Gay-Kimball Library

Board of Trustees Meeting

October 6, 2007

Stats:

1. There is currently $2,517 in the general fund and $6,252 in the Elaine Schubert Memorial fund.

2. The door count for September was 1,200 patrons, up from 1,040 last year.

3. The computers were used 243 times in September, up from 180 last year. As of the end of September, we have surpassed the total for all of 2006.

4. 2047 items were checked out in September, up from 1796 last year.

5. Tumble Books read online: 14. Audio Books downloaded: 16.

Old Business:

1. Filter fresh of Northern New England is sending us information on coffee service at the library. These are the same people that Laidlaw uses, and also other libraries Catherine looked into. The coffee area would only be available during normal Library hours.

2. The Trustee Orientation is October 17^th at the Dublin Public Library.

3. Catherine has acquired information on maintenance plans that other libraries use. We plan to address painting, cracks in the building, new windows and the book drop enclosure. Beth recommended Chris Evans, a roofer out of West Chesterfield. He will be in the area Tuesday and will stop by and take a look at the book drop situation.

4. The Trustees discussed the brief meeting Beth had with the Select Board. The Select Board recommended some things they would like to change in the Library's Personnel Policy, and if that is not an option they would like the Library to adopt their Personnel Policy. Pursuant to the discussion, the trustees re-read RSA 202-a:11 which clearly states that the authority to formulate, establish and enforce personnel policies and procedures for employees rests with the Board of Trustees and not the Town Manager or Select Board. As the Gay-Kimball Library is not a town department, and the Board of Trustees feels that the Personnel Policy, which we updated late last year, is suited to the Library and not in need of changes, it was voted to keep the policy as written. Also in need of discussion was a joint health insurance policy for Kristen Anderson. Kristen currently works 24 hours for the library, which does not entitle her to benefits. Kristen is also working 7 hours for the Town of Troy. The town would like to combine hours, for a total of 31, and offer her full time benefits. The majority of this money would come from the library budget, as that is where the bulk of her hours are worked. Again, because the Library is not a town department, this combined effort is not possible, and the discussion was ended.

5. Elaine Shubert Memorial Fund: Several more donations have been made since out last meeting and the total amount is $6,252, up from $5,60 at our last meeting.

New Business:

1. There is a new law regarding meeting minutes. The Right to Know Law now states that meeting minutes must be made publicly available no more than 5 business days after the public meeting.

2. Catherine traveled to the NEIBA Trade show in Rhode Island and brought back 82 books for the library. The retail cost of the books was $1,500 and the library paid less than $100. We had discussed her attending the ALA conference mid-winter, and she has decided against that, but might like to attend the PLA Conference in Minneapolis.

3. Relating to the NEIBA trade show, there is a discrepancy in the personnel policy. Is the cost of meals for a work related trip actual expense, or Per Diem? We will discuss this at a future meeting. Jan and Catherine will look into what the "standards" are for each, and we will vote and add it into the policy.

4. New at the Library: Catherine installed a Handicap-accessible doorbell to the right of the front door. A patron rings the bell, and waits for someone to come and open the door if assistance is required. Jim Dicey will come and hot patch the gap in the cement of the handicap ramp so that wheels and things are no longer getting caught there. The 15 minute computer is up and running. It is a standing computer next to the circulation computer. Patrons may access this computer for only 15 minutes, regardless if there is another patron waiting or not. So far it is getting a good amount of use. There has been no noticeable change in the number of patrons visiting the library overall since the change in hours. There is a constant flow of people in the library on Tuesday mornings, and this appears to have been a positive change. We will readdress it in aprox. 1 year.

5. There were no public comments.

The next meeting will be held on Thursday November ^8th at 7:00pm, in the Ripley Meeting Room.