The board meets on the second Wednesday each month.
Minutes read from most recent to oldest.
Additional minutes can be requested by the Friends of New Salem Public Library
Minutes read from most recent to oldest.
Additional minutes can be requested by the Friends of New Salem Public Library
Meeting Minutes
February 8, 2023
Present: Marny Ashburne, Anna Coburn, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Linda Chatfield, Barbara Franck, Tracie Shea, library Director
Meeting began at 6:02 PM via Hybrid.
The January 11, 2022 Minutes were approved as written.
Reports:
Treasurer: The financial report as of February 4 was presented. Current balance as of February 1 is $11183.20. The final fraudulent charge on our account of $78.27 has been reversed.
George reported that the annual appeal has so far netted $1855. Membership dues of $390.00 have been received.
The Treasurer’s report was approved.
Director: Once again there was water in the ceiling of the Community Room. PVE plumbing & heating will be returning to assess.
Multiple power outages in town forced closure of the library. Staff took advantage of this time to make the children’s area more welcoming.
Inter Library Loan (ILL) system deliveries were negatively impacted by state wide weather related delays.
Circulation was down for the month but attendance held. Circulation was similar to last January’s numbers. The ILL delays may also have played a role.
Overall visits to the library for the month were 350.
Total program attendance at three programs, weekly yoga & Tales & Tunes was 74.
Total circulation for all formats was 967.
Tracie suggested having an Open House at the library, perhaps following the Carrie Ferguson concert in mid-June. She was soliciting Friends support and assistance for this. A discussion followed re timing of this event, perhaps at the time of the town-wide tagsale to assure a good attendance. Discussion on details will be continued.
Trustees:Marny reported that Trustee Eli will not be running for re-election, making for a vacancy.
There was a discussion about being proactive in the face of possible disruption in library services due to protests. This will be looked into.
A trial of offering a free fax/copy service for 6 months was proposed.
The lighting upgrade is still in progress.
Next meeting will be February 13.
Publicity: Marny reported she is working on publicity for our February 14 Reading Aloud for Grownup event and the baskets being offered in free drawings for patrons.
Anna announced that Martha will be resigning from the board due to increased family commitments, leaving an opening.
Upcoming Events:
Reading Aloud for Grownups:. Frederick and Jo Boskind will read for February 14. At this time only Marny is signed up to read for March 21. Barbara will follow-up on recruiting another reader. Barbara and Linda will take on refreshments and set up for the February 14 program. Barbara will also take pictures at the event.
Poetry Reading in honor of Dorothy Johnson: A date of April 11 from 7-8:30 was established. Anna will follow-up with 6th grade teachers re including their pupils’ poetry at this event. We discussed the possibility of having a display of their poetry in the library to coincide with this program. Linda will follow-up with local poet Ellie Burton re reading her poetry.
New Business:
The possibility of sponsoring an event with Nalini Goordial of Kitchen Wizardry which would entail a cooking demonstration and possibly the sale of her spices was discussed. We agreed that this would be worth pursuing. A possible Tuesday in May was suggested. Anna will follow-up with Nalini.
Another program discussed was a class on sketch booking. Barbara will follow-up with Kerry Stone, local artist re this.
3. Pysanky (Ukranian Easter Eggs) Class: Barbara is following up on a source to lead this
class.
4. Garden Committee; Jo Barbara & Linda will be captaining this committee.
Old Business
1. January Reading Aloud: Program was well received.
Next Meeting:
March 8, 2023 at 6PM.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:15PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
January 11, 2023
Present: Marny Ashburne, Anna Coburn, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Linda Chatfield, Barbara Franck, Tracie Shea, library Director
Meeting began at 6:04 PM via Hybrid.
The December 14, 2022 Minutes were approved as written.
Reports:
Treasurer: The financial report as of January 7 was presented. Current balance as of January 1 is $9276.61
George updated the board on the status of the fraudulent breach of our account at Athol Savings Bank in November. One of the two charges of $351.00 has been reversed. George expects the second such charge to be reversed soon. There were $225 received in donations & membership dues during the month and $33.65 in expenses. George reported that the annual appeal has so far netted $1800. in income & it is expected that we are on track to meet the $3000 that was projected. We also received a donation in memory of a third person. Mary Ellen Kennedy indicated in her donation letter that she likes to volunteer. Jo will follow up with her regarding her possible interest in joining our Board. George will thank the donor and send a note re the donation to the family of the deceased. He will also send the name of the donor to Marny to add to our publicity email list.
We discussed formulating a letter summarizing how donations to the Friends are used perhaps as part of the annual appeal.
The Treasurer’s report was approved.
Director: There was water in the ceiling of the Community Room. PVE plumbing & heating inspected and cleared. Tracie will monitor as the cause of the leak is uncertain.
Exterior doors are repaired and are no longer difficult to open.
Overall visits to the library for the month were 343.
Total program attendance at seven programs was 62.
There were three meetings with a total attendance of 17.
Total circulation for all formats was 1113.
Tracie announced that the Mass Board of Library Commissioners will have a Legislative Day on March 15, 2023. Library board members are invited.
Trustees: Marny reported that there is nothing new to report. The next Trustees meeting will be on January 19.
Publicity: Marny reported she is working on publicity for our Reading Aloud for Grownups; the first program will be on January 17.
Upcoming Events: Reading Aloud for Grownups: Barbara and Dee Waterman will be the readers for January 17. Frederick and Jo Boskind will read for February 14. At this time only Marny is signed up to read for March 14. Refreshments were discussed. Barbara and George will be available for the first event on January 17 and will supply refreshments. Marny and Martha will take on refreshments for the February 14 program. There was a discussion regarding the Zoom set up for these events.
New Business: A date of April 11 was established for the Poetry Event in memory of Dorothy Johnson. It will run from 7-8:30 and may include poetry for and by kids.
We discussed honoring February as Love Your Library Month and our patrons with two gift baskets, one for children, the other for adults. This free drawing was voted and approved. Tickets will be available at the library desk and free to patrons. There will be no limit per person. Tracie will also put together pre-printed templates for patrons to use to send your library a love letter, as well as supplies to get creative with your own design for placement by the baskets. Anna will put together the kids’ basket; Jo & Barbara the grown-ups’. The baskets will be on display for the month of February and the drawing all be March 2.
Old Business
Annual Appeal Update: As reported by George $1800 has been received so far.
Garden Committee: Linda will send out a Master calendar of garden tasks to all board members. Anna will keep this on the agenda for future meetings.
Thank you for Monica and Chris: $100 Gift certificate to the Hadley Garden Center was approved.
The completion of the John Clayton Legacy Project continues to be on hold by the contractor. Barbara will follow up.
Linda completed our Annual Report for the Trustees. She will send it out to them.
Holiday Book Sale: Linda captained this project. $22 in total was received. She brought approximately 200 books to Roundabout Books in Greenfield to make room for new donations.
Next Meeting:
February 8, 2023 at 6PM.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:15PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind,
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
December 12, 2022
Present: Marny Ashburne, Anna Coburn, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Linda Chatfield, Barbara Franck, Martha Hanks-Nicholl, Karen Stevens
Meeting began at 6:03 PM via Hybrid.
The November 9, 2022 Minutes were approved as written.
Reports:
Treasurer: The financial report as of December 10 was presented. Current balance as of December 1 is $8,734.26
George updated the board on the status of our bank account at Athol Savings Bank. There was a breach in the computer system of Athol Savings Bank which lead to fraudulent access to our credit card account over Thanksgiving weekend. Two charges to our account were made before it was stopped.
To avoid any future problems, we discussed limiting access to this account to the treasurer George Perides and president Anna Coburn and to remove the following members’ names from this account: Elizabeth Bergantino, Karen Stevens, Mary-Ann Palmeiri, and John Ryan. A motion was so made, and unanimously approved by all.
The treasurer’s report was also approved.
Director: Tracie was unable to attend the meeting but submitted the following report:
Director’s assistant position has been posted. Review of applications to begin December 16
Overall visits to the library for the month were 340.
Total program attendance at five programs was 78.
There were three meetings with a total attendance of 24.
Total circulation for all formats was 1212. There was an increase in all categories from the previous month.
Lighting Upgrade: The $9700.00 initially projected for the project will not be sufficient. Further assessment by Al Ohlson & Larry Eaton will occur. Priority will be given to the lighting in the Community Room.
Trustees: Marny reported that the Trustees want to meet with Larry & Al on the lighting issues.They would like to get as much of the work done as possible for the $9700 previously allocated by the town.
The Trustees will be contributing to the Town Annual Report, and we will need to supply our part. Linda agreed to put this report together for the Trustees.
Publicity: Marny reported on submitting info re our annual appeal, and the holiday book sale to the New Salem News. She will be organizing publicity for Reading Aloud for Grownups after the holidays.
Upcoming Events:
Reading Aloud for Grownups: Barbara will follow up with previous readers and confirm readers for this event. Barbara and George will be available for the first event on January 17 and will supply refreshments. Martha and Marny will assist at the March 24 reading. Approval for wine at these events by the select board hasn’t yet occurred. Karen will follow-up with the select board at their next meeting.
Holiday Book Sale: Linda will follow up with the New Salem News and will arrange for leftover books to be donated possibly to Roundabout Books in Greenfield
New Business:
Annual Appeal Update: The appeal has been sent out; there hasn’t been much of a response yet
Carrie Ferguson program: This artist’s credentials were reviewed. The board approved funds for her performance
Garden Committee: Linda is putting together an annual calendar of tasks associated with the garden. There is wide interest among board members to participate in this project. Anna will keep this on the agenda for future meetings.
Thank you for Monica and Chris: Gift certificates were approved. Linda will follow up re appropriate sources for the gift cards.
Friends Website: It needs active monitoring and updating. Martha volunteered to do this.
Event for Dorothy: We discussed having this event in April which is Poetry Month. Linda will check with Ellie Burton, a local poet, to gauge her interest. Jo will also follow-up with Mark Hart, a friend who is a published poet.
Next Meeting:
January 11, 2023 at 6PM.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:22PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind,
Secretary
Present: Marny Ashburne, Anna Channing, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Linda Chatfield, Barbara Franck, Karen Stevens, and director, Tracie Shea
Meeting began at 6:03 PM via Hybrid.
The October 11 Minutes were approved as written.
Reports:
Treasurer: The financial report as of November 1 was presented. There was income of $790.00 from Ciderfest tickets & donations, with total Balance of $9675.67. The report was approved unanimously.
Director: Overall visits to the library for the month were 308. Total program attendance at five programs was 62. There were three meetings with a total attendance of 8. Total circulation for all formats was 1182
Trustees: Marny reported that the trustees are working on a Gratitude Plaque to honor Diana and others with 20 or more years of service to be hung in the library.
Publicity: Marny reported on the publicity for the Candidate Forum we sponsored. She plans to promote our Smile account on Amazon for holiday purchases.
