Minutes for Oct. 3 2022 Trustees Meeting

The meeting convened at 7 p.m. inside the library. Present were Cindy Binzen, Melissa Strayton (librarian), Marty Frank, Miriam Newman and Diane White (for the Friends).

Minutes for the September 2022 trustees meeting were accepted.

Friends Report: Diane said this year’s annual meeting will deal exclusively with the election of officers. The Friends have decided that the 2022 Holiday Sale will be a repeat of the previous year’s — selling raffle tickets and wreaths, but no white elephant sale at the library. She asked the trustees if people who have queried about book donations for the summer sale can bring them to the library, or if we prefer to wait until closer to the sale. Cindy will ask Rachel how she wants to handle that. The tent will be taken down soon. 

Librarian’s Report: Melissa said she has put in an order for adult books and has purchased a bunch of DVDs. She’s hoping to finish an order for children’s books this week. The after-school program will start Oct. 17, with a limit on the number of children who can participate. With Halloween falling on a Monday this year, there will be no programming offered that day and Melissa will turn herself into either a princess or a witch and hand out candy to trick-or-treaters. 

There has been some discussion about reviving the preschool story time that was offered at the end of the summer, and Melissa will follow up with Kaitlin O’Leary, who has volunteered to spearhead the effort. Mike Tisdale is scheduled to come to the library and update the software on our computers. Melissa has ordered masks. The Vermont Department of Libraries will offer a one-a-month training on strategic planning for librarians and trustees from October to January. Melissa will design and print some bookmarks with helpful information about our library that will be distributed at the Open House and after.

Treasurer’s Report: A profit and loss statement was distributed via email before the meeting. Cindy reported that Rachel will be taking a painting out of the library and bringing it to a professional to get a sense of how much it would cost to be cleaned. Our accountant will begin work on the 2021 990 sometime after Oct. 15. Word from the IRS is that they need more time to review our 2019 filing.

Other business: Our Open House will take place Oct. 15 during normal Saturday hours. Refreshments will be served, Rachel and Miriam will help with coverage, and Marty will take care of putting up a signboard at Barrett Hall and writing something to announce the event for the listserv, Facebook and the school newsletter. Geoff Hansen will be able to start work on our website redesign after the end of the month. Marty will write the annual appeals letter, and we’ll attempt to get it mailed out at the beginning of November. Cindy will check with Mark Chute about his availability this winter for snow shoveling.

Our next meeting will be Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. at the library.

Submitted by Marty Frank