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.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
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.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Minutes of June 4, 2012
The meeting was called to order by president John Landrigan at 7:30 PM. Present were Jane Darby, Landrigan, Mike Marshall, and Vesta Smith, trustees. The minutes of the May 7 meeting were approved as presented.
Old Business
SB214: John reported that the New Hampshire Senate concurred with the amended version of the bill that was passed by the House, and it was subsequently signed by the governor on May 29. Under the terms of the bill, it will now go into effect on July 28. Mike suggested that a copy of the final bill should be provided to the librarians for reference.
Building
Roof work: John reported that the initial payment has been made on the repairs to the slate roof, and that the company has projected a start date of early June. It appears that it will not be possible to re-use the slate from another job as the company had at one time hoped.
Property Map: At the May meeting, John had promised to ask Jim Alexander for a copy of a property map for Haverhill Corner, and John now reported that Jim had supplied this map and John has shared it with Ken. The map was wanted in connection with Ken’s plan of removing the brush behind the library with his grading equipment; the concern was whether there is anything just under the surface that might be damaged. Unfortunately, though the map shows the property line clearly, it does not seem to indicate what might be buried.
Financial Report
John noted that the May financial report indicates that we are currently about $10K behind for the year, as compared to about $5K behind at this time last year. The two primary reasons for this difference are: 1) the annual appeal has not yet been sent and the resulting income therefore not yet received; 2) this figure includes the substantial down payment for the roof work, though in fact that will be covered by the special building funds carried over from last year. The library regularly shows an operating deficit in May because we do not receive the second quarterly payments from the town and the Mildred Page Fund until June. The contribution from the Haverhill Corner Precinct, however, has been received. Although our finances are in keeping with previous years, John reminded the board that we are still looking at a difficult year since the contributions from both the town and the precinct will be less than projected.
Librarians’ Report
The librarians sent word that they will provide a two-month report at the next meeting.
Fundraising/Programming
Annual Appeal: John noted that he has failed to get the appeal mailing done on its usual schedule this year, but he arrived at the meeting with the elements completed, and the trustees present prepared the mailing during the course of the meeting.
General Fitz John Porter Program: The trustees had previously agreed to co-sponsor this program with the Haverhill Historical Society, since it is based on a book and will include a booksigning, and John announced that it is now scheduled for Thursday, June 14. Our co-sponsorship primarily involves helping to publicize the event, and to this end, John has announced it in the appeal letter and will put it on the library’s web site.
Shakespeare Discussion: John announced that he will hold a discussion of “The Taming of the Shrew” a week before the first performance at Alumni Hall by the Shakespeare Under the Stars troupe. The trustees expressed pleasure at the opportunity to support our neighbor organization in a small way.
Strawberry Festival: The trustees had previously agreed that the library would once again participate in the church’s annual Strawberry Festival, and John reminded everyone that it will be held on June 30.
Writing Workshops: Driven by the need to write the appeal letter, John has set dates for three half-day fiction writing workshops to be held in late July and early August. These will be fund-raisers for the library, and will experiment with a new format, compared to the six-week workshops we have run in the past.
Fall Festival: At one point, the trustees had considered the possibility of assuming responsibility for the Autumn Festival, in order to create an opportunity for another pig roast or some other fund-raiser. No progress had been made on this, however, and John felt it was time to close the loop on the discussion. The board decided that, at this point, it is not feasible to assume responsibility for this event.
New Business
Haverhill Historical Society Request: The Historical Society has requested permission to hold the dessert portion of its annual Progressive Dinner at the library. The plan for the dinner is to focus on former Grafton County buildings in Haverhill Corner, including the former jail, the courthouse (Alumni Hall), and the records office (the library). The dinner is tentatively scheduled for October 27. The board agreed to grant permission to use the library, but expressed concerns involving capacity/crowding, seating, and access to the second floor. John was directed to share these concerns with the Society.
The meeting concluded with the completion of work on the annual appeal mailing.
Old Business
SB214: John reported that the New Hampshire Senate concurred with the amended version of the bill that was passed by the House, and it was subsequently signed by the governor on May 29. Under the terms of the bill, it will now go into effect on July 28. Mike suggested that a copy of the final bill should be provided to the librarians for reference.
Building
Roof work: John reported that the initial payment has been made on the repairs to the slate roof, and that the company has projected a start date of early June. It appears that it will not be possible to re-use the slate from another job as the company had at one time hoped.