Upcoming Events:
Reading Aloud for Grownups; we selected the following dates: January 17, February 14, and March 21 from 7-8:30PM. We will offer a hybrid format, in person with a Zoom option. Barbara will follow up with past speakers to gauge interest in participating again. Karen will follow-up with the Selectboard re permission to serve wine at these events, as in past.
Fall newsletter and annual Appeal: Anna is putting on the final touches for the newsletter. Karen will pick up copies when ready. Fundraising letter and newsletter will be put together at the library by George. Members will stuff envelops when ready.
Holiday Book Sale: We agreed to offer the same as last year.
New Business:
Used Book Update: Monica turned this responsibility over to Linda. She will now monitor used books and make recommendations.
Garden Update: Monica is no longer able to assist with this. It will stay on the agenda for committee updates beginning in February for spring planning. Jo, Barbara, Linda and Martha have expressed interest in this.
Museum Passes: Tracie noted that the Friends fund 5 of the 10 Museum passes. She suggested that the Friends fund all 10 passes, three of which would be free. We discussed this proposal. Linda reported there is much interest in the passes we provide. The proposal was approved unanimously. Linda and Tracie will monitor usage.
Event for Dorothy: We discussed having a poetry reading in honor of Dorothy, possibly in April next year, after Reading Aloud for Grownups ends. Karen will follow-up with poets who might be interested. Reading Dorothy’s poetry will be central to this event. We will keep this on the agenda for future discussion.
Cultural Arts Grant: Karen suggested that the library withdraw its application to the Cultural Arts Council due to the plethora of requests the council is receiving. She suggested that the Friends fund the yoga & Lego programs instead. George said that it’s acceptable for Friends funds to be used in this way. This proposal was approved unanimously.
Old Business
Ciderfest Debrief and Thank you: It was agreed that this was a very positive event. George will write a thank you note and follow up with Carol to see if anything is owed.
State Rep Candidates Forum Debrief: It was agreed this was another well organized positive event which was facilitated by Marny’s excellent publicity and Anna’s organizing and stellar moderating.
Gill CC Woodworks: Barbara reported that the project is still going forward but they are backed up right now.
Next Meeting:
December 14, 2022 at 6PM.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:17PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind,
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
October 11, 2022
Present: Marny Ashburne, Linda Chatfield, Anna Coburn, George Perides, Karen Stevens and library director Tracie Shea
Meeting began at 6:01 via Zoom
The Minutes for the September 7, 2022 meeting were approved as written
Report
Treasurer: The reports for September 17, 2022, and October 1, 2022, were presented. Gill CC Woodworks has been fully paid for the preparation of the Clayton Memorial bookcase. Both reports were approved unanimously.
Director: Tracie reported that the Dale Monette program "Quabbin Then & Now" was very popular, and the library will be having Dale do another program in 2023 or perhaps doing the same program since some people didn't stay because the room was overcrowded. Library attendance and circulation were in the usual range.
Trustees: The Trustees held a special meeting and voted to support to move the town election operations in the community room in the library for the remainder of the calendar year. At that point, they will review whether to continue this in 2023. Some concern was expressed that this should not lead to neglect of needed repairs to other Town buildings and the Community Room should not become office space for Town officials.
Publicity: Ciderfest: Marny will be sending the Ciderfest announcement to the Friends mailing list and to the Wendell listserv.
Selectboard Zoom forum: Unfortunately, it was not possible to find a date when all 3 selectboard candidates would be able to participate in a Zoom meeting. Marny will send the note, previously circulate and approved by the board to the candidates informing them of our decision to cancel the even. She will also send notes to Lisa Finestone, Mary-Ann Palmieri and Kathy Soule-Regine thanking them for the help they provided.
Upcoming Events:
Ciderfest: At last count, 20 tickets had been sold. Marny will advertise as described above.
The logistics include: preparation of spinach- and cheese-pies (George), purchasing chocolates, deli products, grapes and cheese from BJs (Anna). Linda will bring the baskets. Set-up we will start at 4:30 with Karen, Marny Linda and Anna. Martha has arranged to pick up tables from the Town Hall. With tablecloths from Martha and Barbara there should be enough. Martha will contact Carol to inform her of our plans and that we expect William to present at 6.00 pm.
Candidates’ Forum: The format will be the same as we used two years ago when Susannah Whipps and William LaRose were candidates for State Representatives. Anna will moderate. She will welcome the candidates and give them 3 minutes each to introduce themselves. She will then proceed with questions from people who have registered. Each candidate will have 2 minutes to respond to the question. Although the questions may be general to the district Anna wants to ensure to include questions that relate to the North Quabbin area. The order of responding will alternate between the two candidates. Anna will have additional questions prepared by her and with the help of Mary-Ann Palmieri and the members of the board. Anna has already told the candidates that they will just be answering the questions since this is not a debate, and she will remind them again if needed. At the end each candidate will have the opportunity to give a closing statement. We expect the forum to last 50-60 minutes.
Fall Newsletter and Annual Appeal: Anna will send out an email listing all the Friends' events in the previous year, and Board members can select which event they would like to write about in the Newsletter. Articles will be due to Anna by Nov. 2. She will have them edited and submitted to Collective copies by November 11. We should receive the printed material by November 16 so they can be prepared for mailing. We will follow the system established by Karen Stevens last year. George will purchase stamps, envelopes and labels. He will contact Stacy to obtain the list of New Salem households. Once all the materials are ready, they will be available at the library so that Board members can take a portion (last year it was 50 each) to stuff the envelopes and prepare for mailing.
New Business:
Unfortunately, it was not possible to find a date when all 3 selectboard candidates would be able to participate in a Zoom meeting. Marny will send the note, previously circulate and approved by the board to the candidates informing them of our decision to cancel the even. She will also send notes to Lisa Feinstone, Mary-Ann Palmieri and Kathy Soule-Regine thanking them for the help they provided.
Old Business:
Legacy Donations-Gill CC Woodworks. The invoice has been paid. We are waiting for delivery of the bookcases.
Marny's Author Reading: Everyone was pleased with this event which went very well with active participation from the attendees.
Next meeting
November 9, at 6.00 pm
The meeting was adjourned at 7:00pm
Respectfully submitted
George Perides
Meeting Minutes
September 7, 2022
Present: Marny Ashburne, Martha Nicoll, Anna Channing, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Linda Chatfield, and director, Tracie Shea
Meeting began at 6:06 PM via Zoom.
The August 10 Minutes were approved as written.
Reports:
Treasurer: No report was available for this meeting.
Director: No update on lighting upgrade; exterior work may take place this fall, but more likely in the spring.
Planned September events include: Gravestone Rubbing Workshop, Book group discussion, and Quabbin, Then & Now, a presentation by Dale Monette. In addition yoga will be resuming in person in the community room. Friends & Trustees to have Welcome & Thank you event on September 13.
Overall visits to the library for the month were 371.
Total program attendance at two programs (book discussion and Beatles Retrospective) was 23.
There were three meetings, including State Senator Jo Commerford’s visit (19 participants) for a total of 30 participants.
Total circulation for all formats was 1157
Trustees: Marny is coordinating the September 13 Welcome event, with the Trustees
Publicity: Marny sent save the date reminders to the New Salem email list for the September 13 event.
Upcoming Events: There was a discussion of what would be needed for each of the following events:
Open House & Welcome Party on September 13: Anna & Linda will set up. Trustees are arranging for refreshments.
Marny’s Reading: will be in person on September 22.
Quabbin Then & Now with Dale Monette. September 30 at 7pm. Set up at 6:30. Linda will do this. Cookies will be offered.
Ciderfest at New Salem Preserves on October 16 at 5:30. Marny will do the publicity. Martha will get the chairs and tables. Ticket price will be $20, capped at 40 participants. Tickets will be available online. There will be two raffle baskets, one from the Cidery and one from the General Store. Linda will follow-up on this. Save the date announcements will go out @September 17. Anna will get the link set up for the tickets. It was decided that raffle tickets will be cash only. Barbara, George & Anna will arrange for refreshments. Karen, Jo & Martha will set up.
Candidate Forum with Aaron Saunders & Chip Harrington, October 25 at 7PM. It will have the same format as last year’s and will be a virtual event. Anna will follow-up with AOTV re possible coverage. She will also moderate.
New Business:
Monitoring Facebook Account and Messages: will be limited to Library and Friends.
Old Business
Legacy Donations: Gill CC Woodworks presented a final invoice of $1806.25. This was approved and a 50% deposit will be paid for the project.
Amy Fagin: She has made her artwork available to sell for the benefit of the library. We
discussed whether to have this be part of the raffle or for a future event.
Next Meeting:
October 12, 2022 at 6PM.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:12PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind,
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
August 10, 2022
Present: Marny Ashburne, Martha Nicoll, Barbara Franck, Anna Channing, Karen Stevens, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Linda Chatfield, and new Director, Tracie Shea
Meeting began at 6:03 PM via Zoom.
The July 6 Minutes were approved as written.
Reports:
Treasurer: The balance as of August 1 is $10868.92. There were $20.00 in donations in memory of Dorothy Johnson. No membership dues were received. $159.07 in expenses was paid for the Zoom account, and $59.50 was paid to board member Barbara Franck for expenses related to the Ciderfest 2021. The total expenditures for the month was $217.77. The report was approved.
Director:We welcomed our new library director Tracie Shea!
Overall visits to the library for the month were 345. Total program attendance at two programs (children’s & book discussion groups) was 41. Total circulation for all formats was 1177.
The end of the children’s summer reading program is planned for August 20. It was suggested that some cookies/snacks and soft drinks be offered. Martha offered to follow-up on this and arrange for refreshments.
Trustees: Marny reported that the Trustees are spearheading the Welcome Party scheduled for September 13 and she will coordinate with the Trustees on the need for our support, refreshments etc..
Publicity: Marny stated there is nothing to report at this time.
New Business:
Vote on New Board Member: Linda Chatfield was officially voted in as our newest member, unanimously.
Author Readings: It was agreed that Marny will read from her new book on September 22. Follow-up on another local author, Ellie Burton reading will occur after the September 22nd reading by Marny.
Welcome Party: see above.
Dale Monette program is scheduled for September 30 at 7pm. Friends will provide refreshments.
State Representative Candidates Forum: We settled on October 25 as the date for this.
Anna will follow up with Betsy re details of previous forums. We agreed that the format will be via Zoom. Anna will introduce the candidates and follow-up re questions for them. Karen will confirm their availability.
CiderFest: The event will happen on October 16 at 5:30 PM with a raindate of October 23. Barbara, George, and Anna will arrange refreshments. Karen, Jo & Martha will set up. Linda will follow up on putting together the raffle details and arranging for the baskets to be raffled.
Old Business
Legacy Donations: Barbara has been captaining this project. She visited the Gill Woodworking workshop and was favorably impressed. The estimate she as presented with was for $3100. We discussed options of limiting the project to one bookshelf or whether the Friends could pay the balance for the original two. We decided that Barbara should get a new estimate for one bookshelf made with quality wood. The bookshelf could display woodworking tools as well as books.
