MARTHA CANFIELD MEMORIAL LIBRARY
MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
January 3, 2022

**Minutes are 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: Betsy Habberfield, Sheila Kearns, Brian Allen, Denise Koller, Alyson Grzyb, John Spencer, Laura Crosslin, Don Trachte, Judy Steron
Staff: Phyllis Skidmore (Librarian), Bill Budde (Russell Collection)
Guests: Stephanie Peters
Board Members Absent: Dave Van De Water, Carol Farley

Public comment – there were no comments

Additions to the agenda –

• Discuss Library Hours (Winter)

Minutes

• Previous meeting’s minutes (November) were reviewed - No corrections – Brian moved to approve the minutes.  Denise seconded.  The minutes were approved unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report

• Financial statements were delayed due to the bookkeeper being out of the country currently.
• The 2022 budget was discussed. Denise and Phyllis collaborated to create it and Denise was pleased with the results It is a balanced budget.
• Denise noted that the amount of donations during COVID has gone up.
• Brian moved we approved the budget as presented. Betsy seconded. The motion was approved unanimously.
• Brian is considering holding a meeting of the Finance Committee to review the budget and the endowment.

Librarian’s Report

• Written report was submitted in advance
• Phyllis asked for an extension on the annual report and will submit it in mid-January
• A deposit was made from Martha’s Book House for $144.
• Another puzzle exchange is coming up on January 15^th.
• The basked raffle raised $1,600 and was very successful.
• Holly is working on Take and Make kits for kids not going to JISP.
• The Advocates sent a thank you note to the board thanking us for our donation to the basket raffle.

Russell Collection

• Written report submitted.
• Bill did cataloging and recordkeeping in December.
• He will be getting back into the Active Shooter preparation in January.
• Bill asked if there were any suggestions for improving his reporting. Denise said she found the reporting very interesting.
• Bill discussed the idea of doing a re-enactment of the Remember Baker story which has relevance to Arlington.

Adult Programming

• Carol had discussed some ideas with Phyllis, but Carol is stepping down.
• Perhaps another VT Humanities Council meeting can be done remotely in the future

Gallery Committee

• No report.
• Looking for a new person to step in for Dave as the Gallery director.

New Business

• Stephanie Peters introduced herself as a candidate for the board of trustees. She grew up in Shaftsbury and now lives in East Arlington. She enjoys reading and being on boards of things she believes in.  She has recently stepped down from a different board.
• Discussion on changing hours. Denise clarified that she had suggested to Holly that if there were no or few patrons between 6PM and 8PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays that she could close early. She feels she overstepped and did not include Phyllis or the Board in the decision.  Phyllis said she believes is it important to be open at least 1 evening per week for those who work during the day.  She and Holly can work out a schedule including volunteers.  If the weather is bad that is different, and the library can be closed early.  Bill said he is willing to volunteer in the evenings.  Laura also stated that consistency is important too.  Judy noticed that there is often confusion about what is a Director vs. Board decision.  Phyllis said that the VT Dept of Libraries has information on what responsibilities are a Librarian’s and which are a Board’s responsibility.
• New board members – Laura asked if anyone was interested in spearheading looking for new board members? Laura encouraged everyone to ask around. The maximum number of board members allowed is 15.  There is no minimum.  Denise asked Bruce McDonald, who does Martha’s Books, but he has not responded.
• Annual Meeting next month is at 6PM with the regular meeting at 7PM. There was discussion as to whether to hold the meetings in person or virtually. The decision will be made a little later.
• Dave and Carol will have partial terms of 1 year open. If someone takes Denise’s place, it will be a full term. Judy and Don are up for reelection.  Betsy is willing to continue but not as an officer.  Laura will assemble a slate of board members up for election as well as a slate of officers.  Denise suggested that Don would be an excellent Gallery Director.  He can’t commit at this time but is thinking about it.

Old Business

• Signature pages have been put out for the library funding increase around town. We may need to go contact neighbors to get this done. Phyllis will get the date and count of signatures we need to obtain.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 PM

Next Meeting:

Annual Meeting Monday February 7, 2022 @ 6 PM

Regular Meeting Monday February 7, 2022 @ 7 PM.