Property Map: At the May meeting, John had promised to ask Jim Alexander for a copy of a property map for Haverhill Corner, and John now reported that Jim had supplied this map and John has shared it with Ken. The map was wanted in connection with Ken’s plan of removing the brush behind the library with his grading equipment; the concern was whether there is anything just under the surface that might be damaged. Unfortunately, though the map shows the property line clearly, it does not seem to indicate what might be buried.
Financial Report
John noted that the May financial report indicates that we are currently about $10K behind for the year, as compared to about $5K behind at this time last year. The two primary reasons for this difference are: 1) the annual appeal has not yet been sent and the resulting income therefore not yet received; 2) this figure includes the substantial down payment for the roof work, though in fact that will be covered by the special building funds carried over from last year. The library regularly shows an operating deficit in May because we do not receive the second quarterly payments from the town and the Mildred Page Fund until June. The contribution from the Haverhill Corner Precinct, however, has been received. Although our finances are in keeping with previous years, John reminded the board that we are still looking at a difficult year since the contributions from both the town and the precinct will be less than projected.
Librarians’ Report
The librarians sent word that they will provide a two-month report at the next meeting.
Fundraising/Programming
Annual Appeal: John noted that he has failed to get the appeal mailing done on its usual schedule this year, but he arrived at the meeting with the elements completed, and the trustees present prepared the mailing during the course of the meeting.
General Fitz John Porter Program: The trustees had previously agreed to co-sponsor this program with the Haverhill Historical Society, since it is based on a book and will include a booksigning, and John announced that it is now scheduled for Thursday, June 14. Our co-sponsorship primarily involves helping to publicize the event, and to this end, John has announced it in the appeal letter and will put it on the library’s web site.
Shakespeare Discussion: John announced that he will hold a discussion of “The Taming of the Shrew” a week before the first performance at Alumni Hall by the Shakespeare Under the Stars troupe. The trustees expressed pleasure at the opportunity to support our neighbor organization in a small way.
Strawberry Festival: The trustees had previously agreed that the library would once again participate in the church’s annual Strawberry Festival, and John reminded everyone that it will be held on June 30.
Writing Workshops: Driven by the need to write the appeal letter, John has set dates for three half-day fiction writing workshops to be held in late July and early August. These will be fund-raisers for the library, and will experiment with a new format, compared to the six-week workshops we have run in the past.
Fall Festival: At one point, the trustees had considered the possibility of assuming responsibility for the Autumn Festival, in order to create an opportunity for another pig roast or some other fund-raiser. No progress had been made on this, however, and John felt it was time to close the loop on the discussion. The board decided that, at this point, it is not feasible to assume responsibility for this event.
New Business
Haverhill Historical Society Request: The Historical Society has requested permission to hold the dessert portion of its annual Progressive Dinner at the library. The plan for the dinner is to focus on former Grafton County buildings in Haverhill Corner, including the former jail, the courthouse (Alumni Hall), and the records office (the library). The dinner is tentatively scheduled for October 27. The board agreed to grant permission to use the library, but expressed concerns involving capacity/crowding, seating, and access to the second floor. John was directed to share these concerns with the Society.
The meeting concluded with the completion of work on the annual appeal mailing.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Minutes of May 7, 2012
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 7:35 P.M. on May 7, 2012. Present were Trustees John Landrigan, Vesta Smith, Susan Lewis, Mike Marshall, Ken Frank and Jane Darby.
Minutes of the March 5th and April 2nd monthly meeting were approved.
SB 214 Report: Amended version passed the house. There was no word when the senate will take up the legislation. John will keep looking at the state website to see the progress. The lawyer fee for the consultation was $100.
Records Management Policy: The policy reflects what is currently being done. Policy was approved by the board.
Building: Weather Check is the company doing the roof. They will be beginning work soon. There is a possibility of using slate from another job they are doing. That would reduce our cost. The brick work needs to be finished on the other end of the library building. We will be calling him to see when that work will be finished. The mess in the back of the library will be cleaned up. Ken has offered to scrape the weeds off and spread some seed in back of the building. The location of the property line was discussed and it was decided to ask Jim Alexander if he knew exactly where it is located. The condition of the front walkway was discussed. Ken said it would take a day to tear p the brick and lay down a new walkway that is flat and safer for the patrons. There will be an email asking for volunteer help when he is ready to do the work.
Financial Report: The town income came in. There were 2 unbudgeted items that were paid. One was the update to the Intuit Software and Lawyer fees.