Next Meeting:
September 7, 2022 at 6PM.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:10PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind, Secretary
Meeting Minutes
July 6, 2022
Present: Marny Ashburne, Martha Nicoll, Barbara Franck, Anna Channing, George Perides,
Jo Boskind, Linda Chatfield (library staff)
Meeting began at 6:04 PM via Zoom.
The June Minutes were approved as written.
Reports:
Treasurer: The balance as of July 1 is $11,066.69. There were $15.00 in donations and $10.00 in membership dues received for a total income of $25.00. $1.03 in expenses was paid for Square; $499.75 in books for the library, $300. for gifts for departing board members, $81.00 for Annual Meeting expenses, $100.00 for Richie Davis honorarium and $150.00 for New England Botanical Garden at Tower Hill pass. The total expenditures for the month was $1132.49.
The report was approved.
Director:Overall visits to the library for the month were 296. Program attendance at six programs over the month had a total of 85. Yoga class had 23 attendees & the book discussion group had 7. Total attendance of all types was 425. Total circulation for all formats was 805. The 8 week summer reading program which began on June 25th is continuing until August 20.
Building update/Lighting Upgrade: Larry Eaton is interested in the project. If Larry decides not take on the project the Town may assist in getting an electrician.
Linda has been working on the website and has added a new tab through which access to the Friends information can be made.
There is a new library Director: Tracie Shea from Hardwick has accepted the position and will be starting on July 19, 2022. Linda will be training her and as of the 19th she will return to her position as substitute library assistant.
Trustees: Marny reported that there has been no meeting since our last board meeting.
Publicity: Marny reported she will be updating the Friends Flyer with the new board members. She will also update the Friends information board at the Library. She has completed new name tags for each board member.
NEW BUSINESS
1.Board of Directors Positions Approved: Chair: Anna Channing, Secretary Jo Ellen Boskind, Treasurer, George Perides. It was agreed that the positions will be put back on an even year schedule so the current positions will be held until 2024.
2.Programming & Fundraiser/Fall Event Ideas:
Our state senator Jo Comerford will be visiting the library on August 27 from 1- 2pm. We will be co-sponsoring this event.
Fall Author Reading: It was agreed that Marny will read from her new book on September 15.
CiderFest: We discussed possible dates and whether a guided tour of the cider could be part of the program. Martha will follow-up with Carol Hillmann.
3. Recruiting New Board Members: Linda has expressed interest in continuing to be part of our board, with the Trustees approval. The Trustees want to check with legal counsel and will let us know their decision before our next board meeting. This will still leave one open position.
OLD BUSINESS
Legacy Donations: Barbara has been captaining this project. She has been working with Gill Woodworking and has developed plans and a sketch for the woodworker’s review. The estimated cost is $2500. Barbara will be following up to see if the cost could be reduced through, for example, use of a different wood. She plans a visit to this workshop.
Next Meeting:
August 10 at 6PM.
Meeting was adjourned at 6:55 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind,
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
June 15, 2022
Present: Betsy Bergantino, Marny Ashburne, Martha Nicoll, Barbara Franck, Anna Channing, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Karen Stevens, Lisa Finestone, Linda Chatfield (library staff)
Meeting began at 6:10 PM via Zoom.
The May Minutes were approved as written.
Reports:
Treasurer:
The balance as of June 3 is $12,174.18. There were no membership dues received. $20.71 was received from Amazon Smile Account. $650 in expenses was paid to the Mass MoCA, Historical Deerfield, and FP Zoo for passes. A total of $25.68 was paid for expenses related to the Friends Book Sale at the town wide tag sale. $104.92 was used for the purchase of new library books for a total expenditures of $780.60
Donations received for the month were $225.68.
The proposed FY23 Budget to be presented at the annual meeting was also discussed
The report was approved.
Director:
Overall visits to the library for the month were 336. Program attendance for the month was 93. Yoga class had 26 attendees & the book discussion group had 10. There are 784 books in circulation. A new 8 week program focusing on summer reading will be starting on June 25th.
With regard to the needed repairs, Larry Eaton is following up with Andrew Olsen re possible interest in the project.
Trustees:
Marny reported that the director position has been offered to a candidate from Hardwick. As of this meeting she has not yet accepted the offer. There is a new trustee, Mailande DeWitt, who is a law student.
Publicity:
Marny reported that the focus of publicity has been the Annual Meeting, scheduled for June 18, 2022.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Annual Meeting & Ice Cream Social. Richie Davis will be our guest speaker. The event will happen on Saturday June 18 from 2-4pm. Betsy will follow-up re shopping list and email the board with last minute needs.
2. Recruiting New Board members. We discussed a pamphlet that would describe The Friends and our activities and be used for recruitment. We discussed recruiting members through our own social networks. Linda described a link from the library website to the Friends info; she will work on creating a new section for the board that can be accessed through an identified tab on the website. We discussed whether staff can be (non-voting) members of our board. Anna will follow-up with the Trustees regarding this.
3. Garden. Lisa recommended a committee be formed to address the care of the garden. Martha volunteered to weed as needed. Anna, Jo and Barbara are also willing to help. Lisa offered to put a list together of what is needed for care of the garden. We discussed a Fall Cleanup event for sometime this fall. Further discussion was tabled.
4. Programming/ Fall Event Ideas. There was interest in having two authors for the fall: Marny and possibly Kathy Picard, who is a children’s author. Ciderfest was also discussed as a fundraiser. Further discussion was tabled
OLD BUSINESS
Legacy Donations: Barbara is following up with Jeannie Clayton on a possible event on the anniversary of John’s death, in September 2022. She continues to pursue possible woodworkers for the project.
Town Wide Tag Sale: Our booksale netted $250.00. Roundabout Books in Greenfield took the leftover CD’s and books.
Next Meeting:
Annual meeting June 18 2pm to 4.
Board meeting July 6 at 6PM
Meeting was adjourned at 7:37 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind,
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
May 11, 2022
Present: Betsy Bergantino, Marny Ashburne, Anna Channing, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Karen Stevens Lisa Feinstone, Linda Chatfield (library staff)
Meeting began at 6:09 PM via hybrid.
The April Minutes were approved as written.
REPORTS
Treasurer:
The balance as of May 1 is $12833.39. There were no donations or membership dues received. $125 in expenses was paid to the Eric Carle Museum for passes.
Donations are unchanged from the previous month (John Clayton total $2005.00, Annual Appeal $2104.00) with the exception of a $50.00 donation in memory of Dorothy Johnson.
The report was approved.
Director:
Overall visits to the library for the month were 270. Attendance at two of the programs was small - “Climate change in Your Back Yard” had only 9 participants via Zoom; In person, “Earth Day Celebration” had 8 and the first session of “Tales & Tunes with Katie” had 15 for a total program attendance of 32. Yoga class had 29 attendees & the book discussion group had 5 with a total number for all attendance of 340. Several programs are planned for May & June.
$499.76 of the $500 Friends Material Donation (FY22) have been spent on new books and $104.92 of the $107.48 from the Stella Haney book donation fund (FY22)has been spent on children’s books.
There are two new library volunteers and a new substitute.
There is movement forward on the lighting upgrade: three electricians have come forward with interest in the project. Christian Haines plans to contact his supplier to get some idea of the cost of the actual fixtures. In addition, Richard Harrington & Chris Desorcy have expressed interest and have received copies of the proposal.
The town has a new website. Anna will email the select board re our calendar appearing on the website.
Trustees:
Marny reported that the next meeting of the Trustees will be May 24th with the last day for applications for the library director position set as May 16. There are now two candidates.
Publicity:
Marny reported that the brochure announcing the Friends Booksale at the town wide tag sale is completed.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Book Sale at the town-wide tag-sale on Saturday May 14: Karen will get donuts. Receipts for coffee & donuts should be detailed for reimbursement. Donations for additional books should be brought to the library on May 12th. The sorting tasks & set up, staffing of the sale & takedown are in order.
2. Annual Meeting & Ice Cream Social: Richie Davis will be our guest speaker. The event will happen on Saturday June 18 from 2-4pm. The annual meeting should take 15-20 minutes. Betsy, George & Anna will put together the agenda and budget. We agreed that the speaker should receive a $100 honorarium. We discussed various resources for the ice cream; Betsy will follow-up and get info re costs from Barts and other sources and email the board with recommendations.
3. Recruiting New Board members: this discussion was tabled.
4. Programming/Authors for the Fall: There was interest in having two authors for the fall and Reading Aloud for Grownups in the spring. We also discussed the possibility of returning to the Murder Mystery, Chocolate & Wine tasting or Cider tasting events as fundraisers. Further discussion was tabled
OLD BUSINESS
1. Trustees Policy Review: We reviewed the revised Friends of the Library Policies and approved them.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:29 PM.
Next meeting: Wednesday June 15 at 6:00 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind,
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
April 13, 2022
Present: Marny Ashburne, Betsy Bergantino, Anna Channing, Linda Chatfield (library acting director), Lisa Feinstone, Martha Nicoll, George Perides, Karen Stevens
Meeting began at 6.10 via Zoom
The March meeting minutes were approved
REPORTS
Treasurer’s report:
Balance as of April 6, 2022 is $12,833.39. The main expense was the payment of the chairs purchased for the community room ($1,493.16). The report was unanimously approved.
Director’s Report:
Attendance at the library either in person or through zoom for the various programs is up again, as it appears that people are returning to pre-Covid habits. The March circulation has reached 748 items, mostly books and DVDs. A total of 70 items were added to the library. Earth Day celebration at the 1794 Meetinghouse has been arranged and starting 4/26, a 5-week series of “Tales & Tunes with Katie” will start. Linda is still working on identifying somebody to do the Lighting upgrade at the library. The candidates for director of the Library have withdrawn and the search is starting anew.
Publicity:
The only items was the “Meeting the Candidates” for the 2022 local New Salem elections.
Trustee Policy Review: Tabled for next month in the interest of time.
NEW BUSINESS
Meet the candidates. It is set for April 26. 5 candidates have agreed to participate, 3 with statements and 2 via zoom. The two participating via zoom are the candidates for the only contested sit (Planning Board).
Anna Channing will moderate and introduce the candidates. Each will have 3-4 minutes to state their position. After that there will be an open question and answer session.
The friends will send the link to people who have not registered, since we can control who joins in and at the same time even remove somebody who may behave inappropriately.
Annual meeting We agreed to set a date for Saturday June 18th 4-6pm. The meeting is open to all the members of the friends. The budget will be discussed and the board of directors will be elected. We discussed whether we should combine it with an event at the 1794 Meetinghouse, trivia or some other special performance.
Recruiting new members. Lisa and Betsy will leave the board this year. It was suggested that we need to expand our search to people that we don’t know at all. Marny suggested that we could send material to the people we have on our list describing what we do as we invite them to join the board, and put an invitation at the library to ask the visitors to join.
