Gay-Kimball Library

Board of Trustees

May 1, 2008

Present: Catherine Callegari, Beth Richardson, Kathy Marrotte, Barbara Whitman (public)

The minutes from the previous meeting were voted on and approved.

Treasurer's Report: There is presently $8,187 in the library checking account. There is approximately $300 in the fine account.

Librarian's Report: The door count for April was 1,484, up from 960 in 2007. There were 11 new patrons, the computers were used 191 times, 29 audio books were downloaded and 2, 792 items were circulated through the library. This is up from 1,669 items in 2007, and the highest it's ever been since we've been keeping track of statistics. Catherine estimates that we have 700 DVD's at the library now, and they account for a good percentage of circulating items.

Old Business:

1. Book Sale: the book sale will be held on Friday May 23, and Saturday May 24. The tables will be set up on May 15^th. There was some discussion on options for the books that do not sell during the sale. Catherine will make some inquiries as to organizations that might be interested in the books. Beth will be available at 2:00 to help clean up, and Barbara has volunteered to help out during the sale.

2. Building Maintenance: The windows need to be washed. The gentleman who power washed the vinyl siding could come and power was the new windows, but not the old windows as the glass is too fragile. After some discussion we decided that this would be the best route, and Catherine will call and make arrangements. The railings in the front of the library need to be painted again. We could ask Harold if he knows anyone, or wait to see if he would be interested in doing the job (he is currently involved in renovating the bakery). Harold did offer to paint the eaves at the entrance to the library and we will wait until he's ready and available to do the job, as there is no rush. The area next to the entrance way where the Japanese Maple is overgrown and weedy. We discussed removing the rocks and putting down mulch, or some kind of ground covering plants. Kathy will work on making a plan for the area, and getting in touch with the persons who originally set it up to see if they want to be involved in the process. The elevator inspection was 1 month late. There is a new law that states the Fire Marshal and the Elevator Inspector have to both be present at the same time to do the inspection. 2 of the smoke detectors were discovered to be not working. A Better Alarms is coming on May 2^nd to fix them.

New Business:

1. Summer Reading Program: the theme this year is "G'day For Reading". Catherine will visit the school during a Friday Morning Meeting at the end of the year and Beth will send home copies of the pamphlet with the students. The library received a grant to pay for a wildlife program to come to the library. We will pay $150 and the grant will pay the rest. Beth will look for Australian things at home for the display case. We will hold the ice cream social in August.

2. New at the library: Catherine is looking into getting new DVD shelves. Casey Clark is going to give an estimate to build 2 new shelves for by the entry stairs. If we decide to go with her, it will take a month after the quote is given to get them built. Catherine will research other options in the meantime. We also discussed getting beanbag chairs for the children's area downstairs.

3. Selling Tree Free Tins: After some discussion, it was decided that the library will not sell Tree Free tins at the town wide yard sale on June 7^th. Catherine will call Meg Brodhead and see what is going on for the Troy Arts Festival, which is being held on July 26^th.

4. Current Meeting Time and Date: There was a discussion held around if we should change the current meeting date/time. It was decided to stay with the first Thursday of the month at 7:00pm as this works for everyone.

5. Door Counter Incident: On Friday April 17^th when Catherine left the library, she checked to make sure the door counter was set to zero, as she always does. When she came in Saturday, the door counter read 40. Catherine asked everyone who has access to the library, and no one was in the library Friday night for any reason. We will monitor the situation for now, and discussed having a sign in sheet for when the library is closed. This will allow us to know who is coming and going, when and why.

6. Public Comments: Speaking as a member of the public, Kathy mentioned that The Heritage Committee, Depot Committee, and Historical Society, along with Meg Brodhead who organizes the Arts Festival are looking to organize a Troy Old Homes Day in 2009. The Selectman wanted to do something this year, and it was decided that there wasn't enough time. Kathy asked if the library was available to be used for meetings and got the OK.

The next meeting will be held the first or second week of July.