Librarian Report: A young man has inquired about the job. It was decided to award him the mowing job as the other person who mowed last year has not asked about it. Charter has offered to carry both phone and internet. We will compare prices and service to see if it is worth it. $150 has been donated to purchase a table for the children’s side of the library. Nanci and Anne are researching to find a table that would be suitable for our unique space. The rest of the cost would need to be raised through fundraising. Volunteer efforts were noted. Vesta will send a Thank-You note to Carolyn Danielson for weeding the flower beds.
Fundraising/ Programming: Dave Major gave a 40% discount for books purchased at the Jane Cleland author tea. There will be an all day writing workshop program this summer.
Annual Appeal Mailing: John will forward the list. Look at list to find people who should be on list actually are. We send this out soon.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:27 P.M. The next regular meeting will be held at the library at 7:30 P.M. on June 4, 2012.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Lewis
Minutes of the March 5th and April 2nd monthly meeting were approved.
SB 214 Report: Amended version passed the house. There was no word when the senate will take up the legislation. John will keep looking at the state website to see the progress. The lawyer fee for the consultation was $100.
Records Management Policy: The policy reflects what is currently being done. Policy was approved by the board.
Building: Weather Check is the company doing the roof. They will be beginning work soon. There is a possibility of using slate from another job they are doing. That would reduce our cost. The brick work needs to be finished on the other end of the library building. We will be calling him to see when that work will be finished. The mess in the back of the library will be cleaned up. Ken has offered to scrape the weeds off and spread some seed in back of the building. The location of the property line was discussed and it was decided to ask Jim Alexander if he knew exactly where it is located. The condition of the front walkway was discussed. Ken said it would take a day to tear p the brick and lay down a new walkway that is flat and safer for the patrons. There will be an email asking for volunteer help when he is ready to do the work.
Financial Report: The town income came in. There were 2 unbudgeted items that were paid. One was the update to the Intuit Software and Lawyer fees.
Librarian Report: A young man has inquired about the job. It was decided to award him the mowing job as the other person who mowed last year has not asked about it. Charter has offered to carry both phone and internet. We will compare prices and service to see if it is worth it. $150 has been donated to purchase a table for the children’s side of the library. Nanci and Anne are researching to find a table that would be suitable for our unique space. The rest of the cost would need to be raised through fundraising. Volunteer efforts were noted. Vesta will send a Thank-You note to Carolyn Danielson for weeding the flower beds.
Fundraising/ Programming: Dave Major gave a 40% discount for books purchased at the Jane Cleland author tea. There will be an all day writing workshop program this summer.
Annual Appeal Mailing: John will forward the list. Look at list to find people who should be on list actually are. We send this out soon.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:27 P.M. The next regular meeting will be held at the library at 7:30 P.M. on June 4, 2012.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Lewis
Minutes of April 2, 2012
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 2, 2012. Present were Trustees John Landrigan, Vesta Smith and Susan Lewis.
Minutes of the March 5, 2012 monthly meeting were not approved due to a quorum not being present.
SB 214 Report: There is a working session on the bill being held April 3. Voting will probably take place on the amended bill at this time. John will follow the process online and will report via email what happens. As soon as we know what is happening we will inform other local libraries.
Records Management Policy: The policy reflects what is currently being done. We will discuss this again when more trustees are available.
Building: Slate from North Haverhill are not usable as they are the wrong color. We will need to purchase slate. Work will begin when we are able to be fit into the contractors calendar.
Financial Report: John presented financial statements from March. The income from town and precinct was down from what we budgeted. The income reflected the chicken biscuit supper and book sale. Next month we will need to pay 40% of the estimate for the roof work.
Author Tea: Jane Cleland will be here Sunday April 15th. Susan Brown has offered to host the tea or to have it at the parish hall as previously planned. We will charge $10 a ticket. Like the chicken dinner it was decided that the trustees will provide the food. This will be coordinated through email. John will contact Dave Major to have some books on hand for people to purchase.
Annual Appeal Mailing: John will forward the list. Look at list to find people who should be on list actually are. We will try to send this out in April.
Book Discussions: Great Expectations will be held Monday April 16.
Librarians Report: Currently we have no Jane Cleland books in the library. The printer is not working properly. Nanci will talk to Mike about getting it repaired. The annual report is due to the state by the end of the week. The librarians will get it to John so he can add some information and send it to the sate.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 P.M. The next regular meeting will be help at the library at 7:30 P.M. on May 7, 2012.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Lewis
Minutes of the March 5, 2012 monthly meeting were not approved due to a quorum not being present.