Programming. Karen raised the concern that we have slowed down and may not be doing enough. She said that she would not like the Friends to just become a fundraising tool for the library. Other members noted that we do plenty and the last two years, trying to adapt to the Covid pandemic, we provided a real service to the town. Linda Chatfield suggested to increase or start an author’s program, during which we will invite local (or not) authors to present their latest or older work. That was very positively received and several authors were mentioned. (Romer, J.D. Lantis, Celia Jeffers). Lisa Finestone suggested that the Friends can also help the Library by providing more funding and work at the various programs the Library develops.
Museum passes. A vote was taken to order the museum passes for the Eric Carle, DCR, Mass MOCA, Historic Museum of Deerfield and Forest Park Zoo.
Tag sale. Tag sale has been set by the Town for 5/14 at 8-12noon. We arrange to present there and sell donuts.
Garden. The trustees appear to have a budget for it and Monika will bring the pots out.We plan to plant a tree to the right of the entrance next to the lilies
Next meeting on May 11, at 6.00pm
The meeting was adjourned at 7.57
Respectfully submitted
George Perides
Meeting Minutes
March 9, 2022
Present: Betsy Bergantino, Marny Ashburne, Anna Channing, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Barbara Franck, Martha Nicoll, Karen Stevens, Linda Chatfield (library staff)
Meeting began at 6:03 PM via Zoom.
The February Minutes were approved as written.
REPORTS
Treasurer's report
The Treasurer’s report was read. The balance as of March 2 is $14126.25. This included $155 in donations & $20.00 in membership dues for a total income of $175.00. There were $303 in expenses paid to Collective Copies for the Fall Newsletter.
Donations for the Clayton Fund are now $2005.00 in total. The annual appeal has netted $2104.00 so far.
The report was approved.
Director’s Report
Attendance at the library is up 21% from January. Circulation has seen a 41%increase over January. A very successful Zoom program on March 4 on “Gorgeous Gardens Of New England” was well received & had 62 registrants & 36 attendees. Linda reported that the new chairs we purchased are in place and are a positive addition. A building update was provided: There have been problems securing an electrician. Steve Canning & Glen Tattan are not available. A suggestion for an electrician was made. Jo will supply Christian Haines contact info to Linda for follow-up. Linda reported that a donation to the Friends in memory of Dorothy Johnson, who recently died, was left at the library. Several programs are being planned for April. Linda is also working with the Orange Co-op to have a Library Day at the Co-op. The Farm School will be part of this. It is planned for May 19 from 10-4.
Trustees
Marny reported that the Covid policy was reviewed in light of the mask mandate being lifted and it was decided to open the library to groups of up to 25, with no restrictions on serving refreshments. The Trustees are reviewing the Policy Handbook. We will review the Trustees’ draft policy regarding the Friends Group. A subcommittee of the friends was suggested for this purpose: Lisa, Anna & Marny will take this on. Communication between the Director & the Friends was felt to be key.
Publicity
Marny reported that Reading Aloud for Grownups, planned for March 15, is the focus of current publicity activities.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Trustee Policy Review: See above.
2. Reading Aloud For Grownups on March 15th: It was decided that this will be offered as a hybrid. Barbara will host the program. It will include a recognition & dedication of the program in memory of the program’s pioneer and mentor, Dorothy Johnson. Anna will take care of the hybrid setup.
3. Library Director Search Committee Update: Betsy reported that there are four candidates: two look great. Applications were submitted online. The questions for the interviews are in place. The search committee will meet again on March 10. It was decided that the committee members will police themselves to avoid issues with unconscious bias.
4. Candidate Forum for Town Elections: The Friends will host this on April 26th. It will be a meet &greet the candidate event. Anna will moderate. The Planning Board has the only contested seat.
5. Robert Romer Reading: Karen expressed interest in the Friends hosting authors as was done so successfully last year. She suggested that such programing is essential in keeping patrons interested in supporting our efforts financially. This local author was one of her suggestions. We decided to discuss this kind of programing in greater detail at our next meeting. We also discussed supporting Linda’s programming financially: what this would look like will also be discussed at our next meeting.
6. Museum Passes: This discussion was tabled.
Old Business:
Update on Legacy Donations/Clayton Fund: As reported in the Treasurer’s report, donations continue to come in. The fund is now at $2005.00.
Tagging Friends Items (furniture etc). Discussion tabled.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:30PM.
Next meeting: Wednesday April 13 at 6:00 PM, hybrid.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind,
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
February 9, 2022
Present: Lisa Feinstone, Betsy Bergantino, Marny Ashburne, Anna Channing, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Barbara Franck, Martha Nicoll, Karen Stevens, Linda Chatfield (library staff)
Meeting began at 6:04 PM via Zoom.
The January Minutes were approved as written.
REPORTS
Treasurer's report
The Treasurer’s report was read. The balance as of February 6 is $14254.25. This included $277 in donations & $130.00 in membership dues for a total of $407.00 & $1.03
in Square fees for expenditures. Donations for the Clayton Fund are still coming in, now over $1905.00. The annual appeal has netted $2059.00 so far. The report was approved.
Director’s Report
Attendance & circulation totals were down from January by 10%, with the biggest decrease in children’s attendance which was down from 14 to 5, probably attributable to the Covid.
There were no programs in January. The February 4th Zoom program with Michael Tougias on
“The Blizzard of 1978” was very well attended with 48 attending & 82 registrations, including a significant number of registrations from around the state. Publicity was very good.
Trustees
Marny reported that the Covid policy was reviewed and it was decided to limit in-person events to 10 or fewer participants. The problem with the Friends chair purchases was discussed. All the old chairs were donated and therefore are not town property, so can be disposed of as the library sees fit.
Publicity
Marny reported that Reading Aloud for Grownups, planned for February 15, is the focus for publicity activities. In addition she noted that twenty-six new members were added to the publicity contact list from the annual appeal.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Trustee Policy Review: This handbook is being reviewed by the Trustees. There is a statement in this policy that the Friends are non-voting participants in the Trustee meetings Th e current Friends policy will be reviewed by Lisa, Marny & Anna. Their recommendations and/or suggestions for revision will be presented to our board for further discussion.
2. Annual Appeal Update: Reported in the Treasurer’s Report
3. New Chairs: The 6 chairs purchased by our board arrived with some problems: two were the wrong color and one was broken. Two will need to be returned and possibly the third, if no replacement wheel is available. Reparation is still in process.
4. Reading Aloud For Grownups on February 15th: It was decided that this will be offered thru Zoom only. Anna will follow up with the readers re set up and timeframe for each story. She will also open the meeting. Dee Waterman & Frederick Edwards will be the readers. Karen & Barbara both volunteered to open the March 15 program.
5. Tagging Friends’ Items in the library: We discussed whether to have tags or plaques on books and or furniture that have been provided for by the Friends, or to simply have a poster that had this information. The discussion was tabled for now.
6. Museum Passes: We reviewed the museum pass template put together by Anna. The Eric Carle Museum, Tower Hill, Historic Deerfield have been purchased. Passes for Ecotarium, Holyoke Children’s Museum, Worcester Art Museum, Magic Wings, Clark Institute and Brattleboro Museum, DCR and Mass MOCA are under consideration. We added to this list a question of including the Basketball Hall of Fame. Linda will follow-up re cost and terms. Linda had previously advised against purchasing passes to the Brattleboro Museum and a second DCR pass.
7. Library Director Search Committee: Betsy reported that the search committee will meet on February 10. We discussed how to engage the public in this process and also how to engage in a process for assessment of candidates that avoids unconscious bias. The search committee meetings will be listed on the library website in the Calendar section. Linda has created multiple links so that users can access the calendar from a variety of locations. Interview questions will still be solicited until the end of February when the interviews are expected to begin. Betsy will follow up.
OLD BUSINESS
Update on Legacy Donations/Clayton Fund: We reviewed a rough diagram provided by Linda of possible end cap bookcase(s) for the adult area. Quotes are still needed. Discussion to be continued.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:35PM.
Next meeting: Wednesday March 9 at 6:00 PM
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind,
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
January 12, 2022
Present: Lisa Feinstone, Betsy Bergantino, Marny Ashburne, Anna Channing, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Barbara Franck, Martha Nicoll Linda Chatfield (library staff)
December Minutes were discussed and approved with one small modification.
REPORTS
Treasurer:
The report was read and approved. The balance as of January 7 is $13,848.28. $1997.39 in donations & $470.00 in Membership dues were received. There are some donations of about $200.00 still to be recorded.
George received a request from the Secretary of State. He will followup with Karen re this.
Director:
Attendance & circulation totals were down from November, probably attributable to the new Covid surge. But attendance at yoga was significantly up. A wreath making class was also well attended and positively received by participants.
All three grants that Linda applied for in October & November were awarded.
Regarding the book trucks: Linda recommended that decisions on this can wait til the new Director is in place and questioned whether our board need fund this.
Trustees Meeting:
Marny reported that the Friends annual report is needed before the next Trustees Meeting on February 8th. Anna will followup. Betsy will look for last year’s report. Betsy was named chair of the search committee for the new Director. She noted there will be no in-person meetings of the committee before the end of January.
Publicity:
Marny reported that Annual Appeal and Reading Aloud for Grownups were a focus for publicity activities. She edited the poster for Reading Aloud & created announcements for the newsletter. The annual appeal was also publicized in the town’s newsletter. She noted also that the pop-up book sale captained by Monica Winters netted $72.00
NEW BUSINESS
1. Annual Appeal Update: Reported in the Treasurer’s Report
2. Reading Aloud For Grownups on January 15h: It has been decided that this will be offered thru Zoom only. Anna will follow up with the readers re set up and timeframe. She will also open the meeting.
3. Interview Questions for Library Director Search Committee: These are needed before the end of February when the interviews are expected to begin. We reviewed the questions that the search committee has come up with so far. Collaboration with our Board was recommended; how to word this question for the search committee was discussed. Linda will follow-up with the Trustees re putting details about the search on the Library’s website.
4. Museum passes: Linda detailed in her report the passes that were most utilized in previous years. These included the Clark Museum (10), DCR (7 total), Magic Wings Conservatory (6), Mass MOCA (7) Tower Hill (5) Eric Carle Museum (3). Lisa will follow-up with Karen & Mary-Anne re history of pass purchases and possibility of other passes eg the Springfield Museums and the Ecotarium in Worcester. Linda recommended against renewing passes to the Brattleboro Museum, Historic Deerfield and a second DCR pass.
Anna will put the details about the passes into a template/table for review.
OLD BUSINESS
Update on Legacy Donations: Linda discussed in her report her work on the Clayton fund suggestions for either a book case or display shelving at the front desk. A picture of the display shelving from Athol Library was attached to her report along with the approximate dimensions for both the bookcase & display shelves. Barbara will follow up with Athol Library re the carpenter that they used for their display shelving.
The Board expressed much gratitude for Linda’s excellent work on behalf of our board & the library’s patrons.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:41PM.
