Minutes from March 6, 2013
The Board Meeting for the Trustees of Brown Memorial Library was called to order at 6:05 p.m.
Attendance: Mary-Chris Duncan, Garry Kalajian, Erica Gross, Lorraine Macleod, Bea Howe, Connie Scheffy, Nola Jordan, Meg Fearnley
1. In the absence of Rod and Patty, both alternates were seated as voting members. Garry chaired the meeting. Bob Toppi also attended to learn what we do and see if he might be interested in serving as an alternate trustee at some point.
2. The secretary’s report was accepted as presented.
3. A motion was made and passed to accept donations to Brown Memorial Library in February in the amount of $126.00. $50.00 was from our on-going book sale and $60.00 was a donation from the Friends to cover the cost of approximately 300 pens imprinted with the library’s name and info. Bea also explained that we have received an advance of $15,000.00 on our appropriation from the town. The Treasurer’s Report was accepted as presented.
4. February circulation statistics kept pace with or even exceeded January’s in spite of it being a shorter month that included two snow days. We were down some from last year, however. Especially striking is the fact that the number of e-books downloaded from the state system tripled over last month.
5. Under Old Business, the Trustees discussed and revised the draft of the Telescope Borrowing Agreement that Patty had prepared and e-mailed to everyone prior to the meeting. A motion was made and passed to approve the agreement as amended.
6. Bea reported on her research into finding an alternate supplier of electric power. Our most recent electric bill was $30.00 higher than normal. She has looked into Fairpoint Energy (who is taking over from the defunct PNE), Constellation Energy, North American Power, and Nextera. Getting all the necessary information has not proved easy and she is still waiting to hear back from Nextera. Though there doesn’t appear to be any penalty for early withdrawal from a contract, the Trustees agreed with Bea’s recommendation that we defer making a decision for at least one more month.
7. Under New Business, Meg explained that the friend who has been accompanying her to library movie nights ever since the beginning is no longer able to attend and that she is not comfortable being there alone. The Trustees agree completely. Several options were discussed. For the immediate future, Meg will put together a list of possible volunteers and contact them by e-mail to see if she can get coverage for upcoming movie nights.
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 3, at 6:00 p.m.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Nola Jordan, Secretary