SB 214 Report: There is a working session on the bill being held April 3. Voting will probably take place on the amended bill at this time. John will follow the process online and will report via email what happens. As soon as we know what is happening we will inform other local libraries.
Records Management Policy: The policy reflects what is currently being done. We will discuss this again when more trustees are available.
Building: Slate from North Haverhill are not usable as they are the wrong color. We will need to purchase slate. Work will begin when we are able to be fit into the contractors calendar.
Financial Report: John presented financial statements from March. The income from town and precinct was down from what we budgeted. The income reflected the chicken biscuit supper and book sale. Next month we will need to pay 40% of the estimate for the roof work.
Author Tea: Jane Cleland will be here Sunday April 15th. Susan Brown has offered to host the tea or to have it at the parish hall as previously planned. We will charge $10 a ticket. Like the chicken dinner it was decided that the trustees will provide the food. This will be coordinated through email. John will contact Dave Major to have some books on hand for people to purchase.
Annual Appeal Mailing: John will forward the list. Look at list to find people who should be on list actually are. We will try to send this out in April.
Book Discussions: Great Expectations will be held Monday April 16.
Librarians Report: Currently we have no Jane Cleland books in the library. The printer is not working properly. Nanci will talk to Mike about getting it repaired. The annual report is due to the state by the end of the week. The librarians will get it to John so he can add some information and send it to the sate.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 P.M. The next regular meeting will be help at the library at 7:30 P.M. on May 7, 2012.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Lewis
Minutes of March 5, 2012
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 5, 2012. Present were Trustees John Landrigan, Vesta Smith, Ken Frank & Mike Marshall and Librarians Nanci Myers & Anne Ballam.
Minutes of the January 2, 2012 & February 7, 2012 monthly meetings and January 16, 2012 Annual Meeting were approved with corrections.
Removal of books from vault room: John reported he has started moving books out of the second floor east end vault room because of the presence of the boiler in that room. During his cleanup, he found stacks of old minutes that he is organizing for storage.
Roofing Contractor: Ken presented a contract proposed by Michael Mayo of WeatherCheck LLC for repairs to the library’s slate roof. Ken explained the price is more that obtained from another contractor last year who failed to follow through, but it includes more work. Ken has received good recommendations of WeatherCheck and feels their price is reasonable for the scope of work contemplated. Mike moved and Vesta seconded that we accept the offer. In discussion, John requested that the contract be corrected to indicate it was with the Haverhill Library Association and not the Town of Haverhill. The motion passed with the understanding the correction would be requested.
Financial Report: John presented financial statements for February. John has paid the outstanding bill to Hood’s Plumbing and included a letter indicating our dissatisfaction with their work. John has learned that the Haverhill Precinct Commissioners have recommended lowering the precinct’s contribution to the library this year from $1,500 to $1,000.
Librarians’ Report: Nanci submitted a Librarians’ Report. Nanci discussed the need for a kidney shaped table for the children’s room. Nanci has been communicating with North Haverhill’s Patten Library and reports they would like us to take their left-over slate tiles soon if we want them; Ken will contact North Haverhill. Nanci noted that the library’s computers have been having difficulties with Internet Explorer and email programs. The copier is making copies with black streaks; Mike will bring it to Ross’s Business Machines for repair. Nanci noted some parking difficulties with attendees of an exercise class held at Alumni Hall and talked directly with the instructor to remedy the situation.
Haverhill Historical Society: John reported that the Haverhill Historical Society intends to hire an intern during the summer to work on cataloging HHS holdings currently being stored in our library’s vault. The HHS has also proposed that we cosponsor a program in June of this year on a book by Kim Alexander and her husband about the diaries of Civil War General Fitz John Porter and a program during next year’s 250th Newbury-Haverhill Anniversary on Frances Parkinson Keyes.
Records Management Policy: John provided the board with a copy of a proposed “HLA Policy on Document and Records Management.” Discussion of this policy was tabled until next month’s meeting.
Proposed Right-to-know Law concerning public libraries: John received consensus of support from the board for a draft email proposed to be sent to members of the State of New Hampshire House Judiciary Committee outlining the concerns of the HLA concerning SB 214.
HLA Book Sale at Strawberry Festival: The board agreed that the HLA would have a book sale table set up during the annual Strawberry Festival sponsored by the First Congregational Church of Haverhill on June 16.