Next meeting: Wednesday February 9 at 6:00 PM
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind, Secretary
February 8, 2023
Present: Marny Ashburne, Anna Coburn, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Linda Chatfield, Barbara Franck, Tracie Shea, library Director
Meeting began at 6:02 PM via Hybrid.
The January 11, 2022 Minutes were approved as written.
Reports:
Treasurer: The financial report as of February 4 was presented. Current balance as of February 1 is $11183.20. The final fraudulent charge on our account of $78.27 has been reversed.
George reported that the annual appeal has so far netted $1855. Membership dues of $390.00 have been received.
The Treasurer’s report was approved.
Director: Once again there was water in the ceiling of the Community Room. PVE plumbing & heating will be returning to assess.
Multiple power outages in town forced closure of the library. Staff took advantage of this time to make the children’s area more welcoming.
Inter Library Loan (ILL) system deliveries were negatively impacted by state wide weather related delays.
Circulation was down for the month but attendance held. Circulation was similar to last January’s numbers. The ILL delays may also have played a role.
Overall visits to the library for the month were 350.
Total program attendance at three programs, weekly yoga & Tales & Tunes was 74.
Total circulation for all formats was 967.
Tracie suggested having an Open House at the library, perhaps following the Carrie Ferguson concert in mid-June. She was soliciting Friends support and assistance for this. A discussion followed re timing of this event, perhaps at the time of the town-wide tagsale to assure a good attendance. Discussion on details will be continued.
Trustees:Marny reported that Trustee Eli will not be running for re-election, making for a vacancy.
There was a discussion about being proactive in the face of possible disruption in library services due to protests. This will be looked into.
A trial of offering a free fax/copy service for 6 months was proposed.
The lighting upgrade is still in progress.
Next meeting will be February 13.
Publicity: Marny reported she is working on publicity for our February 14 Reading Aloud for Grownup event and the baskets being offered in free drawings for patrons.
Anna announced that Martha will be resigning from the board due to increased family commitments, leaving an opening.
Upcoming Events:
Reading Aloud for Grownups:. Frederick and Jo Boskind will read for February 14. At this time only Marny is signed up to read for March 21. Barbara will follow-up on recruiting another reader. Barbara and Linda will take on refreshments and set up for the February 14 program. Barbara will also take pictures at the event.
Poetry Reading in honor of Dorothy Johnson: A date of April 11 from 7-8:30 was established. Anna will follow-up with 6th grade teachers re including their pupils’ poetry at this event. We discussed the possibility of having a display of their poetry in the library to coincide with this program. Linda will follow-up with local poet Ellie Burton re reading her poetry.
New Business:
The possibility of sponsoring an event with Nalini Goordial of Kitchen Wizardry which would entail a cooking demonstration and possibly the sale of her spices was discussed. We agreed that this would be worth pursuing. A possible Tuesday in May was suggested. Anna will follow-up with Nalini.
Another program discussed was a class on sketch booking. Barbara will follow-up with Kerry Stone, local artist re this.
3. Pysanky (Ukranian Easter Eggs) Class: Barbara is following up on a source to lead this
class.
4. Garden Committee; Jo Barbara & Linda will be captaining this committee.
Old Business
1. January Reading Aloud: Program was well received.
Next Meeting:
March 8, 2023 at 6PM.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:15PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
January 11, 2023
Present: Marny Ashburne, Anna Coburn, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Linda Chatfield, Barbara Franck, Tracie Shea, library Director
Meeting began at 6:04 PM via Hybrid.
The December 14, 2022 Minutes were approved as written.
Reports:
Treasurer: The financial report as of January 7 was presented. Current balance as of January 1 is $9276.61
George updated the board on the status of the fraudulent breach of our account at Athol Savings Bank in November. One of the two charges of $351.00 has been reversed. George expects the second such charge to be reversed soon. There were $225 received in donations & membership dues during the month and $33.65 in expenses. George reported that the annual appeal has so far netted $1800. in income & it is expected that we are on track to meet the $3000 that was projected. We also received a donation in memory of a third person. Mary Ellen Kennedy indicated in her donation letter that she likes to volunteer. Jo will follow up with her regarding her possible interest in joining our Board. George will thank the donor and send a note re the donation to the family of the deceased. He will also send the name of the donor to Marny to add to our publicity email list.
We discussed formulating a letter summarizing how donations to the Friends are used perhaps as part of the annual appeal.
The Treasurer’s report was approved.
Director: There was water in the ceiling of the Community Room. PVE plumbing & heating inspected and cleared. Tracie will monitor as the cause of the leak is uncertain.
Exterior doors are repaired and are no longer difficult to open.
Overall visits to the library for the month were 343.
Total program attendance at seven programs was 62.
There were three meetings with a total attendance of 17.
Total circulation for all formats was 1113.
Tracie announced that the Mass Board of Library Commissioners will have a Legislative Day on March 15, 2023. Library board members are invited.
Trustees: Marny reported that there is nothing new to report. The next Trustees meeting will be on January 19.
Publicity: Marny reported she is working on publicity for our Reading Aloud for Grownups; the first program will be on January 17.
Upcoming Events: Reading Aloud for Grownups: Barbara and Dee Waterman will be the readers for January 17. Frederick and Jo Boskind will read for February 14. At this time only Marny is signed up to read for March 14. Refreshments were discussed. Barbara and George will be available for the first event on January 17 and will supply refreshments. Marny and Martha will take on refreshments for the February 14 program. There was a discussion regarding the Zoom set up for these events.
New Business: A date of April 11 was established for the Poetry Event in memory of Dorothy Johnson. It will run from 7-8:30 and may include poetry for and by kids.
We discussed honoring February as Love Your Library Month and our patrons with two gift baskets, one for children, the other for adults. This free drawing was voted and approved. Tickets will be available at the library desk and free to patrons. There will be no limit per person. Tracie will also put together pre-printed templates for patrons to use to send your library a love letter, as well as supplies to get creative with your own design for placement by the baskets. Anna will put together the kids’ basket; Jo & Barbara the grown-ups’. The baskets will be on display for the month of February and the drawing all be March 2.
Old Business
Annual Appeal Update: As reported by George $1800 has been received so far.
Garden Committee: Linda will send out a Master calendar of garden tasks to all board members. Anna will keep this on the agenda for future meetings.
Thank you for Monica and Chris: $100 Gift certificate to the Hadley Garden Center was approved.
The completion of the John Clayton Legacy Project continues to be on hold by the contractor. Barbara will follow up.
Linda completed our Annual Report for the Trustees. She will send it out to them.
Holiday Book Sale: Linda captained this project. $22 in total was received. She brought approximately 200 books to Roundabout Books in Greenfield to make room for new donations.
Next Meeting:
February 8, 2023 at 6PM.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:15PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind,
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
December 12, 2022
Present: Marny Ashburne, Anna Coburn, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Linda Chatfield, Barbara Franck, Martha Hanks-Nicholl, Karen Stevens
Meeting began at 6:03 PM via Hybrid.
The November 9, 2022 Minutes were approved as written.
Reports:
Treasurer: The financial report as of December 10 was presented. Current balance as of December 1 is $8,734.26
George updated the board on the status of our bank account at Athol Savings Bank. There was a breach in the computer system of Athol Savings Bank which lead to fraudulent access to our credit card account over Thanksgiving weekend. Two charges to our account were made before it was stopped.
To avoid any future problems, we discussed limiting access to this account to the treasurer George Perides and president Anna Coburn and to remove the following members’ names from this account: Elizabeth Bergantino, Karen Stevens, Mary-Ann Palmeiri, and John Ryan. A motion was so made, and unanimously approved by all.
The treasurer’s report was also approved.
Director: Tracie was unable to attend the meeting but submitted the following report:
Director’s assistant position has been posted. Review of applications to begin December 16
Overall visits to the library for the month were 340.
Total program attendance at five programs was 78.
There were three meetings with a total attendance of 24.
Total circulation for all formats was 1212. There was an increase in all categories from the previous month.
Lighting Upgrade: The $9700.00 initially projected for the project will not be sufficient. Further assessment by Al Ohlson & Larry Eaton will occur. Priority will be given to the lighting in the Community Room.
Trustees: Marny reported that the Trustees want to meet with Larry & Al on the lighting issues.They would like to get as much of the work done as possible for the $9700 previously allocated by the town.
The Trustees will be contributing to the Town Annual Report, and we will need to supply our part. Linda agreed to put this report together for the Trustees.
Publicity: Marny reported on submitting info re our annual appeal, and the holiday book sale to the New Salem News. She will be organizing publicity for Reading Aloud for Grownups after the holidays.
Upcoming Events:
Reading Aloud for Grownups: Barbara will follow up with previous readers and confirm readers for this event. Barbara and George will be available for the first event on January 17 and will supply refreshments. Martha and Marny will assist at the March 24 reading. Approval for wine at these events by the select board hasn’t yet occurred. Karen will follow-up with the select board at their next meeting.
Holiday Book Sale: Linda will follow up with the New Salem News and will arrange for leftover books to be donated possibly to Roundabout Books in Greenfield
New Business:
Annual Appeal Update: The appeal has been sent out; there hasn’t been much of a response yet
Carrie Ferguson program: This artist’s credentials were reviewed. The board approved funds for her performance
Garden Committee: Linda is putting together an annual calendar of tasks associated with the garden. There is wide interest among board members to participate in this project. Anna will keep this on the agenda for future meetings.
Thank you for Monica and Chris: Gift certificates were approved. Linda will follow up re appropriate sources for the gift cards.
Friends Website: It needs active monitoring and updating. Martha volunteered to do this.
Event for Dorothy: We discussed having this event in April which is Poetry Month. Linda will check with Ellie Burton, a local poet, to gauge her interest. Jo will also follow-up with Mark Hart, a friend who is a published poet.
Next Meeting:
January 11, 2023 at 6PM.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:22PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind,
Secretary
Present: Marny Ashburne, Anna Channing, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Linda Chatfield, Barbara Franck, Karen Stevens, and director, Tracie Shea
Meeting began at 6:03 PM via Hybrid.
The October 11 Minutes were approved as written.
Reports:
Treasurer: The financial report as of November 1 was presented. There was income of $790.00 from Ciderfest tickets & donations, with total Balance of $9675.67. The report was approved unanimously.
Director: Overall visits to the library for the month were 308. Total program attendance at five programs was 62. There were three meetings with a total attendance of 8. Total circulation for all formats was 1182
Trustees: Marny reported that the trustees are working on a Gratitude Plaque to honor Diana and others with 20 or more years of service to be hung in the library.
Publicity: Marny reported on the publicity for the Candidate Forum we sponsored. She plans to promote our Smile account on Amazon for holiday purchases.
Upcoming Events:
Reading Aloud for Grownups; we selected the following dates: January 17, February 14, and March 21 from 7-8:30PM. We will offer a hybrid format, in person with a Zoom option. Barbara will follow up with past speakers to gauge interest in participating again. Karen will follow-up with the Selectboard re permission to serve wine at these events, as in past.
