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August 10, 2016 Trustees of the Gale Library Minutes
GALE LIBRARY
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Established      1892                                                                                                                               
16 South Main Street
Newton New Hampshire 03858
(603) 382-4691
        
DATE: Wednesday August 10, 2016
TIME: 10:00am
LOCATION: Gale Library, 16 S Main Street

MEETING MINUTES
  • Call to Order: 10:05 am.
  • In Attendance: Lynne Camp, Chairperson; Kathy Meserve, Treasurer; Anne Banks, secretary; Terry Caswell, Director; Jean Maggio, Alternate.
  • Minutes from the Previous Meeting (July 13, 2016): Lynne motioned to accept the minutes as written. Kathy seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
  • Correspondence and Communications: Terry has received the updated NHLTA Guide for Library Trustees. We agreed we should all have a copy, and decided it was worth the expense to have it copied at Staples. Kathy offered to have copies made for each of the Trustees and alternates.
  • A letter was sent to the Trustees by a patron expressing concern that there is no handrail along part of the walkway in front of the library. This walkway goes from the street to the steps and landing where the ‘Return Books’ depository is, and the surface could be wet or icy in bad weather. We all agreed this is a concern that needs to be taken seriously. Terry will bring the letter to the attention of the Safety Committee and Town Hall. Anne will draft a letter to the patron who raised the concern, explaining the steps we will take to address it.
  • Terry has contacted Chef Liz Barbour, who had presented another cooking program for us in the past. Liz is offering one for the holidays this year entitled ‘Healthy Holiday Entertaining’.  Terry received confirmation from Liz that she can come on Wednesday, November 2 to present this program at our library.
  • As a follow up to Terry’s inquiry to Plaistow Library as to their participation in the TD Bank Affinity program we discussed last month, she received a reply from Plaistow stating they are not currently a member but are considering becoming a member soon. We will put that fund raising idea aside for now since we do not qualify.
  • Finally, in response to our inquiry about hosting fundraisers involving gambling, Terry has heard it might not be worth all the hoops the organization needs to jump through. Terry found more information about this from a NH Municipal Association memo. She also found information on ListServe on holding receptions at which we might serve alcohol. The bottom line for either is that there are several steps that must be taken involving licensing and/or obtaining police presence at the event. We will keep these advisories in mind if we decide to do either of these types of fundraisers.
  • Library Director’s Report: Anne motioned to accept the Director’s report as written. Kathy seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
  • Treasurer’s report. Lynne inquired about the line under ‘Checking Account’ that was marked ‘other’. Kathy explained that amount was interest on the account. Lynne motioned to accept the Treasurer’s report as written. Anne seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
  • Unfinished Business:
  • Board of Trustees’ Bylaws – Article VI plus Article VII: There was discussion on suggested changes to the wording for these articles. The changes made were minimal. We will review these, and all of the other changes we have made to previous articles, at our next meeting in September. If we agree at that time that no further changes are needed, we will plan to sign the Bylaws at our next meeting in October. We decided to do this in order to comply with statements in RSA 202 requiring a ten day written notice to all Trustees before voting on amendments to the Bylaws.
  • Student Volunteer Update: The volunteer is still gathering the necessary paperwork. Terry will have more information for us next month.
  • AED/CPR Training: Terry attended a meeting of the Joint Safety and Loss Management Committee, formerly the Safety Committee, on July 21. The First Aid and AED/CPR training has been scheduled. All permanent library staff will attend training on Thursday, August 11. Mike Giordano will do the training. The library will pay for these staff hours.
  • New Trustee Toolkit Review: We used the list shown in the NHLTA Spring 2016 Newsletter as a starting point. We identified four items that we need to work on:
  • goals and objectives
  • long range planning
  • job descriptions
  • incomplete policies
  • We will all be prepared to discuss these at our next meeting.
  • Trustee Funds Update: Lynne heard back from Joe Simone outlining the steps we need to take to formally request receipt of the interest from the Trust accounts that the Town holds for us. She needs to send a letter on Gale Library letterhead to Joe requesting the interest. Currently the amount accumulated over the years is $864.87. Lynne will write the letter. After our CDs roll over on September 11, 2016, Joe will remit the accrued interest to the Library.
  • New Business
  • Art and Display Policy Review: The policy was discussed and minimal changes made. Anne moved that we accept the policy as amended. Lynne seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Terry will write up the policy with changes and we will sign it at our next meeting.
  • Art and Display Agreement form Review: No changes were deemed necessary.
  • CIP Plan: CIP stands for Capital Improvement Plan. Terry was asked by the Newton Board of Selectmen to submit 2 capital projects we need done. The last time we submitted a CIP we asked for a new roof and well pump. We still have a need for a new roof, but the pump has been worked on. If we can confirm that the pump doesn’t need further work we will put in a request for the furnace, in addition to again requesting a new roof. Terry and Kathy will check their records on the pump, and we will discuss this again at our next meeting.
  • Community Stories Program: Plaistow Library has asked us to participate with them in this program, which is funded by a grant from NH Humanities. The theme is ‘Soldiers Home and Away’. Nine libraries are going to be involved. We will host 2 book discussions and an author visit here at our library as part of this program. Other libraries will host other events, including visits from Veterans.
  • Open House Celebration for E and J Rooms’ Carpeting: September 28th is the date for the official ‘opening’ of our E and J rooms with their new carpeting. The former ‘Marble River String Band’, now renamed ‘Goats on Tour’, will give a concert and light refreshments will be served.
  • Acceptance of Donations - Patrons - $7.55; Children’s Beach Toys; DVDs/Books/Magazines from patrons; 18 bags of Lindt Truffles from Lindt Chocolate; 3 Cheese Pizzas from Chris’s Pizza Box. Lynne moved that we accept donations from a patron of $7.55; Children’s Beach Toys from a patron; DVDs/Books/Magazines from patrons; 18 Bags of Lindt Truffles from Lindt Chocolate; and 3 Cheese Pizzas from Chris’s Pizza Box. Anne seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.
  • Friends’ News: The Friends plan on having 2 more bake sales this year, one at each election scheduled this fall. They meet again in September.
  • Monthly invoice Review and Initialing: Review and initialing was done at this meeting.
  • Next Trustee Meeting: The next meeting will be on Wednesday, September 14, 2016 at 10:00 am.
  • Meeting adjourned at 11:55 am.
Respectfully submitted,

Anne D. Banks
Secretary