Fund raising / Programming: The board finalized plans for the March 10 Chicken & Biscuit Supper. The next Winter Book Discussion will be on Dickens’ Bleak House on March 19.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 P.M. The next regular meeting will be held at the library at 7:30 P.M. on April 2, 2012.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Marshall
Minutes of the January 2, 2012 & February 7, 2012 monthly meetings and January 16, 2012 Annual Meeting were approved with corrections.
Removal of books from vault room: John reported he has started moving books out of the second floor east end vault room because of the presence of the boiler in that room. During his cleanup, he found stacks of old minutes that he is organizing for storage.
Roofing Contractor: Ken presented a contract proposed by Michael Mayo of WeatherCheck LLC for repairs to the library’s slate roof. Ken explained the price is more that obtained from another contractor last year who failed to follow through, but it includes more work. Ken has received good recommendations of WeatherCheck and feels their price is reasonable for the scope of work contemplated. Mike moved and Vesta seconded that we accept the offer. In discussion, John requested that the contract be corrected to indicate it was with the Haverhill Library Association and not the Town of Haverhill. The motion passed with the understanding the correction would be requested.
Financial Report: John presented financial statements for February. John has paid the outstanding bill to Hood’s Plumbing and included a letter indicating our dissatisfaction with their work. John has learned that the Haverhill Precinct Commissioners have recommended lowering the precinct’s contribution to the library this year from $1,500 to $1,000.
Librarians’ Report: Nanci submitted a Librarians’ Report. Nanci discussed the need for a kidney shaped table for the children’s room. Nanci has been communicating with North Haverhill’s Patten Library and reports they would like us to take their left-over slate tiles soon if we want them; Ken will contact North Haverhill. Nanci noted that the library’s computers have been having difficulties with Internet Explorer and email programs. The copier is making copies with black streaks; Mike will bring it to Ross’s Business Machines for repair. Nanci noted some parking difficulties with attendees of an exercise class held at Alumni Hall and talked directly with the instructor to remedy the situation.
Haverhill Historical Society: John reported that the Haverhill Historical Society intends to hire an intern during the summer to work on cataloging HHS holdings currently being stored in our library’s vault. The HHS has also proposed that we cosponsor a program in June of this year on a book by Kim Alexander and her husband about the diaries of Civil War General Fitz John Porter and a program during next year’s 250th Newbury-Haverhill Anniversary on Frances Parkinson Keyes.
Records Management Policy: John provided the board with a copy of a proposed “HLA Policy on Document and Records Management.” Discussion of this policy was tabled until next month’s meeting.
Proposed Right-to-know Law concerning public libraries: John received consensus of support from the board for a draft email proposed to be sent to members of the State of New Hampshire House Judiciary Committee outlining the concerns of the HLA concerning SB 214.
HLA Book Sale at Strawberry Festival: The board agreed that the HLA would have a book sale table set up during the annual Strawberry Festival sponsored by the First Congregational Church of Haverhill on June 16.
Fund raising / Programming: The board finalized plans for the March 10 Chicken & Biscuit Supper. The next Winter Book Discussion will be on Dickens’ Bleak House on March 19.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 P.M. The next regular meeting will be held at the library at 7:30 P.M. on April 2, 2012.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Marshall
Minutes of February 7, 2012
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 7:00 P.M. on February 7, 2012. Present were Trustees John Landrigan, Mike Marshall and Susan Lewis.
We took a tour of the vault room to see how many books needed to be moved and see the work that was done on the boiler.
Minutes of the January 2, 2012 and January 16, 2012 meetings were reviewed. As there wasn’t a quorum a vote could not take place.
NH Library Trustee Association: We currently have memberships for 2 of our trustees. Each membership costs $10.00 per year. In the past we have utilized the NHLTA to help find a lawyer for our lawsuit. More recently we have utilized the NHLTA for guidance in responding the ILL van issue. Currently John is one of the members. Mike Marshall will be the second member.
Alumni Hall and Parking Issues: The issue of storing the “Library Parking” signs was discussed. John has spoken to Keisha about making the group using Alumni Hall for an event during library hours responsible for putting out the signs. It was decided to leave the signs folded in the library and become more aware of upcoming events at Alumni Hall. Keisha also brought up the idea of a small parking lot that could be shared by Alumni Hall and the library; the idea was shelved due to concerns about location and cost.