Fall newsletter and annual Appeal: Anna is putting on the final touches for the newsletter. Karen will pick up copies when ready. Fundraising letter and newsletter will be put together at the library by George. Members will stuff envelops when ready.
Holiday Book Sale: We agreed to offer the same as last year.
New Business:
Used Book Update: Monica turned this responsibility over to Linda. She will now monitor used books and make recommendations.
Garden Update: Monica is no longer able to assist with this. It will stay on the agenda for committee updates beginning in February for spring planning. Jo, Barbara, Linda and Martha have expressed interest in this.
Museum Passes: Tracie noted that the Friends fund 5 of the 10 Museum passes. She suggested that the Friends fund all 10 passes, three of which would be free. We discussed this proposal. Linda reported there is much interest in the passes we provide. The proposal was approved unanimously. Linda and Tracie will monitor usage.
Event for Dorothy: We discussed having a poetry reading in honor of Dorothy, possibly in April next year, after Reading Aloud for Grownups ends. Karen will follow-up with poets who might be interested. Reading Dorothy’s poetry will be central to this event. We will keep this on the agenda for future discussion.
Cultural Arts Grant: Karen suggested that the library withdraw its application to the Cultural Arts Council due to the plethora of requests the council is receiving. She suggested that the Friends fund the yoga & Lego programs instead. George said that it’s acceptable for Friends funds to be used in this way. This proposal was approved unanimously.
Old Business
Ciderfest Debrief and Thank you: It was agreed that this was a very positive event. George will write a thank you note and follow up with Carol to see if anything is owed.
State Rep Candidates Forum Debrief: It was agreed this was another well organized positive event which was facilitated by Marny’s excellent publicity and Anna’s organizing and stellar moderating.
Gill CC Woodworks: Barbara reported that the project is still going forward but they are backed up right now.
Next Meeting:
December 14, 2022 at 6PM.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:17PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind,
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
October 11, 2022
Present: Marny Ashburne, Linda Chatfield, Anna Coburn, George Perides, Karen Stevens and library director Tracie Shea
Meeting began at 6:01 via Zoom
The Minutes for the September 7, 2022 meeting were approved as written
Report
Treasurer: The reports for September 17, 2022, and October 1, 2022, were presented. Gill CC Woodworks has been fully paid for the preparation of the Clayton Memorial bookcase. Both reports were approved unanimously.
Director: Tracie reported that the Dale Monette program "Quabbin Then & Now" was very popular, and the library will be having Dale do another program in 2023 or perhaps doing the same program since some people didn't stay because the room was overcrowded. Library attendance and circulation were in the usual range.
Trustees: The Trustees held a special meeting and voted to support to move the town election operations in the community room in the library for the remainder of the calendar year. At that point, they will review whether to continue this in 2023. Some concern was expressed that this should not lead to neglect of needed repairs to other Town buildings and the Community Room should not become office space for Town officials.
Publicity: Ciderfest: Marny will be sending the Ciderfest announcement to the Friends mailing list and to the Wendell listserv.
Selectboard Zoom forum: Unfortunately, it was not possible to find a date when all 3 selectboard candidates would be able to participate in a Zoom meeting. Marny will send the note, previously circulate and approved by the board to the candidates informing them of our decision to cancel the even. She will also send notes to Lisa Finestone, Mary-Ann Palmieri and Kathy Soule-Regine thanking them for the help they provided.
Upcoming Events:
Ciderfest: At last count, 20 tickets had been sold. Marny will advertise as described above.
The logistics include: preparation of spinach- and cheese-pies (George), purchasing chocolates, deli products, grapes and cheese from BJs (Anna). Linda will bring the baskets. Set-up we will start at 4:30 with Karen, Marny Linda and Anna. Martha has arranged to pick up tables from the Town Hall. With tablecloths from Martha and Barbara there should be enough. Martha will contact Carol to inform her of our plans and that we expect William to present at 6.00 pm.
Candidates’ Forum: The format will be the same as we used two years ago when Susannah Whipps and William LaRose were candidates for State Representatives. Anna will moderate. She will welcome the candidates and give them 3 minutes each to introduce themselves. She will then proceed with questions from people who have registered. Each candidate will have 2 minutes to respond to the question. Although the questions may be general to the district Anna wants to ensure to include questions that relate to the North Quabbin area. The order of responding will alternate between the two candidates. Anna will have additional questions prepared by her and with the help of Mary-Ann Palmieri and the members of the board. Anna has already told the candidates that they will just be answering the questions since this is not a debate, and she will remind them again if needed. At the end each candidate will have the opportunity to give a closing statement. We expect the forum to last 50-60 minutes.
Fall Newsletter and Annual Appeal: Anna will send out an email listing all the Friends' events in the previous year, and Board members can select which event they would like to write about in the Newsletter. Articles will be due to Anna by Nov. 2. She will have them edited and submitted to Collective copies by November 11. We should receive the printed material by November 16 so they can be prepared for mailing. We will follow the system established by Karen Stevens last year. George will purchase stamps, envelopes and labels. He will contact Stacy to obtain the list of New Salem households. Once all the materials are ready, they will be available at the library so that Board members can take a portion (last year it was 50 each) to stuff the envelopes and prepare for mailing.
New Business:
Unfortunately, it was not possible to find a date when all 3 selectboard candidates would be able to participate in a Zoom meeting. Marny will send the note, previously circulate and approved by the board to the candidates informing them of our decision to cancel the even. She will also send notes to Lisa Feinstone, Mary-Ann Palmieri and Kathy Soule-Regine thanking them for the help they provided.
Old Business:
Legacy Donations-Gill CC Woodworks. The invoice has been paid. We are waiting for delivery of the bookcases.
Marny's Author Reading: Everyone was pleased with this event which went very well with active participation from the attendees.
Next meeting
November 9, at 6.00 pm
The meeting was adjourned at 7:00pm
Respectfully submitted
George Perides
Meeting Minutes
September 7, 2022
Present: Marny Ashburne, Martha Nicoll, Anna Channing, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Linda Chatfield, and director, Tracie Shea
Meeting began at 6:06 PM via Zoom.
The August 10 Minutes were approved as written.
Reports:
Treasurer: No report was available for this meeting.
Director: No update on lighting upgrade; exterior work may take place this fall, but more likely in the spring.
Planned September events include: Gravestone Rubbing Workshop, Book group discussion, and Quabbin, Then & Now, a presentation by Dale Monette. In addition yoga will be resuming in person in the community room. Friends & Trustees to have Welcome & Thank you event on September 13.
Overall visits to the library for the month were 371.
Total program attendance at two programs (book discussion and Beatles Retrospective) was 23.
There were three meetings, including State Senator Jo Commerford’s visit (19 participants) for a total of 30 participants.
Total circulation for all formats was 1157
Trustees: Marny is coordinating the September 13 Welcome event, with the Trustees
Publicity: Marny sent save the date reminders to the New Salem email list for the September 13 event.
Upcoming Events: There was a discussion of what would be needed for each of the following events:
Open House & Welcome Party on September 13: Anna & Linda will set up. Trustees are arranging for refreshments.
Marny’s Reading: will be in person on September 22.
Quabbin Then & Now with Dale Monette. September 30 at 7pm. Set up at 6:30. Linda will do this. Cookies will be offered.
Ciderfest at New Salem Preserves on October 16 at 5:30. Marny will do the publicity. Martha will get the chairs and tables. Ticket price will be $20, capped at 40 participants. Tickets will be available online. There will be two raffle baskets, one from the Cidery and one from the General Store. Linda will follow-up on this. Save the date announcements will go out @September 17. Anna will get the link set up for the tickets. It was decided that raffle tickets will be cash only. Barbara, George & Anna will arrange for refreshments. Karen, Jo & Martha will set up.
Candidate Forum with Aaron Saunders & Chip Harrington, October 25 at 7PM. It will have the same format as last year’s and will be a virtual event. Anna will follow-up with AOTV re possible coverage. She will also moderate.
New Business:
Monitoring Facebook Account and Messages: will be limited to Library and Friends.
Old Business
Legacy Donations: Gill CC Woodworks presented a final invoice of $1806.25. This was approved and a 50% deposit will be paid for the project.
Amy Fagin: She has made her artwork available to sell for the benefit of the library. We
discussed whether to have this be part of the raffle or for a future event.
Next Meeting:
October 12, 2022 at 6PM.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:12PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind,
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
August 10, 2022
Present: Marny Ashburne, Martha Nicoll, Barbara Franck, Anna Channing, Karen Stevens, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Linda Chatfield, and new Director, Tracie Shea
Meeting began at 6:03 PM via Zoom.
The July 6 Minutes were approved as written.
Reports:
Treasurer: The balance as of August 1 is $10868.92. There were $20.00 in donations in memory of Dorothy Johnson. No membership dues were received. $159.07 in expenses was paid for the Zoom account, and $59.50 was paid to board member Barbara Franck for expenses related to the Ciderfest 2021. The total expenditures for the month was $217.77. The report was approved.
Director:We welcomed our new library director Tracie Shea!
Overall visits to the library for the month were 345. Total program attendance at two programs (children’s & book discussion groups) was 41. Total circulation for all formats was 1177.
The end of the children’s summer reading program is planned for August 20. It was suggested that some cookies/snacks and soft drinks be offered. Martha offered to follow-up on this and arrange for refreshments.
Trustees: Marny reported that the Trustees are spearheading the Welcome Party scheduled for September 13 and she will coordinate with the Trustees on the need for our support, refreshments etc..
Publicity: Marny stated there is nothing to report at this time.
New Business:
Vote on New Board Member: Linda Chatfield was officially voted in as our newest member, unanimously.
Author Readings: It was agreed that Marny will read from her new book on September 22. Follow-up on another local author, Ellie Burton reading will occur after the September 22nd reading by Marny.
Welcome Party: see above.
Dale Monette program is scheduled for September 30 at 7pm. Friends will provide refreshments.
State Representative Candidates Forum: We settled on October 25 as the date for this.
Anna will follow up with Betsy re details of previous forums. We agreed that the format will be via Zoom. Anna will introduce the candidates and follow-up re questions for them. Karen will confirm their availability.
CiderFest: The event will happen on October 16 at 5:30 PM with a raindate of October 23. Barbara, George, and Anna will arrange refreshments. Karen, Jo & Martha will set up. Linda will follow up on putting together the raffle details and arranging for the baskets to be raffled.
Old Business
Legacy Donations: Barbara has been captaining this project. She visited the Gill Woodworking workshop and was favorably impressed. The estimate she as presented with was for $3100. We discussed options of limiting the project to one bookshelf or whether the Friends could pay the balance for the original two. We decided that Barbara should get a new estimate for one bookshelf made with quality wood. The bookshelf could display woodworking tools as well as books.
