librarian Anne Ballam.

As the first order of business, John welcomed new member Sue Lewis to the Board.

Minutes of the April 4, 2011 monthly meeting were approved.

John presented a draft copy of a grant letter and a list of prospective sources from which to obtain money for repair of the building’s bricks and roof. Ken discussed the availability of Russ Wilcox and Doug Hayward and a motion was passed to have Ken notify both to coordinate their efforts and proceed with the work. Ken noted the need for a cleanup day of the grounds and drainage work and estimated the cost of materials for such work to be less than $1,000; he will coordinate the date, materials and volunteer labor. Jane Darby will look into the status of plumbing issues.

John submitted financial reports and talked about income from the Writing Workshop, Mildred Page Bequest and Annual Appeal. John proffered a draft letter thanking those who donated to the Annual Appeal.

Anne Ballam presented a written Librarian’s Report dated May 9, 2011 which covered the first four months of 2011. Anne also provided a schedule for the 2011 Summer Reading Program, which will coordinate with a July and August Shakespeare program by Theatre Under the Stars next door at Alumni Hall.

Plans were finalized for the upcoming author luncheon. A book discussion of Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare will be held at the library on June 28 to coincide with Alumni Hall’s Shakespeare program. It has been learned that RSVP is looking for another group to take over sponsorship of the Autumn Festival; no action was taken and we will wait to see what happens and revisit the issue at next month’s meeting. The Board also took no action regarding library participation in the 250th Haverhill-Newbury Anniversary to be celebrated in 2012.

Under new business, John advised the group that the Haverhill Academy building was for sale, this in light of past interest for some to obtain it for library use. No action was taken.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 P.M. The next monthly meeting will be 7:30 P.M. at the library on Monday, June 6, 2011.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael Marshall

Friday, May 13, 2011

Minutes of April 4, 2011

The monthly meeting of the Haverhill Library Association was held at the library and called to order by Board of Trustees Chairman John Landrigan at 7:30 P.M. on April 4, 2011. Present were Trustees John Landrigan, Vesta Smith & Mike Marshall and Librarian Nanci Myers.

Minutes of the March 7, 2011 monthly meeting were approved.

Notice was taken that scaffolding with yellow tape has been placed to provide protection from the weakened brick structure on the Alumni Hall side of the building. John is still working on identifying prospective grant sources and applications for funding the needed brick and roof repairs. The members present thanked Mike for the donation and installation of stair treads. Hood Plumbing and Heating submitted a bill for a service call in response to slow draining of the toilet. However, Nanci reported that they did not do any repair work during that visit; their service man told her that the problem might improve with warm weather and the pipes needed replacing. Further discussions with Hood’s will be held to determine if their bill should be paid.

John presented a statement reflecting the Association’s finances at the end of the first quarter, noting we are in reasonable shape. Trustees John Landrigan, Vesta Smith and Jane Darby attended the Precinct of Haverhill Corner’s annual meeting in March and were successful in having the Precinct’s contribution to the library raised from $500 to $1,500. In light of the fundraising success of the March 12 supper-raffle-book sale, John offered up his thanks to all who participated.

There are no Board of Trustee recruitment developments.

John provided a rough draft of the New Hampshire Public Library Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2010. Nanci commented on the need for a thorough physical inventory to re-establish a base figure of our holdings and the members present agreed that should happen this year. Nanci also reports she is getting short on shelf space and has unsuccessfully been looking for a few shelf boards that were removed some time ago. Nanci will contact Grafton County Corrections for a status on the projects with which they have already agreed to help and see if they can also remedy the shelf issue.

The March 12 chicken pie supper was reviewed and possibilities for changing the date and menu were discussed. In anticipation of our Annual Appeal mailing, John will distribute a mailing list to be reviewed for corrections, additions and deletions and will have the letter prepared soon after that. A new edition of John’s six-week fiction writing workshop, with 4 or 5 people already signed up, will begin on Tuesday, April 12. A book discussion, on Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, will be held on Monday, April 18. The date of the author’s luncheon was set for Saturday, May 21 after John reported John Walter’s availability and willingness to appear that day. Possible library participation in the 2012 celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of Haverhill and Newbury was discussed.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 P.M. The next monthly meeting will be 7:30 P.M. at the library on Monday, May 9, 2011, which is one week later than usual due to schedule conflicts.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael Marshall

Friday, April 1, 2011

Minutes of March 7, 2011

Haverhill Library Association
Minutes of March 7, 2011 meeting

The monthly meeting of the Haverhill Library Association was held at the library and called to order by Board of Trustees Chairman John Landrigan at 7:30 P.M. on March 7, 2011. Present were Trustees John Landrigan, Kathy Schiffman, Ken Frank, Jane Darby & Mike Marshall and Librarian Anne Ballam.

Minutes of the February 3, 2011 monthly meeting were approved after two changes were made. Marcia Belyea, not Welch, will resume bookkeeping. The correct time of adjournment was 8:55 P.M.

John is still working on grant proposals to pay for brick stabilization on the gable ends of our building. Ken reported that he talked to Russ Wilcox, who told him he has inspected the building twice and it is in bad enough shape that he could not reinforce or stabilize it. Ken will erect barricades around the affected area until the weather improves and Russ Wilcox can safely remove the weakened sections.

Marcia Belyea has taken over bookkeeping duties and the librarians are now receiving stubs with their checks. Referring to the financial statement, John noted that a large portion of the high amount ($2,380.60) of the February payroll taxes paid was to bring tax year 2010 up to date.

There is nothing new to report regarding recruitment of new Board of Trustee members.

Hood’s Plumbing & Heating has not provided a promised estimate for drain repair work. Nanci will follow up when the weather gets warmer. Anne Ballam reported she is applying for a new library debit card. She also reported that snow falling from the roof is damaging the light beside the front door and suggested the light be moved. In preparation for a State Library report due in April, it is noted that numbers are down for children’s reading programs.

A book discussion, on Daisy Miller by Henry James, will be held on March 21, 2011. The next version of John Landrigan’s six-week fiction writing workshop is tentatively scheduled to begin on March 22. Because author Jane Cleland will be unable to attend our next author’s luncheon, a discussion of possible alternatives was held and it was decided that John would contact John Walters, an author and former NHPR radio host. John Landrigan will explore the possibility of Ernest Hebert appearing at a joint venture with Alumni Hall. Plans for the March 12 supper, book sale and basket raffle were finalized.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 P.M.

The next monthly meeting will be 7:00 P.M. at the library on Monday, April 4, 2011.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael Marshall