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)
Amy called the meeting to order at 4:32 p.m. at the North Walpole Branch.

Approval of Minutes: Amy made a motion to accept the March minutes as written. Gail seconded, and all voted in favor. Motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report: Kathy explained she added a line under income for the grant money Julie secured. Another grant has come in, so she will add another line next month to make it easier to track expenditures.

We received the new book shelves and thank the Friends or paying for them.

Kathy explained that the line at the bottom of the report for Capital Expenses is Adam Vose’s deposit money.

Bills: The magazine bill is big because we pay for all magazines at the same time, once a year. Literacy kits were paid for with grant money.

Amy moved to approve the Treasurer’s Report and Bills. Gail seconded, and all voted in favor. Motion carried.

Old Business
Front Steps: Jane spoke with John Willet about the repair of the front steps. He asked which days would be best to close the library for a day. Jane said Tuesdays or Thursdays are best. He said he would contact her as soon as good weather is predicted for one of those days. She warned that it might happen with little advance notice.
Side Wall: Jane contacted Don Newcombe about the repair of the side wall. He said he cannnot give her a date yet but will contact her as soon as he can.
Community Room Cabinets: Jane reached out to Adam for a date for cabinet installation in the Community Room but has not heard back yet. She thinks it will probably be in May some time. The library will not need to close for that work.

New Business
Election of Officers: The following were reelected to offices on the Board of Trustees:

Amy Howard – Chair
Kathy Nerrie – Treasurer
Jean Kobeski – Recording Secretary

Operations: Jane stated she gave out all the eclipse glasses, distributing as follows:

Walpole Schools – 450

Home Schoolers – 30

General public – 520

Jane will collect the glasses for recycling. They will be sent to students in South America where there will be an eclipse in October.

Hoopla usage has increased 60% over last year.

Jane said the library will manually count visits and checkouts in North Walpole rather than try to do it on the computer. She thinks stats in the future will be more accurate that way.

Buildings and Grounds: Jane stated that Brad has removal of the old sign in the front yard on his to-do list.
Jane asked Jennifer Burr for suggestions of trees that could be planted in the yard to replace the cherry that was removed during renovation. Jennifer suggested Zelkova, Elm, Catalpa, Maple, or Sargent’s Cherry. Kathy questioned whether the tree would, in fact, be on library property. Jane said she could discuss this with the next-door neighbor. Sarah recommended replacing the cherry with another cherry, since the original was a donation. She suggested trying to find out who the donor was, so that we could notify them of our intentions. Jane will ask Jennifer for a price quote for both tree and installation.

Friends of the Library
Jane reported that the Friends elected the following to offices on their Board:

Bevin Mitchell – Chair
Pam Baucom – Vice-Chair

Eryn Sellarole – Secretary
Jane stated she asked for $15,000 from the Friends this year, a $5,000 increase from last year because the drop box needs to be replaced. The Friends approved and will give the library $17,000. She also reported that the Friends will start plans for the annual book sale in early May. They will also look for ways to sell really valuable books that have been donated.

Other Business- Jane spoke to Christie Winmill about the chairs in the Community Room. Christie said the Historical Society will take them back if someone from the library takes them up to the Historical Society. Paperwork explaining the transfer needs to be signed by a Board member. Bill Ranauro volunteered to take care of that.
Artwork is still in Jane’s office. Board members need to take a look at these pictures to determine how to disperse them.

Adjournment: The Board meeting was adjourned to enter into non-public session at 5:03 p.m. The next meeting will be May 14, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. at the Main Branch.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jean Kobeski, Recording Secretary
** These minutes are in draft form until approved at the May, 2024 meeting.