Minutes for Sept. 13 Trustees Meeting

September 19, 2023

Minutes of the Sept. 13, 2023 Trustees Meeting


The meeting began at 7 p.m. in the library.


Present: Cindy Binzen, Miriam Newman, Marty Frank, Kevin Lynch, Carol Wilson, Melissa Strayton (librarian), Diane White (for the Friends), Becky Proulx (observer)


Minutes from the August trustees meeting were accepted.


Friends Report: Diane said the Friends are hoping to hold their annual meeting in conjunction with the book talk by Matt Hongoltz-Hetling, with the meeting preceding the book discussion. The Friends will provide snacks. Melissa reported that Rebecca S. and Ellen B. are working on the holiday raffle. 


Librarian’s Report: Kevin and Melissa have devised and posted a digital form that parents can use to sign up their children in the after-school program. Melissa suggested that the format would be a useful tool for conducting the survey about library services we’ve been talking about. The Monday of the current week proved to extraordinarily busy. Among the 30 or so people who visited the library were a number of families new to town and their children. Melissa has reached out to Artistree to see if they’d be interested in putting on a program at the library.The program could be geared for preschoolers and serve as a way to introduce some of our more recent arrivals to the library. Carol suggested that Saturday would be the best day for a program aimed for young families.


Melissa has been interviewed over the phone by people from the Turrell Foundation about our most recent application for a grant. A report on how we spent the last grant is due to Turrell by Sept. 30. Some glitch delayed the last Baker & Taylor book order. Ellen Bagnato has begun volunteering and is training to work the circulation desk. Some of the picture books are being shifted out of the bins because they were getting too cramped. A questionnaire has been sent out to libraries that belong to the LUV co-op. Members are coming to the conclusion that it’s time to rethink the program because streaming services and technology changes have all but ended the demand for their DVDs and audiobooks. The possible end of the service should be taken into consideration when we put together the 2024 budget. 


An application for the state grant that supports our courier service has been submitted, as has a report on how we spent a grant for summer children’s programming. Blackstone has introduced an audio streaming  platform that would link into the Palace app. The regular cleaning of the library building is back on track. Melissa has sent an email to the painting contractor about taking care of the finishing touches on the interior painting. The basement might need some organizing before books start coming in for next summer’s sale. Melissa has asked John Freitag to see if the road crew could regrade the parking area right  in front of the library. About 48 people attended the recent Herb Goertz reading. The town’s climate committee will be using our building to host a book discussion group on four Thursday nights.


Treasurer’s Report: Rachel distributed a profit and loss statement before the meeting. She noted that we’re spending more than we planned for such things as cleaning, mowing and heating — and will need to adjust the budget accordingly for the coming year. We have a number of potential sources of additional income, including the endowment and the CDs we’ve purchased. 


Other Business: Cindy thinks we should schedule the strategic/planning retreat after the new member joins the board. Rachel and Miriam will work on putting together a questionnaire for consideration at our next meeting. Kevin expressed interest in surveying the community about the building and how well it serves Strafford’s needs. Regarding our website improvement project, Carol reported that the committee met but decided it wanted another opinion before making a recommendation about the logo. Kate Siepmann agreed to share her thoughts, and we’re waiting to hear from her. The board decided that Nov. 8, a Wednesday, would be the best day that week to put on the program by Laura Ogden. Marty will contact Laura. 


Rocky repaired the slates that had come down off the roof. Cindy will ask West Wilson to give us an assessment of what we should do with the roof. The personnel committee will meet with Melissa on Sept. 18. Cindy will contact Mark Chute to see if he’s interested in shoveling this winter


Our next meeting will take place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday Oct. 11 at the library.


Submitted by Marty Frank


 

September 13 Trustees Meeting Agenda

September 12, 2023

Morrill Memorial and Harris Library Trustees Meeting

 

**** Please note date change****

 

Wednesday, September 13, 2023, 7:00 PM

 

Any items to add or remove?

 

Secretary's Report

Approve minutes from August meeting

 

Librarian's Report

Ordering for collection - monthly, postings

Summer program wrap up

After school program

Palace and Libby 

UEI

Cleaning

 

Friends' Report

Matt HH program date?

 

Treasurer's Report 

Review profit and loss statement

 

Other Business

New board member

Planning retreat

Patron questionnaire

Web...


Continue reading...
 

Minutes for the Aug. 14, 2023 Meeting

August 19, 2023

Minutes of the Aug 14, 2023 Trustees Meeting


The meeting began at 7:30 p.m. in the library.


