Minutes from January 7, 2015
The Board Meeting for the Trustees of Brown Memorial Library was called to order at 6:00 p.m.
Attendance: Patty Furness, Nola Jordan, Meg Fearnley, Erica Gross, Garry Kalajian, Bea Howe, Robert Toppi
1. Bob Toppi was seated as a voting member.
2. The Secretary’s report was accepted as presented.
3. A motion was made and passed to accept donations to Brown Memorial Library in December in the amount of $475.50. $25.50 of that amount came from our on-going book sale; the rest came from individual donations. Bea went over the end of the year figures. She also reported that the Selectmen had asked us to consider reducing our 2015 budget by $600, but that they relented when Bea met with them and explained how tight the budget already is. The budget has now gone to the Budget Committee, and Bea has not been asked to meet with them. The treasurer’s report was accepted as presented.
4. Meg reported that our end of the year circulation figures are slightly down in most categories, but that there is no cause for concern. The number of children’s materials loaned has increased over last year due to good attendance at the Monday story hours. In response to a question, Meg explained that the library still has both a Kindle and a Sony e-Reader but that both are quite out of date and are rarely used any more. Technology moves so quickly.
5. Under New Business, Meg announced that the library will begin an after-school program for elementary school children beginning February 2. It will run from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. on Mondays. Laurie is planning to offer a different activity each week and she is currently publicizing the program in the school. Children will be able to get permission to ride bus number 12 to the library where they can be picked up at 4:30. The program will run on a trial basis for two months. This will involve increasing Laurie’s hours slightly as she’s also currently filling in for an assistant librarian who is out on sick leave.
6. The chess club continues to meet once a month. The Creative Feast program will take place on Thursday, March 26, at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 11 another pajama story time will be offered from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
7. The Trustees voted to re-approve our investment policy without making any changes. A copy of that document has to be filed with the state each year.
8. Under Old Business, the Trustees gave thanks for the library’s new roof. The work has been completed and it looks great. We learned that in addition to defective shingles, another reason the roof failed was that the ridge vent had never been installed and the roof could not breathe properly. That has been corrected.
9. Staff reviews will take place this month and we will review Meg’s performance at the next meeting.
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 4, 2015, at 6:00 p.m.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Nola Jordan, Secretary