Minutes for Oct. 15 Trustees Meeting

Present: Cindy Binzen, Curt Albee, Marty Frank, Miriam Newman, Melissa Strayton (librarian), Carol Wilson, Rachel Kurland, David Webb (for the Friends)

Minutes from the September meeting were accepted.

Librarian’s Report: Melissa reported that Christa Wurm expressed interest in using the library for two Saturday evenings to host a workshop about dealing with racism. The potential problem is that Christa isn’t sure she’ll be at the library because she’s hosting a simultaneous workshop in Sharon. The trustees expressed interest in making sure that someone is designated who will be responsible.

     The courier service for interlibrary loans has started and so far has worked quite well; it’s very easy to use.The library, like many buildings in Strafford, has been invaded by mice, even finding their way up to the children’s area in the loft. Melissa is dealing with them the best she can. Melissa has started children’s programming for the school year, doing storytime at the preschool once a month and the weekly afterschool program. There have been two afterschool programs so far, and five/six kids have shown up. Melissa has proposed that she keep track of the hours that she puts in exclusively for children’s programming — she estimates that it will be three to four hours weekly — and that we pay her for that from our grant money.

Friends Report: David said the annual meeting was a great success. Yvonne Daley, author of Going Up the Country, gave a talk that was both enjoyable and informative. The Friends held their election. David and Mary Newman will be co-presidents; Denise Cote will be the secretary; Cindy Stableford will be the treasurer. Preparation for the holiday sale continues and everything appears to be in good shape.

Treasurer’s Report: Rachel reported that we’re about even with last year financially, although heating costs are likely to be higher and we’ve spent considerably less on books, audiobooks and DVDs. Melissa said that she’s fallen behind in ordering additions to the collection for a number of reasons, but plans on catching up soon. Rachel said our insurance will be going up slightly to reflect the current value of the building, and that the insurance company recommended increasing our liability coverage. The trustees requested more information to assess that recommendation.

Other Business: Cindy reminded the trustees that we need to find a new bookkeeper to replace Rebecca, who would like to finish at the end of the year. Several potential people who might replace her were identified and will be contacted.

Curt said nothing has happened in terms of replacing the hot water heater, and he’ll contact Ben Linehan. It’s possible that replacing the diaphragm will fix the air problem, and we need to wait until all work on the system has been finished before we can treat the well.

All the tents have been properly stored in the basement. Next up is finding a new home for  the snowblower. Much progress has been made in clearing out the basement space. The Smiths’ benefit concert had to be cancelled because the church couldn’t be reserved when all the musicians would be available. Steve Handy removed the spruce branches along the side walkway.

Marty has been assigned to write the 2018 appeals letter, and the trustees will gather Nov. 1 for envelope stuffing.

The next meeting will be Nov. 12.

Submitted by Marty Frank