Fitzwilliam Town Library Board of Trustees

Minutes for September 9, 2024 Meeting

Members present: Chair Robin Marra, Richard Marshall, Nan Fey-Yensan, Carole Beckwith, Beth Lorenz, Alternate Amanda Blicharz, Director Kate Thomas and Assistant Director Cindi Beede  

1. Call to Order – 5:30 pm

1. Approval of minutes of the August 5, 2024 meeting- Motion to approve, Richard/Seconded Carole; unanimous approval by all present

1. Approval of minutes of the special meeting of August 28, 2024 meeting –Motion to approve, Nan/Seconded Richard; unanimous approval by all present

1. Approval of the manifest – Approved by all present

1. Chair’s Report 

No report at this time

1. Library Director’s Report
   1. Circulation was down by 5% as compared to this time last year; this does not include the Newsbank numbers as they are not available; it is estimated that the difference would be closed by these numbers;  9 adult programs and 2 children’s programs were held with a total attendance of 222; preparation for the annual book sale precluded programming in the meeting room, reducing numbers
   2. Space was provided for 3 meetings with 22 attendees and patron attendance in the building for the month was 1389, higher than the previous month
   3. The need to prepare a new budget is imminent (this will be done in concert with the Chair and Treasurer); the CIP meeting for the Library is set for September 26 at 6 pm
   4. The Friends’ annual book sale raised a little more than $2400 for the Library; a discussion ensued about the reduction in available book donations as the community is buying fewer physical books; this was a reminder to pursue fund raising as a primary goal for the Library’s strategic plan
   5. Home book delivery – Veronika has been working with one patron; hoping to increase participation within the community
   6. Cindi has completed her course on collection development through the American Library Association and is attending a book repair workshop in September
   7. Much progress in library improvements has occurred: the new exterior book drop box has been installed (grant funded) and a design for an historically aligned façade is underway; Caleb has finished his work upstairs; there remain some outstanding projects upstairs that are being pursued
   8. The Director and Assistant Director have researched exhibit cases (style, cost) to house the Locke Collection (see Old Business, below)

1. Old Business

1. The Locke Collection needs to be displayed in safe, lockable museum style cases and to that end, the Director and Assistant Director have researched affordable options which were discussed by the Board of Trustees.  A motion was made by Richard to purchase two cases at this time/seconded by Beth/ unanimous approval by all present; space and location for these cases and important artifacts were discussed and may require consultation with and interior designer or architect to optimize these displays for the public (this would hopefully be a volunteer so that all available finds can go toward the purchase of needed furnishings)

1. Director’s Position Description and Upcoming Search
   1. The Trustees posted a revised version of the Director’s Position Description in Google Docs in advance of the September 9 meeting where further revisions/comments were made; a final discussion of wording ensued with agreed upon changes; a motion to accept the revised draft was made by Richard/seconded by Carole/ unanimous approval by all present
   2. Robin contacted the Town Selectmen to request participation in the search for the Director’s replacement – Nancy Carney will serve; The Community representative on the search will be Barbara Brooks who is also a long-time member of the Friends’ Group
   3. Along with Select person Carney and Barbara Brooks, Robin Marra, Carole Beckwith, Amanda Blicharz and Nan Fey-Yensan offered to serve on the search committee; a motion to accept this slate of search committee members was made by Richard/seconded by Nan/ unanimous approval by all present 
   4. The position will be posted, along with a link to the full position description, on the New Hampshire State Library job site and other selected sites, including those associated with the Library and Town of Fitzwilliam
   5. We are hoping to follow an accelerated timeline, including a target to have the position posted before the beginning of October

1. New Business

1. 2025 Budget – preliminary discussion

There has yet to be published expectations about the process from the Town; the Director, Assistant Director, Chair and Treasurer will meet in the coming weeks to finalize next year’s budget details which will subsequently be presented to the Trustees for approval

1. Ongoing Business (e.g., Friends of the Library; Buildings & Grounds) and/or announcements
   1. Addressed in the Director’s Report; see above

1. Date/time for next meeting will be October 7, 2024 @ 5:30 p.m. 

1. Adjournment at 6:57 pm; Carole moved to adjourn/Nan seconded; Unanimously approved

Respectfully submitted:

Nan Fey-Yensan, Secretary

September 10, 2024