Present:  Amy Howard (Chair), Kathy Nerrie (Treasurer), Gail LaHaise, Susan Johnson, Bill Ranauro, Tim Lester, Sarah Mann, Erin Bowen, Jean Kobeski (Recording Secretary), Jane Malmberg (Library Director)

Approval of Minutes: Tim moved to accept the May 10, 2022 minutes as written.  Gail seconded, and all voted to approve.

Treasurer’s Report:  Kathy noted that money for the new AED both received and spent appear on their own lines of the report since they are not part of the original budget. Amy noticed we are light on spending.  Jane said spending would increase during the summer on programming. She also said she is ordering more books more frequently.

Amy questioned whether we should ask Jennifer Burr for an invoice at the half-year mark.  Kathy didn’t think it was necessary.  Even though the sheet does not indicate payment to her, the D. Rising account reflects what is left after paying her. 

Bills:  Jane reported that she has renewed some of the museum passes.  Bill asked for which places we have passes;  Jane listed the museums and theater groups.  Gail moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report and Bills.  Amy seconded, and all voted to approve.

Old Business

Logo/Branding Work:  Sarah reported that the committee received the first round of concepts late last week from Jan, and the committee met yesterday afternoon to discuss them.  Next step is to meet with Jan to discuss revisions.  There is nothing to show the trustees yet but the committee will probably have some email options to send to the board for feedback (optional), since there will not be another trustees meeting until September.

North Walpole Lease:  The lease is all set, as is the Certificate of Insurance.

Old Home Days:  Jane sent around a sign-up sheet for trustees to help at the table on the common on Saturday of Old Home Days. She said she was looking for a shade tent;  Amy offered her two 9’ umbrellas.  Bill asked where the set-up crew should meet, and Jane instructed them to meet at the library. She told Jean she would send her an email regarding practice for the parade.

New Business

Policy Changes:  Jane stated the new policy changes have been sent to the town attorney for review. Jane also drafted a programming policy and set of volunteer guidelines, which were also sent for review.

Book Repeatedly Being Moved:  The trustees discussed the frequent placement of an adult non-fiction book on the display table in the children’s room.  Based on the circumstances it is clearly intentional.  Both the library and the trustees want to avoid escalating this issue or involving authorities, so the trustees proposed options for engaging the patron who is doing this in a more productive manner.

Operations:  Jane said numbers in North Walpole look very good. She said the staff is getting ready for the summer reading program.  Signs for the Geocaching program have been displayed in town.  The beekeeping program is this Saturday.  The Tiny Creatures program is scheduled for the kick-off on Tuesday, and they are ready to begin “Read to a Dog” next week.

Jane and the staff are 3/4 of the way finished switching the fiction and non-fiction collections. Some patrons have already expressed pleasure at being able to easily browse the fiction collection again.

Buildings and Grounds: 

Front Door:  Tim reports they are waiting for work to begin on the door.  Mark’s subcontractor from Maine still needs to come to Walpole to look at the door and gather specs.

Chimney:  There was a discussion about the work on the chimney and whether to take down the chimney or not. A potential contractor has stated that he doesn’t think that would be necessary.  Kathy suggested that he call Barry Bellows to get the history of the work done during the renovation.  Tim said he does not think we should wait till we reconvene in September to make decisions about this, especially because repair work needs to be done on the ceiling, as well.  The trustees agreed. The chimney subcommittee, Amy, Tim, and Bill, will continue to work during the summer and contact the trustees via email about progress or to vote.

We have the $40,000 warrant money, minus the cost of the door, to complete this project. It was asked what would happen to the money if we don’t spend it all. It goes back to the town general fund.  In other words, we lose what we don’t use.

Signs:  There was a lengthy discussion about what type of sign we want for the front of the library.  Tim showed a new example online of a letter board type of sign.  Do we want a two-sided sign or two signs?  Do we want the wooden posts and a top with the logo encasing the letter board sign? Kathy reminded the group that they previously decided to contact Peter Poanessa of Signworx to explain our needs and ask what he could do for us.  Bill said that, since this is a one-time purchase, we should do it right and have something attractive outside the library.  Tim asked if anyone could draw an example of what we want to present to Poanessa or other prospective sign makers. Sarah said she could do that.

It was suggested that we have just a sign with library hours and no events listed.  Perhaps another type of sign could be put on the porch with programs.  Kathy suggested hanging a small letter board sign on the library by the front door with hours posted on it.  That way the larger sign on the grounds could announce events.  One 4’ sign would be large enough; no need for two signs.

So, it was decided to buy the small sign to hang on the on the building next to the front door to show hours and send Signworx a mock-up of the larger sign.

Technology:  Jane explained the subscription to Universal Class is due to expire.  She said it is very popular with patrons and wants to renew it for $1000.  The trustee agreed to the renewal.

Friends of the Library:  The plant sale is going well at the reuse center.

Jane said the Friends are now sorting books for the book sale by the chicken coop. They could use help. Bevin Mitchell and Jana Sellarole are heading up the effort.  The public book drop-off will be in August and the sale at the end of October.

Adjournment: Gail moved to adjourn the meeting.  Erin seconded the motion.  Amy adjourned the meeting at 5:32 p.m.

The next meeting will be September 13, 2022 at 4:30 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jean Kobeski, Recording Secretary ** These minutes are in draft form until approved at the September 13, 2022 meeting