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Grafton Public Library Trustees Meeting Minutes

March 16, 2017 6:00PM

Attending: Bob Donald, Lucia Corwin, Andrea Dunmire, Deborah Toomey, David Whittall and librarian Michelle Dufort

Bob Donald called the meeting to order at 6:05 pm.

Public comment: No public in attendance.

The minutes of the February 16, 2017 meeting were read and approved.

Librarian’s Report

The Library received a bill for Worker’s Compensation, something that had never been paid directly by the Library previously, so money was not allocated for it in the Library’s budget. The League of Cities and Towns, who had apparently covered the costs in the past, knew for a year that the Library would need to cover this cost and never informed the Library or the Board. Michelle has spent at least five hours resolving issues with payroll and workman’s compensation.

Michelle reported last month on the Turner Hill Historic Site project of which she represents the Library and meets monthly at the Library. The information kiosk for the Site will be in the law office building behind the Barrett House.

The history books require original cataloging which take at least 20 to 30 minutes for each book. Once these are all catalogued and entered into the system, data entry for automation will be complete.

Interlibrary loans are books borrowed from other libraries for Library borrowers. The lending library pays to ship the book to us, but we pay to mail the book upon return. The Library receives a small grant from the Department of Libraries to cover our mailing costs. Bob suggests that ILL be one of the services discussed in the fundraising letter this year.

The summer reading program, “Build a Better World,” will start in April this year to encourage children to continue to read through the summer. Angel Squires-Restino will run the programs with help from Michelle, as needed.

Treasurer’s Report

Barbara Friedman of TIAA-CREF has asked that her annual review of the Library’s endowment funds take place in April this year since she has a conflict in May. The Board approved the earlier date.

The budget is on target. Funds will need to be transferred from the endowment this week.

Building and Grounds

The Library is currently experiencing issues with three doors. The handle of the main entrance door sticks in the down position and the door will not close properly. Stan Mack looked at it and will repair and replace the handle and lock with a sturdier one similar to the one on the French door. He will key the lock to the current configuration. The storm door’s door knob keeps sticking. It was replaced 2 years ago and need to be replaced with a sturdier knob. Stan Mack will be asked to repair this as well. Bob Donald will remove the exterior door on the front of the Library once the snow has melted sufficiently.

Strategic Planning

Lucia reviewed a few of the documents in the packets she had provided to Board members concerning strategic planning garnered from the class she and Deborah attended. The Board will read the GPL Strategic Plan and the Cornwell Strategic plan as well as the other materials she provided. We will discuss when to have the special Board meeting (June has been suggested) regarding the planning process and what should be included in the packets provided to individuals invited to participate in the planning process.

The next Board meeting will be on Thursday, April 20, 2017 at 6 pm.

The meeting adjoined at 7:15 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Deborah Toomey, Secretary