Library Trustee Minutes 7.26.16

Hancock Library Trustees Minutes, July 26, 2016

Present: Library Director Amy Markus; Trustees Lexy Heatley, Jane Eklund, and Nancy Daniels; Selectmen’s Representative John Jordan.

Chair Lexy Heatley called the meeting to order at 5 p.m.

June 16, 2016 Minutes

Jane moved that the minutes from the previous meeting be accepted as written. Nancy seconded. The motion was unanimously approved.

Treasurer’s Report

The board looked over the May and June statements of assets and fund balance. Everything is on track. Amy noted that the Friends of the Library paid for some of the adult programming and for half of the ping-pong table. A patron paid for the remaining half of the ping pong table. Lexy moved to accept the treasurer’s report as written. Jane seconded. The motion was approved unanimously.

Director's Report

Carpet update: Amy sent in a deposit for the new carpet purchase and installation. The Friends of the Library will pay for half of the costs. The carpet will be installed in the Daniels Room September 2, after the annual book sale.

Shed tour: The shed tour was a huge success, with people coming from Hancock and many other area towns after two local papers wrote advance features. An estimated 90 people were in the Daniels Room for Howard Mansfield’s shed talk at the beginning of the tour. The library ran out of Sheds books and maps. Copies of the book will be provided this week to those who did not receive them. The event grossed $2,200, and the library should net about $1,500 after Bauhan Publishing is paid for the cost of the books above the donated 30. “It was an amazing community event,” Amy reported.

Accounting: $15,000 from the trust fund the town manages and other money coming from the town, which Amy will collect in September, will cover library expenses through the year.

Oil prebuy: The cost of buying oil in advance for the coming winter is $1.99.9 We considered prebuying vs paying as we go. John noted that the select board has decided not to prebuy oil this year and said that predictions are that the prices will continue to be low. We decided to buy as we go. .

Volunteer luncheon: Amy is planning the annual luncheon to thank library volunteers. Last year the Friends of the Library paid for the event, which is typically held at the Harris Center on a Friday in late September. Kin Shilling will put together a lunch of soup and sandwiches. Amy will ask the Harris Center if the lunch can be held there again this year, and will line up entertainment. 

August events: On August 15, Martha Yates will talk about Pueblo Indian dances. Martha, an an archaeologist, is a niece of Elizabeth Yates McGreal. On August 23, at 7 p.m. in the vestry, the library will host a speaker on presidential homes. The annual book sale begins with an early bird sale Friday, August 19, from 5-8, continues Saturday from 9-4 and Sunday from 11-3, and is then open during library hours for the next week. A group called Rolling Thunder will pick up the unsold books.

Timeline: The select board begins preliminary budget talks by September. Amy will have a draft budget prepared for the trustees’ Sept. 27 meeting. She will have the library director job description prepared by then as well.

The Library Trustees will not meet in August; the next meeting will be September 27.

Future discussions will include talking about ways to promote the library in estate giving via a brochure, thanking the Walter Clark Fund at events, etc.

Meeting adjourned at 5:47 p.m..

Library Minutes for October 2014

Hancock Library Trustees Minutes

                October 22, 2014

Present: Laurie Bryan, Mary Garland Amy Markus, Suzanne Shevenell, Eric Spitzbarth – Selectman

Meeting called to order at 4:00 pm.

The minutes of September 24, 2104 were reviewed, and Bryan, seconded by Garland, made a motion to accept as written.  Motion to accept was unanimous.

The Treasurer’s report for the month ending September 30th reviewed. Director Markus stated that accounts payable in October would include 1500 gallons of fuel oil at a pre buy price of $3.49/gal, totaling $5200, cleaning of the building rugs for $1700, and an invoice for the patron cards for the new Apollo ILS system in the amount of $600. Shevenell made a motion, which was seconded by Bryan to accept as presented.  All 3 trustees voted in the affirmative.

