martha canfield library

PO Box 267 • 528 East Arlington Road, Arlington, VT • 05250
802.375.6153 • martha_canfield_lib@hotmail.com

  • Tuesday — 9:00AM – 8:00PM
  • Wednesday — 9:00AM – 5:00PM
  • Thursday — 9:00AM – 8:00PM
  • Friday — 2:00PM – 6:00PM
  • Saturday — 10:00AM – 3:00PM

Russell Collection

Open 9:00AM – 5:00PM
Tuesdays or by appointment

MARTHA CANFIELD MEMORIAL LIBRARY
MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING

December 7, 2020

**Minutes are considered to be in DRAFT form until approved at the next scheduled meeting**

The Board meeting was held at the library and via video conference and was called to order at 7:02 PM

Board Members In attendance: Sheila Kearns, John Spencer, Laura Crosslin, Alyson Grzyb, Brian Allen, Betsy Habberfield, Carol Farley, Bill Henry, Judy Steron
Staff: Phyllis Skidmore (Librarian), Bill Budde (Russell Collection)
Guests: None
Board Members Absent: Dave Van De Water, Don Trachte, Denise Koller

Public comment – there were no comments (and no public!)

There were no additions to the agenda


Minutes
   • Previous meeting’s minutes –Denise moved that we approve the November minutes with no changes. Betsy seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report
   • Written report submitted
   • Sheila reported that Denise and Phyllis currently reviewing the budget. A version will be sent soon for review and to vote on for the January meeting.
   • Denise is open to looking for a new treasurer. She may not be able to continue past 2021.
   • We’ve managed to stay afloat for 2020. With a month to go we should be able to break even for 2020.

Librarian’s Report
   • Written report submitted
   • Circulation is slowing down, which is normal for this time of year
   • Keeping a log of contact information for anyone who enters the library. Only given to the Dept. of Health on request.
   • Craft fair is up and running. It will be up until the end of December.
   • Basket raffle is going. Drawing is 12/17
   • Holly applied for another grant for Children’s programming from Berkshire Bank
   • Phyllis is starting work on the annual reporting to the state which will open sometime around 12/14

Russell Collection
   • Written report submitted
   • Things are in disarray moving things from one file cabinet to another
   • Two requests for preservation information

Adult Programming
   • Phil Holbrook held a discussion on the black presence in the Battle of Bennington. There were 9 attendees.
   • Asking for interest in advance might help decide whether to cancel in advance or not.
   • Holding virtual presentations on a regular basis will help build attendance.
   • Sign up in advance to “get the link”. Propose these events in advance and promote through various means.
   • Discussed potentially moving the presentations to Zoom from GoToMeeting.
   • Sheila will look into GTM to see if there is a “registration” function.

Annual Fund
   • John reported that he had received a list of people who had donated so and will be working on Thank You notes soon.

Old Business
   • Requested the same amount of town funding from Shaftsbury. It was acknowledged as received by Shaftsbury and it will be placed on the ballot.
   • Phyllis still working on the fire alarm issue, which is not related to the fire alarm, but rather due to the phone lines. First Light and Consolidated Communications are both pointing fingers at each other. Waiting to get a phone jack replaced at the current time.

New Business
   • Allocations from other towns. Sheila recommended keeping level funding from the other towns. There was some discussion and others agreed. No petitions are generally required if no increases in funding are needed. Sheila will help pull together the requests for Arlington, Sunderland, and Sandgate. Financial statements are generally required. We provided 2019 and 2020 YTD to Shaftsbury and will likely do the same for the other towns.
   • Consider board re-appointments for January. Sheila is up this year. Sheila is seeking a replacement and we should consider looking for a new President in the future. Sheila will be in touch via email.
   • Staff compensation. Overall, belief is that Holly is doing an excellent job and is a strong asset to the library. Phyllis and Bill left the meeting. Cost of living increase for this year is 1.3%. Brian recommended a 2% raise. Brian moved that we give the staff at 2% raise for the coming year. Seconded by Alyson. The vote passed unanimously.

Alyson moved to adjourn. Judy seconded. The vote passed unanimously.
Next Meeting: Monday January 4, 2020 @ 7 pm.

The meeting ended at 7:45 PM

New Books

for all ages

clean-up

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