Boiler Switch Problem: Mike will look into getting a cover for the emergency shut off for the boiler. It was noted that it is next to a light switch so it might accidentally get shut off. There are covers that can be placed over the switch so this doesn’t happen.
Building: Ken met with Gerand A Leone Slate Roofing Company. They looked at the library roof.
Financial Report: The month of January has no income only expenses. The propane bill was paid so the issue of the emergency switch being triggered due to lack of propane was dismissed. The idea of prebuying propane was discussed as an option for next year in an effort to save money. John will check on that this fall. The town of Haverhill budget advisory committee met and it will recommend that the libraries receive level funding.
Hood’s Bill: Hoods Plumbing and Heating are pressing for payment of the outstanding bill. It was decided that we would pay the bill and enclose a letter explaining that we were disappointed with the service we received.
Chicken and Biscuit Supper: Ted Shiffman is unable to cook for us. He recommended that the trustees do it themselves. After discussion it was decided that we could indeed do this. We will be looking for help from former trustees and other community members. John will look at the numbers from last year to see how much we need to purchase. We can cook the main dish on site and bring salads, drinks and desserts. We will plan this event via email. There will also be a book sale during the supper.
Winter Book Discussion Series: The day of the meeting was noted to be the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ birth. The remaining books and dates are David Copperfield 2/20 Bleak House 3/19 Great Expectations 4/16
Removal of Books from Vault Room: There was a discussion about the best way to go about moving books from their current location with the boiler and water pipes to the other vault room. The trustees will clean and prep the west vault room for the incoming books and begin moving them.
Fire Alarm: The HLA currently pays $500 per year to TASCO for the fire alarm service. It currently is not working properly. We need to fix this service.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 P.M. the next meeting will be March 5, 2012 at 7:30 P.M.
We took a tour of the vault room to see how many books needed to be moved and see the work that was done on the boiler.
Minutes of the January 2, 2012 and January 16, 2012 meetings were reviewed. As there wasn’t a quorum a vote could not take place.
NH Library Trustee Association: We currently have memberships for 2 of our trustees. Each membership costs $10.00 per year. In the past we have utilized the NHLTA to help find a lawyer for our lawsuit. More recently we have utilized the NHLTA for guidance in responding the ILL van issue. Currently John is one of the members. Mike Marshall will be the second member.
Alumni Hall and Parking Issues: The issue of storing the “Library Parking” signs was discussed. John has spoken to Keisha about making the group using Alumni Hall for an event during library hours responsible for putting out the signs. It was decided to leave the signs folded in the library and become more aware of upcoming events at Alumni Hall. Keisha also brought up the idea of a small parking lot that could be shared by Alumni Hall and the library; the idea was shelved due to concerns about location and cost.
Boiler Switch Problem: Mike will look into getting a cover for the emergency shut off for the boiler. It was noted that it is next to a light switch so it might accidentally get shut off. There are covers that can be placed over the switch so this doesn’t happen.
Building: Ken met with Gerand A Leone Slate Roofing Company. They looked at the library roof.
Financial Report: The month of January has no income only expenses. The propane bill was paid so the issue of the emergency switch being triggered due to lack of propane was dismissed. The idea of prebuying propane was discussed as an option for next year in an effort to save money. John will check on that this fall. The town of Haverhill budget advisory committee met and it will recommend that the libraries receive level funding.
Hood’s Bill: Hoods Plumbing and Heating are pressing for payment of the outstanding bill. It was decided that we would pay the bill and enclose a letter explaining that we were disappointed with the service we received.
Chicken and Biscuit Supper: Ted Shiffman is unable to cook for us. He recommended that the trustees do it themselves. After discussion it was decided that we could indeed do this. We will be looking for help from former trustees and other community members. John will look at the numbers from last year to see how much we need to purchase. We can cook the main dish on site and bring salads, drinks and desserts. We will plan this event via email. There will also be a book sale during the supper.
Winter Book Discussion Series: The day of the meeting was noted to be the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ birth. The remaining books and dates are David Copperfield 2/20 Bleak House 3/19 Great Expectations 4/16
Removal of Books from Vault Room: There was a discussion about the best way to go about moving books from their current location with the boiler and water pipes to the other vault room. The trustees will clean and prep the west vault room for the incoming books and begin moving them.
Fire Alarm: The HLA currently pays $500 per year to TASCO for the fire alarm service. It currently is not working properly. We need to fix this service.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 P.M. the next meeting will be March 5, 2012 at 7:30 P.M.
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