Bolton Public Library
Board of Trustees
Meeting June 3,7:00 p.m.
Program Room
Present: Bob Zak, Chris Sterling
Also present: Kelly Collins, Maureen Strapko, Director of the Boxborough Public Library
This was an informal meeting with Bolton resident Maureen Strapko, Director of the Boxborough Public library to learn about her experiences with Boxborough’s Library Foundation. The following are the notes Kelly took at this meeting:
We learned that the Boxborough Library’s foundation was established just after the new building opened because the locals felt the need to fill the library; therefore the foundation was created to support collection development.~ Five years on, Maureen is weeding furiously, and the foundation’s focus may well turn to other things.~ She stressed that the foundation was never expected to take the place of the town’s obligation to fund the library (including items like painting and carpeting); it was extra.
Foundation board consists of 6 trustees (the entire board) + Friends president + director (ex officio).~ Meetings are held 3x/year, and there is a single annual appeal in the form of a letter.~ Maureen estimates that 91% of residents give to the foundation.~ Their last appeal asked for just $10 per household and was wildly successful, raising about $13K.
She’ll contact Bob Zak w/name of Boxborough resident who set up the foundation.~ There are certain protections built into it.~ Foundation funds are kept in 5 CDs, one due every year.~ When each comes due, if the money in it isn’t used, it’s reinvested.
I asked about the difference between the Friends and the foundation.~ The Friends raise money via annual membership drive (timed so as not to overlap the Foundation drive) and book sales (2x/yr).~ All Friends money is used for museum passes (they have 18-19 at last count) and for ALL library programming including summer reading program and storytime throughout the year.~ The library has no programming budget.~ When Maureen or staff develop a speaker, event, or program, they fill out a funding request form and the Friends write the checks.~ The Friends also provide Maureen with three signed, blank checks which she keeps in her cashbox and uses at her discretion between Friends meetings.~ The Friends tend to retain no more than one year’s revenue; anything over and above that is spent on the library.~ Friends will occasionally come
up with program ideas and/or volunteer to help staff events, but they don’t choose and book speakers, etc.; library staff does that.~ At the beginning of each program, when introducing the speaker, Maureen always thanks the Friends and reminds people to join them.
The next meeting will be Tuesday July 6th at 6 p.m. at the library.
Respectfully submitted, the Trustees,
Robert Zak Roland Ochsenbein Christine Sterling
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