MINUTES
STEPHENSON MEMEORIAL LIBRARY
BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
WEDNESDAY JUNE 5 2013
PRESENT: Bob Marshall, Mary Ann Grant, Jami Bascom, Neal Brown, Gail Smith.
ABSENT: Scott Jones, Kristin Readel.
Minutes recorded by Patricia LaPree.
7: 08 PM - The meeting was called to order at this time by Chairman Brown.
1) Review of the meeting minutes from the May 1 2013 Trustee meeting:
The following clerical errors were identified: line 73, “consultation a update” should read “consultation and updates”. On line 79, “Styrofoam sin” should read “Styrofoam sign”. On line 81, “of he sign” should read “of the sign”. Bruce made a motion to accept the minutes as amended, and the motion was seconded by Jami. The vote was unanimous in the affirmative to accept the minutes as amended with clerical corrections. ACTION: Pat will amend the minutes and have them posted on the Town website.
2) Follow up on action items from the May meeting:
· Bruce did obtain a free copy of Microsoft Excel for the Library. Kristin will follow though with the administrator to get the software installed and it will include upgrades for the next year.
· Mary Ann reported on the get well gift for Kristin.
· The minutes for the April Trustees meeting were posted to the Town website.
· Neal did write a letter to the Select Board requesting that the three Trustee alternates be sworn in by the Town Clerk.
· Jami did consult with the New Hampshire Library Trustees Association about a permanent Trustee. More information will be addressed during the review of the by laws later in this meeting.
7:17 PM – Treasurer’s report and statistical report:
1) Mary Ann provided the treasurer’s report for the year to date to the Trustees. She reported that most line items are on target for six months into the fiscal year. There is a $100.00 expenditure that was for a magazine rack that was free but needed to be picked up in Campton and the driver that picked up and delivered the rack was given the money for the job. There was a review of expenditures for books from the Merrill fund to date and a discussion about the Town budget money being spent for books to date. Discussion followed about the pros and cons of using the Merrill monies either before or after the Town allocation. To date, there
has been $5125.00 in funds from the Merrill account used for books. Mary Ann reported that she is in consultation with the treasurer for Friends of the Library (who administers the disbursement of the Merrill funds) to further clarify what monies are still available for purchase of books in 2013, and will get that information to the Trustees and Gail soon. Jami made the motion to accept the treasurer’s report as presented, and Bruce seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous in favor of accepting the report.
2) Gail provided statistics for usage of the Library to the Trustees. In the month of May, there were 458 visitors to the Library and 1009 books circulated. There were 21 titles loaned from other libraries and 18 loaned by this library to others.
7:33 PM – Update on spreadsheet development:
Bruce reported that the spreadsheet is ready to go as soon as Microsoft Excel is installed on the staff computers.
7:37 PM - Librarian’s report:
Gail reported that she has been subpoenaed to court regarding a recent incident at the Library. The Trustees will advocate that Gail should be compensated for her time because the court date is not on a regular business day for the library. ACTION: Neal will write a letter to the Town Administrator requesting compensation for Gail and legal advice to address an ongoing problem at the Library.
7:52 PM – Review of the Board of Trustees of the Library by laws:
Jami and Bruce provided the document they have worked on to the Trustees via e-mail before the meeting, and hard copies were available at tonight’s meeting. The following changes were proposed by discussion at this meeting (please refer to attached document):
1) Article 1 “Goals of the Library, section 2”, 1. To become a cultural center for the Town. 2. To develop the collection to meet the needs of patrons and expand their horizons.
2) Article III “Membership”, section 3: There may not be more than three (3) alternates as provided in RSA 202-A: 10. Alternates have voting rights only when filling in for an absentee Trustee. A discussion followed about the pros and cons of appointing a permanent Trustee, and the decision was made to delete section 5.
3) Article VI, “Library Director”, and section 1, add “The Trustees are responsible for maintaining an up to date job description for the Library Director position.
In section 2, delete the second sentence.
4) Article VII “Committees”, section 3 will read as “No committee shall have other than advisory powers unless it is granted specific authority to act by suitable action of the Board”.
The motion was made by Bruce to accept the by laws as amended and it was seconded by Neal. The vote was unanimous to amend the by laws. ACTION: Jami will make the amendments to the document.
8:36 PM – Jami has a copy of the Policies that have been drafted so far by the committee and will send them to the Trustees via e-mail for review at the next meeting.
8:37 PM – Update from Bob about Neighborhood Heritage District, emergency management planning for the Library and Capital Improvement Projects for the Library:
1) Neighborhood Heritage District: There is an advisory committee that has been formed to study the NHD. There have been three meetings so far and the topics that have been covered include the development of a mock ordinance and the development of a survey for the residents’ input. The information will be used by the committee to develop a statement for Town Meeting in 2014.
2) Emergency management planning is tabled at this time, and Bob is maintaining contact with the emergency management director on a regular basis regarding the Library’s role in the planning.
3) Capital Improvement Project development: the Trustees have been contacted by Paul Renaud with the form that needs to be completed and returned to the CIP committee by July 22. Discussion followed about what those recommendations might be that would be CIP for the Library, which might include climate control for the physical plant and parking lot expansion. ACTION: Neal will bring the document for the Trustees to complete at the next meeting.
9:00 PM – Old/Other business:
1) The Conservation Commission donated three blueberry bushes to the Library. ACTION: Scott Jones will be contacted and asked if the boy scouts will plant the bushes at the Library.
2) Library Sign Status: Bruce reports that it is still in progress. A discussion followed about the development of a logo for the Library that could be incorporate into the sign. Bob suggested a contest for the Con –Val art department to design a logo for the Library, and include Greenfield Elementary School as well. ACTION: Bob will write a memo to the Trustees outlining the structure of such a contest.
3) Maintenance issues: Neal will be in contact with the contractor for a start date on the painting project.
4) Progress on the parking lot expansion: Mary Ann will contact the administrator of the Merrill fund to ask about parking lot expansion and air conditioning for the Library.
5) Bruce brought up the removal of an old desk and chair from the basement of the Library, and whether they are of historical significance to the Town. Bruce will follow up with the Town Administrator about the removal.
6) Bruce reported that the New Hampshire Library Trustees Association annual conference did not seem to be as well organized as it was last year. Discussion followed about how to “court” people to run for Library Trustee positions and how to utilize the Friends of the Library more effectively for the Library and the community.
9:23 PM – The motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Jami and seconded by Neal. The vote was unanimous in the affirmative to adjourn the meeting.
The next meeting will be on Wednesday, July 3 2013 at 7:00 PM at the Library.
Respectfully submitted,
Patricia LaPree
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