The Walpolean

Walpole Town Library

Board of Trustees Meeting

November 12, 2025

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

Absent:  Bill Ranauro, Sarah Mann 

Amy Howard called the meeting to order at 4:38 p.m. in the Community Room of the Main Branch.

Approval of Minutes: Gail made a motion to accept the October 2025 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. She reported that the Library Trust Fund with investments and interest is $4500 ahead of what we budgeted.  With this extra money and the money from the Friends and with expenses as they are, we are in good shape.

Bills:  Jane sent a copy of the bills to the trustees prior to the meeting. She reported that she is still ordering books from Amazon while she works out “the bugs” with Ingram. She said we will still receive a few bills from Baker and Taylor because they are selling off their remaining stock at 50% off and there are some titles she wants to purchase.

Amy made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report and Bills.  Gail seconded and all voted in favor.  Motion passed.

Old Business

Long Range Planning:  Jane reminded the board to review the draft of the proposed Strategic Plan and email comments to her.  She will resend the document so everyone has a new copy.

Employee Appreciation: There was a brief discussion about the appreciation reception, which is scheduled for January 16 from 5-7 p.m. Kathy will buy gift certificates closer to the event.  We will make final plans at our January 13th board meeting.

New Business

Circulation Policy:  Jane distributed draft copies of a new circulation policy for the board to review and edit. She said she would make suggested corrections to the document and send it to the trustees for approval.  Upon approval she will ask the town attorney to review it.  All must be done before January 1st when RSA 201-D:11 takes effect.

Holiday Hours:  The board approved closing the library at 3:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Board Renewal:  Susan reported that she, Erin, and Kathy are up for board renewal in March. They need to sign up in January to have their names put on the ballot.

Operations:  

Mold/Mildew in the Foyer:  Jane described the mold/mildew smell in the foyer and said she discussed it with Brad.  She is thinking of trying Damp Rid to mitigate.

Patron Request:  A patron has asked that the handrail be extended at the end of the ramp.  Jane will make inquiries about doing this.

Technology:  Michael Nerrie sent Jane information about the purchase of a Smart TV for the library.  She will continue researching this.  She is interested in a tv that will be loud enough so that she will not need to use speakers.

Friends of the Library:  The Friends have a meeting next week where they will discuss the results of the book fair.

With no further business to discuss, Gail made a motion to adjourn; Erin seconded the motion.  Amy adjourned the meeting at 5:08 p.m. 

The next trustees meeting will be Tuesday, January 13, at 4:00 p.m. in the main branch of the library.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jean Kobeski, Recording Secretary

** These minutes are in draft form until approved at the January 13, 2026 meeting. 

Walpole Town Library

Board of Trustees Meeting

October 14, 2025

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

Absent:  Erin Bowen

Amy Howard called the meeting to order at 4:40 p.m. in the North Walpole branch.

Approval of Minutes: Gail made a motion to accept the September 2025 minutes as written.  Kathy seconded and all voted in favor.  Motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report: Kathy emailed the Treasurer’s Report to the board prior to the meeting. She reported that we are right on track with income and expenses.

Bills:  Jane sent a copy of the bills to the trustees prior to the meeting. There were no questions or comments.  Amy made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report and Bills.  Gail seconded and all voted to accept; motion carried.

Old Business

Long Range Planning:  Jane distributed copies of a draft of the new Strategic Plan. Trustees were asked to read it and be prepared for a discussion at the November meeting.

2026 Budget:  Jane made a few changes to the budget she presented last month.  She has taken some money out of magazines and moved it to technology, explaining that we need to replace some Chrome Books.  

Jane also suggested that we look into buying a Smart TV for the Community Room in an effort to upgrade equipment for presentations and movie viewing. Kathy said her husband did extensive research into smart televisions and will have him send Jane information that he gathered. 

Committee Assignments

New board committee assignments are as follows:

• Buildings and Grounds – Kathy, Amy
• Technology – Amy
• Personnel – Susan, Jana, Sarah
• Scholarship – Bill, Gail

New Business

Staff Appreciation:  The trustees have set a tentative date of January 16, 2026 for a cocktail party at the library to honor staff, volunteers, and Friends of the Library.  Each of the trustees will contribute appetizers and Kathy will purchase beverages and paper goods for the event. 

Operations:  Jane emailed her monthly report to the board prior to this meeting. At the meeting she explained that Baker and Taylor, the wholesale book vendor that our library uses, is shutting down operations.  Jane is now looking for a new vendor and has an appointment with Ingram, another company that offers similar services to Baker and Taylor. In the meantime she will order books from Amazon and wait to hear what will happen with backorders from Baker and Taylor.

Jane announced that on October 21, Julie Rios will present “North Walpole History in Pictures” at the North Walpole Library. This is an encore presentation of the popular program she presented at the Walpole Historical Society.

Jane attended a meeting led by the Asst. State Librarian, where they discussed the new law granting parents/guardians access to their children’s library records. State librarians were advised to have town attorneys sign off on any new policies pertaining to library cards.  Jane asked that we have a more detailed discussion on this topic to make sure we have all bases covered. It was agreed that we would discuss this at our November meeting.  We have until January to make changes.  

Buildings and Grounds:  Don Sellarole examined the column on the right corner of the library and felt that it looks stable and the foundation is okay.  He does not feel that anything needs to be done at this time.

