Fitzwilliam Town Library Board of Trustees
Minutes for May 6, 2024
Trustees Present: Robin Marra, Beth Lorenz, Carole Beckwith, Richard Marshall, Nan Fey-Yensan, Pam Troccia (alternate), Library Director Kate Thomas, Assistant Library Director Cindi Beede (a quorum was present)
- Call to Order @ 5:30 pm
- Approval of minutes of the April 1, 2024 meeting; Motion to approve Carole/ seconded Nan; unanimously approved.
- Approval of the manifest – unanimously approved by Trustees present
- Chair’s Report – Reminder of the NHLTA annual meeting to be held next month; Carole has registered and will be attending; it was suggested that Cindi attend, if possible.
- Library Director’s report
• Circulation decreased by 5% this month from last year (current: 1639); the decrease is likely due to reduced patron use of DVDs
• April programming- 14 adult programs; 12 children’s programs; total attendance of 281
• Patron attendance in the building for April was 999 (down from last month)
• Provided space for 10 non-programming meetings (86 attendees; up from last month at 53)
• Cindi is pursuing her Paralibrarian certification and has attended enough conferences/workshops to earn certification at Level 1.
• Cleaning position ad generated multiple applicants with two interviews. A cleaning staff person has been identified and hired for three hours a week at $25.00 an hour.
• Carpeting issues appear to be related to changes in humidity; still problematic.
• Railing issues have been repaired.
• Lighting upgrades and bids still need to be pursued (see Old Business discussion, below)
• Theme for May Farmer’s Market kick-off day at Library, Alice in Wonderland, has been developing and details for the May 18th event finalized. All are encouraged to participate.
• To preserve shrinking insect biomass, the Library is opting to not use an extermination program this spring. This will also have a positive impact on the budget.
• The Director and her staff continue to pursue display case options to support expanded exhibit of Library held artifacts and are visiting ideas to replace shelving in the kids’ area.
• ALA Grant – the grant is closing out with all funds expended ($10,000). The Library is currently distributing a patron survey to gather input on patron satisfaction with accessibility improvements funded by this grant. To date, there have been about two dozen responses; data will continue to be collected until the final report to the ALA is due (June 30, 2024).
• The Library is coordinating a pilot of a home-delivery book program with the Fitzwilliam District Nurses Association. Books will be delivered to homes in need who participate in the FDNA’s summer vegetable delivery program, by FDNA volunteers. The Library will be designing and procuring branded bags for the transport of books to and from homes.
• May looks to be a very busy programming month, both for children and adults.
• The Lion’s Club has donated $300 for the purchase of large print books.
• Director Thomas will follow-up with John Fitzwilliam on a potential presentation, Clock Talk. - Old business
a. Alternate Trustee – Carole has proposed the nomination of Fitzwilliam resident and Library patron Amanda Blicharz, who is also a librarian by profession. Chair Robin Marra will make this nomination to the Selectmen.
b. Second floor – The Trustees further discussed the implications of the engineering report related to assessment of the second floor of the library. Richard led a discussion about the need to now work with the funds that we currently have to make incremental improvements to the second floor. We have access to $10,000 in ARPA funds (CIP 2024) that must be expended by the end of the calendar year. There is an additional $5000 that can be rolled into subsequent years that could also be accessed for this work.
A discussion of both the need to exhibit (requiring the purchase of display cabinets) artifacts in the Locke Collection and concurrently, preserve the structural integrity of the second floor (ceiling improvements, as an example) occurred. Ben Thomas will be consulted to assess what might be done in this regard.
A related discussion of possible reconfiguration of both main floor and second floor uses also occurred. Carole will provide the Library Director with some resources she has identified related to reconfiguring Library space. Review of the Master Plan would be useful as a review of ideas.
The stairs leading to the upstairs were also discussed; handrails would be an improvement; a stair lift might be considered, but pricing might prove prohibitive.
It was decided by the Trustees that the June 2024 monthly meeting would be convened upstairs to facilitate a discussion of ideas and priorities for configuration and use of the space in question.
c. A final decision was made by the Trustees and Library Director/Assistant Director on improved lighting for three Library spaces (based on the bid by AmerElectric, November 2023). The first priority will be the main programming room (addition) followed by the main area (where computers are located) and finally, the kid’s area.
- New business
a. Related to last month’s discussion of the need to fundraise for the Library (beyond the good work of the Friends of the Library), the Board considered the need to carefully develop strategy and priorities. Richard moved that the Trustees pursue the identification of a philanthropic professional to serve as a consultant at this stage; this was seconded by Nan. All present voted to unanimously approve this action. A plan to pursue the names of potential consultants will be developed. - Ongoing business (e.g., Friends of the Library; Buildings & Grounds) and/or announcements
a. Buildings and grounds – see discussion, above.
b. Friends are working on upcoming spring and summer programming.
c. Next month the Board will review the Internet and Social Media Policies.
d. There were no announcements. - Setting date/time for next meeting: June 3, 2024 @ 5:30 p.m., second floor of the Library
- Adjournment @ 6:42: Motion to adjourn Beth/ seconded Carole / unanimous