— Trustee Minutes – July 1, 2024

Fitzwilliam Town Library Board of Trustees

Minutes of the July 1, 2024 Meeting

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

  1. Call to Order 5:34 pm
  2. Approval of minutes of the June 3, 2024 meeting – Motion to approve by Carole/seconded, Richard /unanimously approved by all present
  3. Approval of the manifest – Approved by all in attendance
  4. Chair’s Report
    1. 2024 NHLTA Conference (Carole) – Carole was not able to attend; attending another NHLTA workshop in the future
  5. Library Director’s report
    1. Utilization data – earliest data on use of the Library was 2015 (discussion led to review of the article on declining use of libraries nationally provided by Chair); programming attendance is up (+25% more programs than in 2015) versus a decrease in circulation; our Library’s trends are aligned with the 10-year national trend (decline in circulation numbers, etc.)
    1. In June, there were 12 adult programs and 9 children’s programs with a total attendance of 282; space and support for 7 community meetings (with 69 attendees) was provided
    1. A part-time gardener has been hired (L. Kelsey)
    1. The process of securing cost estimates related to improvements for the upstairs space continues (boxing in stairs, fire door, painting, etc.)
    1. Programming is well attended and is innovative; craft and wildlife related programming continue to draw the most significant attendance
    1. Red Cross Blood Drive – July 12th, held in the Library
  6. Old business
  7. ALA LTC Accessibility Grant wrap-up – The final report was submitted to the American Library Association by Nan and Kate on June 29, 2024; overview of final data was provided to ; grant ran from June 2023 through May 2024 and provided for the purchase of a number of resources related to improving accessibility- most notably, the installation of automatic doors and purchase of secondary/more accessible book drop. Additional accessibility supports that are new included magnifiers, educational resources, child-safe step stools, and 2 upholstered charging chairs
  8. Discussion of LRP Goal 1 (A) – Improved and increased marketing –
    1. Regarding the monthly Fitzwilliam Town Newsletter – A discussion of the altered state of the Library’s monthly submission/insert ensued; The Chair will write an email expressing our concern and displeasure at the alterations to our submission that are made without consultation; Motion to have Chair draft a letter to the Newsletter Staff was made by Richard/seconded, Nan/unanimously supported by all ; Robin will share a draft in the coming week for Trustee review and comment
    1. A discussion of expanding our presence via TikTok ensued; trying to engage in improved outreach to teens in the community; teen outreach “club” type of format might be worth looking into; Carole mentioned a program in Peterborough that sounds like a promising way to attract more teen patrons; Veronika is teaching a class for Tweens July 15 and July 22 (“crochet a dinosaur”)
    1. New article on final ALA-LTC grant achievements could be good marketing at this time
    1. A capital campaign is also a way of gaining awareness, support and attendance
  9. New business

a. CIP 2024-2030 – The Capital Improvements Program seeks two members at large to serve on the CIP committee (CIP projects are outside normal operations and maintenance and have a minimum gross cost of $5000 and a useful life of at least 5 years; this is an indication that they are not quite ready to review proposals (which is set for July 15th); a discussion of the potential for the multiple year option we last presented ensued; Upon discussion, the Trustees agreed that there were some important and outstanding projects related to accessibility that should be put forward (among those for 2025, replacing the heavy and difficult to use bathroom doors and for 2026, improving the front walkway which is uneven and a mobility challenge); the motion to proceed with these two ideas was made by Nan/seconded, Beth; unanimously approved by the .

b. Carole raised the question of the Library policy or expectation on donations associated with the placement of a memorial plaque in the Library; the Chair suggested we address this further at next month’s meeting

8. Ongoing business (e.g., Friends of the Library; Buildings & Grounds) and/or announcements

  1. Carole– Friends of the Library are meeting to plan out new programming ideas; August 24th is the Book Sale date; they have found someone to take any leftover books that do not sell (for a $150 fee)

9. Date/time for next meeting will be August 5, 2024 @ 5:30 p.m.; Annemarie Deitrich (NBT Wealth Management) will join us to review the status of our accounts

10. Adjournment – at 6:37 pm; motion by Beth/seconded, Nan / unanimously supported by all in attendance

Respectfully Submitted,

Nancy Fey-Yensan, Secretary

July 2 2024