Technology:  Jane and Julie tested Mango and determined that demand at our library does not justify the price of the program.  

Friends of the Library:  Jane reported that the Friends are getting ready for their book sale and have stated they no longer want any book donations at the reuse center.  They have as many as they can handle at this time.

Gail made a motion to adjourn;  Susan seconded the motion.  Amy adjourned the meeting at 5:31 p.m. 

Note that the next trustees meeting will be Wednesday, November 12, at 4:30 p.m. in the main branch of the library.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jean Kobeski, Recording Secretary

** These minutes are in draft form until approved at the November 12, 2025 meeting. 

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. 

Walpole Town Library

Board of Trustees Meeting

May 13, 2025

Present:  Amy Howard (Chair), Kathy Nerrie (Treasurer), Gail LaHaise, Susan Johnson, 

Bill Ranauro, Sarah Mann, Erin Bowen, Jean Kobeski (Recording Secretary), Jane Malmberg (Library Director), 

Absent:  Jana Sellarole

Amy called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. in the Community Room of the main library.

Approval of Minutes:  Gail made a motion to accept the April, 2025 minutes as written.  Erin seconded the motion and all voted to approve. 

Treasurer’s Report: The trustees decided it would be more appropriate to change the name of the line item “Volunteer Dinner” to “Staff Appreciation” in the budget. This could then include dinners or other tokens of appreciation and avoid confusion.

Bills:  Jane discussed the library passes, which appeared in the bills.  She stated we will no longer purchase passes to the Currier Museum because they are seldom used.  She has added the Mariposa Museum in Peterborough.  With no further discussion, Amy moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report and Bills.  Gail seconded, and all voted in favor.  Motion carried.

Old Business

Survey Results:  There were 102 responses to the survey.  Sarah compiled results and shared them with Jane, who highlighted the most frequently mentioned comments with the board. Results include the following:

1. 89.6% of respondents feel the library is meeting its mission while 10.4% feel it is somewhat meeting its mission.
2. The library needs more adult programming, including more intellectual programming (history, science, etc.).
3. Many feel the library should engage more with the school and community.
4. Roughly 52% of respondents come to the library once/week, 17% more than once/week, and 17% once/month. 90% come to the library to borrow books, 87% attend programs. Many use the library for the downloadables.
5. Expand the collection to include more fiction in addition to best sellers.
6. Several patrons expressed frustration using the moveable stacks; however, due to limited space in the library, the board feels it is the practical solution for meeting our collection goals.

Patrons were asked how they learn of announcements and events at the library and they replied:

1. Library newsletter and emails
2. Walpole Clarion
3. Library website
4. Sandwich board outside the library
5. Library staff

Patrons feel the following are the strengths of our library:

1. The staff 
2. Children’s programming
3. Large number of books
4. Lovely space
5. Customer services
6. Inter-Library Loan
7. Safe and inclusive
8. Great for all ages

After looking at the survey results, it was decided that the 5-year planning should address:

1. More resources for students and families
2. More programs
3. Opportunities for volunteers to participate in the library
4. Increased resources for seniors
5. Promotion of community partnerships

It was also decided that the library needs to do more self-promotion.  It was clear from the survey that many people are not aware of many services the library and its staff already provide.  

Next step is to set a time to do the long-range planning, which will include the entire board and some staff members.

Old Home Days

The musician is scheduled for the afternoon program at the library.  The parade was discussed. The staff felt that the idea proposed at last month’s board meeting focused too much on children;  the theme should include both adults and children.  The new and final idea was presented and Jane invited board members to participate, either by marching and/or doing the needed artwork. 

Bill presented his idea for the bookmark and asked for board input.  After a short discussion, decisions were made and Bill said he would take care of getting them made. 

Operations

Porch Lights:  Jane reported that Houghton came and adjusted the new lighting;  neighbors are satisfied with the adjustment.

State Budget:  Jane stated that monies are still available for libraries, so none of the services, ILL, Libby, and talking books, are threatened at this time. She has heard nothing new about the progress with the state budget but will keep the board informed of any news from Concord.

Circulation:  Libby and Hoopla continue to be very popular services, with Hoopla the most widely used.  Sarah asked Jane to explain the differences between the two.  Hoopla does not necessarily have all the latest best sellers that Libby does and it never requires a hold.  Holds on books in Libby can last several weeks.  Hoopla also has audio books (as does Libby) and videos.

Printer Problems:  Jane said Sarah’s husband came to the library to try to solve the printer problem but was unable to do so. Jane has been in contact with Consolidated again, and is waiting to hear when they can come to the library. Bjorn will meet with them when they come.

Buildings and Grounds:  Jane reported that the bark on one side of the new tree was scraped by machinery being used for roof repair next door. 

Friends of the Library:  The Friends have told Jane they want to give more money to the library.  Jane suggested the money be used for programming because she is unsure if grant money will be available for that.  The Friends also mentioned paying for newspapers and magazines.

Adjournment:  With no further business to discuss, Gail made a motion to adjourn;  Erin seconded. Amy adjourned the meeting at 5:08 p.m.

The next meeting will be June 10, 2025 at 4:00 p.m. in the Main Library.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jean Kobeski, Recording Secretary

** These minutes are in draft form until approved at the June 10, 2025 meeting.