Minutes from March 4, 2015
The Board Meeting for the Trustees of Brown Memorial Library was called to order at 6:05 p.m.
Attendance: Mary-Chris Duncan, Bea Howe, Robert Toppi, Patty Furness, Nola Jordan, Meg Fearnley, Erica Gross, Connie Scheffy
1. Bob Toppi was seated as a voting member.
2. The Secretary’s report was accepted as presented.
3. The library received no donations in February. The only item worth noting was that our electric bill is higher than normal. Even though the supplier said they had sent us a notice that our contract was up for renewal, we never received it and were therefore thrown into a variable rate for one month. Bea has called the company and our contract has been renewed. The treasurer’s report was accepted as presented.
4. Meg reported that in spite of the dreadful weather, she is quite happy with the circulation figures for February. 144 people attended various programs, significantly more than last month. She also noted that 21 distinct users downloaded audio and e-books this month.
5. Under Old Business, Meg reported that no one has yet come to the after school program. Laurie has done a good job of getting word out, but it can be hard to start a new program in the middle of the school year when families have already established their routines. It may also be that the after school time frame is not helpful for working parents. We will see if anyone comes to the remaining sessions.
6. The Trustees conducted a performance review for Meg. Each person shared his or her reflections . . . overwhelmingly laudatory! . . . and Meg added her own comments, noting one area where she does not feel as comfortable as she would like. Patty will edit and compile the responses so the evaluation can be placed in Meg’s file.
7. Meg shared with the Trustees the job description she had prepared for the position of Children’s Librarian.
8. Because Bea will no longer be a Trustee after town elections, it was decided to elect officers at this meeting rather than waiting till April. Patty Furness was re-elected Chairperson, Connie Scheffy will be the new secretary, and Nola Jordan will take over as Treasurer.
9. In addition to managing the finances, Bea has been doing the lion’s share of Trustee jobs, and the Board discussed the need for others to step up and take over some of those responsibilities. In the course of the discussion, it was noted that there will be no fund-raising dinner this year. And as Erica will be on vacation for the Fourth of July, we need to give thought to what we will do for the parade.
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 1, 2015, at 6:00 p.m.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m. and followed by a celebration of thanks for all that Bea has done for the library during her nine-year tenure on the Board.
Respectfully submitted,
Nola Jordan, Secretary