Walpole Town Library

Board of Trustees Meeting

September 9, 2025

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

Absent:  Bill Ranauro

Amy Howard called the meeting to order at 4:07 p.m. in the Main Library Community Room.

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

Treasurer’s Report: Kathy emailed the Treasurer’s Report to the board prior to the meeting. The report shows income is $13,000 more than we budgeted, which was from the Friends. They gave us an additional $5,000 during the summer. We also received more fees and donations than were budgeted.  Amy reminded us that the fees and donation money would be used for our scholarship. 

Bills:  Jane said the tops for the shelves came in. She received a bill for $2,755.72 for the shelves, which does not appear on the Bills Report. She will pay it out of the money from the Friends and will revise the Bills Report to reflect this payment. Gail made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report and Bills, including the bill for shelving. Sarah seconded and all voted in favor. Motion carried.

Old Business

Long Range Planning: Jane distributed copies of the last Strategic Plan on which she noted what has been accomplished, what is in progress, and what still needs to be done. There was a brief discussion about programming. Jane explained the children’s movies have been discontinued due to low turnout.  Bimonthly adult movies will continue, at least until December.

The Ken Burns display needs to be updated and publicized once again.  Jane will contact Florentine Films;  Sarah suggested asking for materials they may have celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary.

Jane wanted to discuss the Mango language program that our library previously offered.  Usage was low, so she discontinued the program due to its $1000/year price.  Since that time, some patrons have asked for a program that offers sign language and Mango now does. Jane said she would send more information about this program to board members, give them a chance to sample a trial run, then make a decision about reordering it. With the addition of sign language, the price would be $1260. Kathy suggested that we issue patrons a small slip of paper or bookmark asking if they would be interested in using Mango. We could collect their answers as they check out their books.                                  

In our survey conducted last spring, some patrons wrote that they would like to see more books and programs for adults. Jane said that having the extra money from the Friends has enabled her to offer more programs for adults.  She tries to do this on a monthly basis. She reported that the recent chocolate presentation was excellent and well-attended. Sarah suggested that we could offer programs conducted by community members. She and a few others have already successfully done so.  It was decided that in our weekly newsletter we would invite people to contact the library if they have a program they would like to lead. 

It is Jane’s goal to reach out to families to find out what resources they would like to see in the library.  For example, the library is going to sponsor a mothers’ group after Story Time to give mothers an opportunity to discuss issues important to them.  

The next step for a new Strategic Plan is to first, identify our goals. Jane said when we establish goals, they need to be measurable. Three goals she has identified are:

1.  Increase the adult collection.

2.  Increase adult programming.

3.  Update the Ken Burns display and establish a timeline for changing displays.

Jane offered to write up a new preliminary Strategic Plan and distribute it to board members for comments and suggestions.  

New Business

Circulation Policy:  Jane distributed the Circulation Policy with suggestions for change.  In regard to Confidentiality, she suggests stating:  ”The Walpole Town Library adheres to NH RSA 201-D:11 and NH  RSA 91-A:5 regarding user record, confidentiality, and privacy.”

Erin stated that the first paragraph of the policy be changed since there is no North Walpole branch librarian. It will be changed to “Library Director.”

2026 Budget:  Jane had to submit her preliminary 2026 town budget by September 8.  She distributed her budget worksheet to the board and explained that this year departments were not level-funded. She was able to increase line items such as electric and heating oil to reflect price increases. The building maintenance  line is questionable because the library is facing a major repair, and we don’t know yet if the work will require a warrant article. 

Jane reviewed the worksheet with the board and said she would meet with the select board in December to finalize the budget. At that time the decision about a warrant article for repairs to the building will be made.

Jane then reviewed the library budget with the board. 

Alarm system:  The alarm in the morning keeps going off. The alarm company came once and mistakenly thought they repaired the problem. It continues. There is a work order to repair it.

Tea Dishes:  Dishes from the Renovation Project High Tea are being stored in Peggy Pschirrer’s basement and it was decided that it is time to remove them from her home.  The board is not interested in keeping them and suggested selling them at the book sale or on Facebook Marketplace.  Jane is going to check to see if the Friends are interested in selling them.  No other decision was made and this will be discussed at a future meeting. 

Operations:  Jane sent her report to the board prior to this meeting. 

Buildings and Grounds:  Jane will show board members the foundation problem on the front of the building after the meeting.

Other Business:  Gail suggested reviewing library committee assignments for possible changes.  Amy told the board to think about what committee they may want to chair. It will be discussed at the next meeting.

Adjournment:  Gail made a motion to adjourn. Sarah seconded.  Amy adjourned the meeting at 5:23 p.m.

The next meeting will be October 14, 2025 at 4:30 p.m. in North Walpole.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jean Kobeski, Recording Secretary

** These minutes are in draft form until approved at the October 14, 2025 meeting. 

Tagged: LIBRARY TRUSTEES, Meeting Minutes