Next Meeting:
September 7, 2022 at 6PM.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:10PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind, Secretary
Meeting Minutes
July 6, 2022
Present: Marny Ashburne, Martha Nicoll, Barbara Franck, Anna Channing, George Perides,
Jo Boskind, Linda Chatfield (library staff)
Meeting began at 6:04 PM via Zoom.
The June Minutes were approved as written.
Reports:
Treasurer: The balance as of July 1 is $11,066.69. There were $15.00 in donations and $10.00 in membership dues received for a total income of $25.00. $1.03 in expenses was paid for Square; $499.75 in books for the library, $300. for gifts for departing board members, $81.00 for Annual Meeting expenses, $100.00 for Richie Davis honorarium and $150.00 for New England Botanical Garden at Tower Hill pass. The total expenditures for the month was $1132.49.
The report was approved.
Director:Overall visits to the library for the month were 296. Program attendance at six programs over the month had a total of 85. Yoga class had 23 attendees & the book discussion group had 7. Total attendance of all types was 425. Total circulation for all formats was 805. The 8 week summer reading program which began on June 25th is continuing until August 20.
Building update/Lighting Upgrade: Larry Eaton is interested in the project. If Larry decides not take on the project the Town may assist in getting an electrician.
Linda has been working on the website and has added a new tab through which access to the Friends information can be made.
There is a new library Director: Tracie Shea from Hardwick has accepted the position and will be starting on July 19, 2022. Linda will be training her and as of the 19th she will return to her position as substitute library assistant.
Trustees: Marny reported that there has been no meeting since our last board meeting.
Publicity: Marny reported she will be updating the Friends Flyer with the new board members. She will also update the Friends information board at the Library. She has completed new name tags for each board member.
NEW BUSINESS
1.Board of Directors Positions Approved: Chair: Anna Channing, Secretary Jo Ellen Boskind, Treasurer, George Perides. It was agreed that the positions will be put back on an even year schedule so the current positions will be held until 2024.
2.Programming & Fundraiser/Fall Event Ideas:
Our state senator Jo Comerford will be visiting the library on August 27 from 1- 2pm. We will be co-sponsoring this event.
Fall Author Reading: It was agreed that Marny will read from her new book on September 15.
CiderFest: We discussed possible dates and whether a guided tour of the cider could be part of the program. Martha will follow-up with Carol Hillmann.
3. Recruiting New Board Members: Linda has expressed interest in continuing to be part of our board, with the Trustees approval. The Trustees want to check with legal counsel and will let us know their decision before our next board meeting. This will still leave one open position.
OLD BUSINESS
Legacy Donations: Barbara has been captaining this project. She has been working with Gill Woodworking and has developed plans and a sketch for the woodworker’s review. The estimated cost is $2500. Barbara will be following up to see if the cost could be reduced through, for example, use of a different wood. She plans a visit to this workshop.
Next Meeting:
August 10 at 6PM.
Meeting was adjourned at 6:55 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind,
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
June 15, 2022
Present: Betsy Bergantino, Marny Ashburne, Martha Nicoll, Barbara Franck, Anna Channing, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Karen Stevens, Lisa Finestone, Linda Chatfield (library staff)
Meeting began at 6:10 PM via Zoom.
The May Minutes were approved as written.
Reports:
Treasurer:
The balance as of June 3 is $12,174.18. There were no membership dues received. $20.71 was received from Amazon Smile Account. $650 in expenses was paid to the Mass MoCA, Historical Deerfield, and FP Zoo for passes. A total of $25.68 was paid for expenses related to the Friends Book Sale at the town wide tag sale. $104.92 was used for the purchase of new library books for a total expenditures of $780.60
Donations received for the month were $225.68.
The proposed FY23 Budget to be presented at the annual meeting was also discussed
The report was approved.
Director:
Overall visits to the library for the month were 336. Program attendance for the month was 93. Yoga class had 26 attendees & the book discussion group had 10. There are 784 books in circulation. A new 8 week program focusing on summer reading will be starting on June 25th.
With regard to the needed repairs, Larry Eaton is following up with Andrew Olsen re possible interest in the project.
Trustees:
Marny reported that the director position has been offered to a candidate from Hardwick. As of this meeting she has not yet accepted the offer. There is a new trustee, Mailande DeWitt, who is a law student.
Publicity:
Marny reported that the focus of publicity has been the Annual Meeting, scheduled for June 18, 2022.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Annual Meeting & Ice Cream Social. Richie Davis will be our guest speaker. The event will happen on Saturday June 18 from 2-4pm. Betsy will follow-up re shopping list and email the board with last minute needs.
2. Recruiting New Board members. We discussed a pamphlet that would describe The Friends and our activities and be used for recruitment. We discussed recruiting members through our own social networks. Linda described a link from the library website to the Friends info; she will work on creating a new section for the board that can be accessed through an identified tab on the website. We discussed whether staff can be (non-voting) members of our board. Anna will follow-up with the Trustees regarding this.
3. Garden. Lisa recommended a committee be formed to address the care of the garden. Martha volunteered to weed as needed. Anna, Jo and Barbara are also willing to help. Lisa offered to put a list together of what is needed for care of the garden. We discussed a Fall Cleanup event for sometime this fall. Further discussion was tabled.
4. Programming/ Fall Event Ideas. There was interest in having two authors for the fall: Marny and possibly Kathy Picard, who is a children’s author. Ciderfest was also discussed as a fundraiser. Further discussion was tabled
OLD BUSINESS
Legacy Donations: Barbara is following up with Jeannie Clayton on a possible event on the anniversary of John’s death, in September 2022. She continues to pursue possible woodworkers for the project.
Town Wide Tag Sale: Our booksale netted $250.00. Roundabout Books in Greenfield took the leftover CD’s and books.
Next Meeting:
Annual meeting June 18 2pm to 4.
Board meeting July 6 at 6PM
Meeting was adjourned at 7:37 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind,
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
May 11, 2022
Present: Betsy Bergantino, Marny Ashburne, Anna Channing, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Karen Stevens Lisa Feinstone, Linda Chatfield (library staff)
Meeting began at 6:09 PM via hybrid.
The April Minutes were approved as written.
REPORTS
Treasurer:
The balance as of May 1 is $12833.39. There were no donations or membership dues received. $125 in expenses was paid to the Eric Carle Museum for passes.
Donations are unchanged from the previous month (John Clayton total $2005.00, Annual Appeal $2104.00) with the exception of a $50.00 donation in memory of Dorothy Johnson.
The report was approved.
Director:
Overall visits to the library for the month were 270. Attendance at two of the programs was small - “Climate change in Your Back Yard” had only 9 participants via Zoom; In person, “Earth Day Celebration” had 8 and the first session of “Tales & Tunes with Katie” had 15 for a total program attendance of 32. Yoga class had 29 attendees & the book discussion group had 5 with a total number for all attendance of 340. Several programs are planned for May & June.
$499.76 of the $500 Friends Material Donation (FY22) have been spent on new books and $104.92 of the $107.48 from the Stella Haney book donation fund (FY22)has been spent on children’s books.
There are two new library volunteers and a new substitute.
There is movement forward on the lighting upgrade: three electricians have come forward with interest in the project. Christian Haines plans to contact his supplier to get some idea of the cost of the actual fixtures. In addition, Richard Harrington & Chris Desorcy have expressed interest and have received copies of the proposal.
The town has a new website. Anna will email the select board re our calendar appearing on the website.
Trustees:
Marny reported that the next meeting of the Trustees will be May 24th with the last day for applications for the library director position set as May 16. There are now two candidates.
Publicity:
Marny reported that the brochure announcing the Friends Booksale at the town wide tag sale is completed.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Book Sale at the town-wide tag-sale on Saturday May 14: Karen will get donuts. Receipts for coffee & donuts should be detailed for reimbursement. Donations for additional books should be brought to the library on May 12th. The sorting tasks & set up, staffing of the sale & takedown are in order.
2. Annual Meeting & Ice Cream Social: Richie Davis will be our guest speaker. The event will happen on Saturday June 18 from 2-4pm. The annual meeting should take 15-20 minutes. Betsy, George & Anna will put together the agenda and budget. We agreed that the speaker should receive a $100 honorarium. We discussed various resources for the ice cream; Betsy will follow-up and get info re costs from Barts and other sources and email the board with recommendations.
3. Recruiting New Board members: this discussion was tabled.
4. Programming/Authors for the Fall: There was interest in having two authors for the fall and Reading Aloud for Grownups in the spring. We also discussed the possibility of returning to the Murder Mystery, Chocolate & Wine tasting or Cider tasting events as fundraisers. Further discussion was tabled
OLD BUSINESS
1. Trustees Policy Review: We reviewed the revised Friends of the Library Policies and approved them.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:29 PM.
Next meeting: Wednesday June 15 at 6:00 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind,
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
April 13, 2022
Present: Marny Ashburne, Betsy Bergantino, Anna Channing, Linda Chatfield (library acting director), Lisa Feinstone, Martha Nicoll, George Perides, Karen Stevens
Meeting began at 6.10 via Zoom
The March meeting minutes were approved
REPORTS
Treasurer’s report:
Balance as of April 6, 2022 is $12,833.39. The main expense was the payment of the chairs purchased for the community room ($1,493.16). The report was unanimously approved.
Director’s Report:
Attendance at the library either in person or through zoom for the various programs is up again, as it appears that people are returning to pre-Covid habits. The March circulation has reached 748 items, mostly books and DVDs. A total of 70 items were added to the library. Earth Day celebration at the 1794 Meetinghouse has been arranged and starting 4/26, a 5-week series of “Tales & Tunes with Katie” will start. Linda is still working on identifying somebody to do the Lighting upgrade at the library. The candidates for director of the Library have withdrawn and the search is starting anew.
Publicity:
The only items was the “Meeting the Candidates” for the 2022 local New Salem elections.
Trustee Policy Review: Tabled for next month in the interest of time.
NEW BUSINESS
Meet the candidates. It is set for April 26. 5 candidates have agreed to participate, 3 with statements and 2 via zoom. The two participating via zoom are the candidates for the only contested sit (Planning Board).
Anna Channing will moderate and introduce the candidates. Each will have 3-4 minutes to state their position. After that there will be an open question and answer session.
The friends will send the link to people who have not registered, since we can control who joins in and at the same time even remove somebody who may behave inappropriately.
Annual meeting We agreed to set a date for Saturday June 18th 4-6pm. The meeting is open to all the members of the friends. The budget will be discussed and the board of directors will be elected. We discussed whether we should combine it with an event at the 1794 Meetinghouse, trivia or some other special performance.
Recruiting new members. Lisa and Betsy will leave the board this year. It was suggested that we need to expand our search to people that we don’t know at all. Marny suggested that we could send material to the people we have on our list describing what we do as we invite them to join the board, and put an invitation at the library to ask the visitors to join.