Present: Cindy Binzen, Miriam Newman, Marty Frank, Kevin Lynch, Carol Wilson, Melissa Strayton,

librarian, and Diane White (for the Friends).


Minutes from the July trustees meeting were accepted.


Friends Report: Diane said the Friends will be meeting on Wednesday. Otherwise there was nothing to report.


Librarian’s Report: The summer series of children’s programming ended tonight. Melissa described attend...


Continue reading...
 

August Trustees Meeting and Time Change

August 12, 2023

Morrill Memorial and Harris Library Trustees Meeting

 

**** Please note time change****

 

Monday, August 14, 2023, 7:30pm

Agenda

Any items to add or remove?

 

Secretary's Report

Approve minutes from July meeting

 

Librarian's Report

Ordering for collection - monthly, postings

Summer program 

Scan policy book

Patron questionnaire

Palace and Libby 

UEI

Turrell grant

Building Security

 

Friends' Report

 

Treasurer's Report 

Review profit and loss statement

 

Other Business

Kevin

Website improvement 

Preschool story time

Adul...


Continue reading...
 

Minutes for the July 12, 2023 Trustees Meeting

July 16, 2023

Minutes of the July 12, 2023 Trustees Meeting


The meeting began at 7:00pm on Wednesday, July12, 2023.


Present: Cindy Binzen, Rachel Kurland, Miriam Newman, Carol Wilson, Melissa Strayton,

Librarian, and Diane White, for the Friends


Friends Report: The Friends had a successful Book Sale, with great volunteer help putting it

together and taking it all down. They are looking into purchasing their own tents and making

some organizational improvements, with color-coding and numbering to make set-up and ...


Continue reading...
 

Trustees Meeting Agenda 7/12

July 9, 2023

Morrill Memorial and Harris Library Trustees Meeting

 

Wednesday, July 12, 2023, 7:00pm

Agenda

Any items to add or remove?

 

Secretary's Report

Approve minutes from June meeting

 

Librarian's Report

Ordering for collection - monthly, postings

Summer program 

Scan policy book

Patron questionnaire

Palace and Libby 

UEI

 

Friends' Report

Book sale

 

Treasurer's Report 

Review profit and loss statement

990 info to accountant

 

Other Business

Kevin

Tom Cecere – EC Fiber network Strafford hub

Website improvement 

Preschool ...


Continue reading...
 

July Trustees Meeting Rescheduled

June 22, 2023
The next trustees meeting has been rescheduled for Wednesday, July 12.
Continue reading...
 

Minutes for June 2023 Trustees Meeting

June 16, 2023

Minutes for June 12 2023 Trustees Meeting



The meeting convened at the library at 7 p.m. Present were Cindy Binzen, Carol Wilson, Miriam Newman, Marty Frank and Melissa Strayton (librarian). Tom Cecere, representing EC Fiber and GWI Vermont, phoned in to discuss his company’s proposal to lease space from the library to house a network hub.


EC Fiber Hub: Tom Cecere told trustees that EC Fiber has central hubs in Royalton and Norwich and smaller hubs in all of the Vermont towns it serves. The St...


Continue reading...
 

June Trustees Meeting Agenda

June 8, 2023

Morrill Memorial and Harris Library Trustees Meeting

 

Monday, June 12, 2023, 7:00pm

 Agenda

Any items to add or remove?

 

Secretary's Report

Approve minutes from May meeting

 

Librarian's Report

Ordering for collection - monthly, postings

After school program

Summer program 

Scan policy book

Patron questionnaire

Palace and Libby 

Turrell grant

UEI

 

Friends' Report

Book sale

 

Treasurer's Report 

Review profit and loss statement

990 info to accountant

 

Other Business

Tom Cecere – EC Fiber network Strafford hub

Websi...


Continue reading...
 

May 2023 Trustees Meeting Minutes

May 12, 2023

Minutes for May 8 2023 Trustees Meeting



The meeting convened at the library at 7 p.m. Present were Cindy Binzen, Carol Wilson, Miriam Newman, Marty Frank, Kevin Lynch, Rachel Kurland, and Melissa Strayton (librarian). 


Minutes of the April meeting were accepted.


Librarian’s Report: Melissa noted that the Friends organization had a meeting last week. The summer book sale is definitely going to happen this year, although the two people who have led the effort in the recent past won’t be around...


Continue reading...
 

Trustees of the Morrill Memorial & Harris Library


The Board of Trustees meets on the second Monday of each month at 7:00 pm at the library.