Library Trustee Minutes 08.01.12

Minutes from August 1, 2012

The Board Meeting for the Trustees of Brown Memorial Library was called to order at 6:05 p.m.

Attendance: Mary Chris Duncan, Nola Jordan, Patty Furness, Garry Kalajian, Bea Howe, Connie Scheffy, Rod Jones, Meg Fearnley

1.    The secretary’s report was accepted as presented.

2.    Garry, our alternate trustee, was seated as a voting member in Lorraine’s absence.

3.    A motion was made and passed to accept donations to Brown Memorial Library in July in the amount of $1,468.38.  Most of that amount represents proceeds from the July 4th book sale.   All is going well and we are just where we expect to be financially at this time of year.  Bea will meet with the auditors tomorrow morning. The Treasurer’s Report was accepted as presented.

4.    Circulation figures for last month show some strong upticks, especially for adult materials loaned and total circulation.  Total program attendees was also up.  The summer reading program is going very well, with thanks especially to Laurie Buchar.  In fact, tonight’s meeting was suspended for a short time so that the trustees could enjoy the visit from a barred owl (and his rescuer and best friend, Maria Colby) that was part of the children’s program.  The Librarian’s Report was accepted as presented.

5.    Under Old Business, the Trustees congratulated Garry on the fine job he did installing  the new hardware he had made on the front door.  It looks fabulous!  Thanks also to Brooks McCandlish for doing the repairs.

6.    Under New Business, volunteers were solicited to help bus tables as well as prepare the donated desserts for serving at the fund-raising dinner the Masons are providing on August 11, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.  There is a sign-up sheet for desserts at the checkout desk.

7.    Our next book sale will be September 1, the Saturday of Labor Day weekend.  Patty and Nola will work the first shift.  Bea may be away, but she will see that there is coverage for the second shift.

8.    Trustees voted to approve accepting the pre-buy contract from Ayer and Goss at $3.399/gal.  Bea will divide our budgeted fuel amount of $3,500.00 by the price per gallon and contract for that number of gallons.  (Approximately 1030 gallons.)

9.    Patty agreed to follow up on an e-mail we received from Jan Riley, one of the Friends of the Library, who heard that the Shepherd-McAuliffe Discovery Center has received a grant to make telescopes available to libraries for loan to interested patrons.  Some kind of training may be required.

10.    The Trustees postponed their review of library policies until the September meeting.  Only three weeks had elapsed since the last meeting and it wasn’t possible to get the revisions prepared and ready for distribution.  Instead, they spent time discussing and revising our Policy for Public Internet Access.  The new draft will be distributed before the next meeting at which time it is hoped that final changes can be made and a vote taken.

11.    A friend of Nola’s has offered to give a slide show and presentation at the library about a recent trip to India.  The Board gave her the go-ahead to accept the offer and figure out a date that will work for him and for the library.

12.    The Trustees agreed that it might make sense to look into the possibility of getting ceiling fans for the library.  Bea will check with the electrician to get his input.
.
The next meeting will be Wednesday, September 5, at 6:00 p.m.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Nola Jordan
Secretary