Programming. Karen raised the concern that we have slowed down and may not be doing enough. She said that she would not like the Friends to just become a fundraising tool for the library. Other members noted that we do plenty and the last two years, trying to adapt to the Covid pandemic, we provided a real service to the town. Linda Chatfield suggested to increase or start an author’s program, during which we will invite local (or not) authors to present their latest or older work. That was very positively received and several authors were mentioned. (Romer, J.D. Lantis, Celia Jeffers). Lisa Finestone suggested that the Friends can also help the Library by providing more funding and work at the various programs the Library develops.
Museum passes. A vote was taken to order the museum passes for the Eric Carle, DCR, Mass MOCA, Historic Museum of Deerfield and Forest Park Zoo.
Tag sale. Tag sale has been set by the Town for 5/14 at 8-12noon. We arrange to present there and sell donuts.
Garden. The trustees appear to have a budget for it and Monika will bring the pots out.We plan to plant a tree to the right of the entrance next to the lilies
Next meeting on May 11, at 6.00pm
The meeting was adjourned at 7.57
Respectfully submitted
George Perides
Meeting Minutes
March 9, 2022
Present: Betsy Bergantino, Marny Ashburne, Anna Channing, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Barbara Franck, Martha Nicoll, Karen Stevens, Linda Chatfield (library staff)
Meeting began at 6:03 PM via Zoom.
The February Minutes were approved as written.
REPORTS
Treasurer's report
The Treasurer’s report was read. The balance as of March 2 is $14126.25. This included $155 in donations & $20.00 in membership dues for a total income of $175.00. There were $303 in expenses paid to Collective Copies for the Fall Newsletter.
Donations for the Clayton Fund are now $2005.00 in total. The annual appeal has netted $2104.00 so far.
The report was approved.
Director’s Report
Attendance at the library is up 21% from January. Circulation has seen a 41%increase over January. A very successful Zoom program on March 4 on “Gorgeous Gardens Of New England” was well received & had 62 registrants & 36 attendees. Linda reported that the new chairs we purchased are in place and are a positive addition. A building update was provided: There have been problems securing an electrician. Steve Canning & Glen Tattan are not available. A suggestion for an electrician was made. Jo will supply Christian Haines contact info to Linda for follow-up. Linda reported that a donation to the Friends in memory of Dorothy Johnson, who recently died, was left at the library. Several programs are being planned for April. Linda is also working with the Orange Co-op to have a Library Day at the Co-op. The Farm School will be part of this. It is planned for May 19 from 10-4.
Trustees
Marny reported that the Covid policy was reviewed in light of the mask mandate being lifted and it was decided to open the library to groups of up to 25, with no restrictions on serving refreshments. The Trustees are reviewing the Policy Handbook. We will review the Trustees’ draft policy regarding the Friends Group. A subcommittee of the friends was suggested for this purpose: Lisa, Anna & Marny will take this on. Communication between the Director & the Friends was felt to be key.
Publicity
Marny reported that Reading Aloud for Grownups, planned for March 15, is the focus of current publicity activities.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Trustee Policy Review: See above.
2. Reading Aloud For Grownups on March 15th: It was decided that this will be offered as a hybrid. Barbara will host the program. It will include a recognition & dedication of the program in memory of the program’s pioneer and mentor, Dorothy Johnson. Anna will take care of the hybrid setup.
3. Library Director Search Committee Update: Betsy reported that there are four candidates: two look great. Applications were submitted online. The questions for the interviews are in place. The search committee will meet again on March 10. It was decided that the committee members will police themselves to avoid issues with unconscious bias.
4. Candidate Forum for Town Elections: The Friends will host this on April 26th. It will be a meet &greet the candidate event. Anna will moderate. The Planning Board has the only contested seat.
5. Robert Romer Reading: Karen expressed interest in the Friends hosting authors as was done so successfully last year. She suggested that such programing is essential in keeping patrons interested in supporting our efforts financially. This local author was one of her suggestions. We decided to discuss this kind of programing in greater detail at our next meeting. We also discussed supporting Linda’s programming financially: what this would look like will also be discussed at our next meeting.
6. Museum Passes: This discussion was tabled.
Old Business:
Update on Legacy Donations/Clayton Fund: As reported in the Treasurer’s report, donations continue to come in. The fund is now at $2005.00.
Tagging Friends Items (furniture etc). Discussion tabled.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:30PM.
Next meeting: Wednesday April 13 at 6:00 PM, hybrid.
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind,
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
February 9, 2022
Present: Lisa Feinstone, Betsy Bergantino, Marny Ashburne, Anna Channing, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Barbara Franck, Martha Nicoll, Karen Stevens, Linda Chatfield (library staff)
Meeting began at 6:04 PM via Zoom.
The January Minutes were approved as written.
REPORTS
Treasurer's report
The Treasurer’s report was read. The balance as of February 6 is $14254.25. This included $277 in donations & $130.00 in membership dues for a total of $407.00 & $1.03
in Square fees for expenditures. Donations for the Clayton Fund are still coming in, now over $1905.00. The annual appeal has netted $2059.00 so far. The report was approved.
Director’s Report
Attendance & circulation totals were down from January by 10%, with the biggest decrease in children’s attendance which was down from 14 to 5, probably attributable to the Covid.
There were no programs in January. The February 4th Zoom program with Michael Tougias on
“The Blizzard of 1978” was very well attended with 48 attending & 82 registrations, including a significant number of registrations from around the state. Publicity was very good.
Trustees
Marny reported that the Covid policy was reviewed and it was decided to limit in-person events to 10 or fewer participants. The problem with the Friends chair purchases was discussed. All the old chairs were donated and therefore are not town property, so can be disposed of as the library sees fit.
Publicity
Marny reported that Reading Aloud for Grownups, planned for February 15, is the focus for publicity activities. In addition she noted that twenty-six new members were added to the publicity contact list from the annual appeal.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Trustee Policy Review: This handbook is being reviewed by the Trustees. There is a statement in this policy that the Friends are non-voting participants in the Trustee meetings Th e current Friends policy will be reviewed by Lisa, Marny & Anna. Their recommendations and/or suggestions for revision will be presented to our board for further discussion.
2. Annual Appeal Update: Reported in the Treasurer’s Report
3. New Chairs: The 6 chairs purchased by our board arrived with some problems: two were the wrong color and one was broken. Two will need to be returned and possibly the third, if no replacement wheel is available. Reparation is still in process.
4. Reading Aloud For Grownups on February 15th: It was decided that this will be offered thru Zoom only. Anna will follow up with the readers re set up and timeframe for each story. She will also open the meeting. Dee Waterman & Frederick Edwards will be the readers. Karen & Barbara both volunteered to open the March 15 program.
5. Tagging Friends’ Items in the library: We discussed whether to have tags or plaques on books and or furniture that have been provided for by the Friends, or to simply have a poster that had this information. The discussion was tabled for now.
6. Museum Passes: We reviewed the museum pass template put together by Anna. The Eric Carle Museum, Tower Hill, Historic Deerfield have been purchased. Passes for Ecotarium, Holyoke Children’s Museum, Worcester Art Museum, Magic Wings, Clark Institute and Brattleboro Museum, DCR and Mass MOCA are under consideration. We added to this list a question of including the Basketball Hall of Fame. Linda will follow-up re cost and terms. Linda had previously advised against purchasing passes to the Brattleboro Museum and a second DCR pass.
7. Library Director Search Committee: Betsy reported that the search committee will meet on February 10. We discussed how to engage the public in this process and also how to engage in a process for assessment of candidates that avoids unconscious bias. The search committee meetings will be listed on the library website in the Calendar section. Linda has created multiple links so that users can access the calendar from a variety of locations. Interview questions will still be solicited until the end of February when the interviews are expected to begin. Betsy will follow up.
OLD BUSINESS
Update on Legacy Donations/Clayton Fund: We reviewed a rough diagram provided by Linda of possible end cap bookcase(s) for the adult area. Quotes are still needed. Discussion to be continued.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:35PM.
Next meeting: Wednesday March 9 at 6:00 PM
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind,
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
January 12, 2022
Present: Lisa Feinstone, Betsy Bergantino, Marny Ashburne, Anna Channing, George Perides, Jo Boskind, Barbara Franck, Martha Nicoll Linda Chatfield (library staff)
December Minutes were discussed and approved with one small modification.
REPORTS
Treasurer:
The report was read and approved. The balance as of January 7 is $13,848.28. $1997.39 in donations & $470.00 in Membership dues were received. There are some donations of about $200.00 still to be recorded.
George received a request from the Secretary of State. He will followup with Karen re this.
Director:
Attendance & circulation totals were down from November, probably attributable to the new Covid surge. But attendance at yoga was significantly up. A wreath making class was also well attended and positively received by participants.
All three grants that Linda applied for in October & November were awarded.
Regarding the book trucks: Linda recommended that decisions on this can wait til the new Director is in place and questioned whether our board need fund this.
Trustees Meeting:
Marny reported that the Friends annual report is needed before the next Trustees Meeting on February 8th. Anna will followup. Betsy will look for last year’s report. Betsy was named chair of the search committee for the new Director. She noted there will be no in-person meetings of the committee before the end of January.
Publicity:
Marny reported that Annual Appeal and Reading Aloud for Grownups were a focus for publicity activities. She edited the poster for Reading Aloud & created announcements for the newsletter. The annual appeal was also publicized in the town’s newsletter. She noted also that the pop-up book sale captained by Monica Winters netted $72.00
NEW BUSINESS
1. Annual Appeal Update: Reported in the Treasurer’s Report
2. Reading Aloud For Grownups on January 15h: It has been decided that this will be offered thru Zoom only. Anna will follow up with the readers re set up and timeframe. She will also open the meeting.
3. Interview Questions for Library Director Search Committee: These are needed before the end of February when the interviews are expected to begin. We reviewed the questions that the search committee has come up with so far. Collaboration with our Board was recommended; how to word this question for the search committee was discussed. Linda will follow-up with the Trustees re putting details about the search on the Library’s website.
4. Museum passes: Linda detailed in her report the passes that were most utilized in previous years. These included the Clark Museum (10), DCR (7 total), Magic Wings Conservatory (6), Mass MOCA (7) Tower Hill (5) Eric Carle Museum (3). Lisa will follow-up with Karen & Mary-Anne re history of pass purchases and possibility of other passes eg the Springfield Museums and the Ecotarium in Worcester. Linda recommended against renewing passes to the Brattleboro Museum, Historic Deerfield and a second DCR pass.
Anna will put the details about the passes into a template/table for review.
OLD BUSINESS
Update on Legacy Donations: Linda discussed in her report her work on the Clayton fund suggestions for either a book case or display shelving at the front desk. A picture of the display shelving from Athol Library was attached to her report along with the approximate dimensions for both the bookcase & display shelves. Barbara will follow up with Athol Library re the carpenter that they used for their display shelving.
The Board expressed much gratitude for Linda’s excellent work on behalf of our board & the library’s patrons.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:41PM.
Next meeting: Wednesday February 9 at 6:00 PM
Respectfully submitted,
Jo Ellen Boskind, Secretary