Director’s Report: Markus summarized the remaining evening programs for October. Additional information on these specific events can be found on the Library’s web page, on Facebook, and in the Hancock Happenings.  November programs will include a presentation from a director of the NHPUC on electric rates and deregulation, a travelogue of Nepal, new I Phone usage, organic gardening, folk and jazz music, as well as a special 4 hour program given by Hancock resident Dan Pickering on the best ways to convert old media products, such as photos, videos, and cassettes to current formats. The date of the program, which runs from 3 to 7 pm, is on November 6^th.  Additional details for all of the November programs are available at the Front Desk and in Hancock Happenings.

Apollo ILS conversion is scheduled to happen in November.

Daniels Room Policy:  The trustees reviewed the current draft of this policy, which includes proposed changes in room usage regulation, as well as room use agreement.  Minor changes were suggested for the room use agreement, to be consistent with language in the revised policy.  Discussion followed on the broad subject of the room use by private groups during non-library operating hours.  The trustees agreed that language reflecting these specific circumstances needs to be worded carefully, and that further discussion would be continued at the next regularly scheduled monthly meeting.

Other Business: None

November and December Monthly Meetings:  Due to holidays in both months, the trustees voted to meet for their regular monthly meeting on November 19, and December 17, 2014, with both of these meeting to begin at 1PM.

Chairman Bryan moved to go into nonpublic session at 4:50pm, under RSA 91-A3, II (a) to discuss compensation issues; seconded by Shevenell; roll call vote: Bryan-aye, Garland-aye, Shevenell-aye. 

Compensation issues were reviewed.

Per RSA 91-A: 3 III Bryan moved to seal the minutes; motion seconded by Garland. Roll call vote: Bryan-aye, Garland-aye, Shevenell-aye.

Bryan moved to leave Non-Public Session at 5:25PM. Shevenell seconded this motion, and the motion was carried unanimously.

The trustees voted to meet on October 27, 2014 at 7PM in the Library to complete work on the 2015 budget.  Markus will be directed to post notice of this meeting.

Shevenell made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Garland, and with all trustees voting aye the meeting was adjourned at 5:30PM.

Minutes from Trustee Meeting 4.22.09

Hancock Library Trustees Meeting
Minutes April 22, 2009
Present
Laurie Bryan, Mary Garland, Amy Markus, Roberta LaPlante, Hunt Dowse, Peter Ryner

The meeting was called to order at 11:00 am. Roberta LaPlante was welcomed as the Board of Selectmen’s new Library liaison.

Trustees of Trust Funds Update
Hunt Dowse summarized the Library’s sources of funding. A series of gifts have been given to the town in support of the Library going back as far as 1872. The Trustees of Trust Funds oversees two types of library funds: common funds and expendable funds. In total, the Town oversees approximately $482,000 of funds which presently generate an annual income of approximately $21,000. Additionally, the Library Board of Trustees oversees a long-term capital fund of approximately $87,000. Hunt indicated that the Trustees of Trust Funds were very comfortable with how the Library is managing its funds as well as the overall picture of how the Library is funded. The Town pays for Library personnel. The Library Trustees most of the annual operational budget from the interest generated by its Trust funds. The Friends of the Library provide important additional support.

There followed a general discussion during which Laurie Bryan pointed out that it was becoming increasingly difficult for the Library to operate under the present budget, which has remained at essentially the same level for several years. Things appear to work so well in part because the Library has delayed or cut back. Fairly soon an adjustment will be required. Hunt was thanked for the presentation and for his continued assistance.

Tombstone Territory
Everyone agreed that the April 16TH downtown meeting went very well. It was agreed that the next step should be to meet with the Selectmen, on May 4th at 4:00 pm.

The March minutes were accepted.

The Treasurer’s Report was accepted.

Director’s Report
Amy summarized a variety of activities that the Library will be sponsoring in May. Britton Kennedy will start working 30 hours per week in July. This reflects a shift in staffing that Amy has been working on for some time and which was approved as part of the 2009 budget. 2010 will mark the 150th anniversary of the Hancock Library, and Amy suggested that it is time to start thinking about how that anniversary should be celebrated. It was agreed that one element should be a fundraising effort, to build on the donation provided by Walter Clark. Amy reported that an area of the walkway needs to be fixed, and this led to a more general discussion of how library maintenance should be handled. It was agreed that this would be discussed further at future meetings. It was agreed that the next meeting will be May 27th at 11 am.

Submitted by Peter Ryner