Norfolk Public Library
Board of Library Trustees
A regular meeting of the Norfolk Library Board of Trustees was held on January 20, 2010 at the Library. In attendance were Robin Glasser, Director, Sarina Bluhm, Associate Director, and the following trustees: Harvey Boulay, Kenneth Nelson, Chair, and Kumkum Malik.
Mr. Nelson called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m.
Approval of Minutes.
The minutes of the meeting in November were not available, and a request for these was made. No trustee meeting was held in December.
Director’s Report: Mrs. Glasser reported on the following;
- Norfolk Reads together has been successfully launched. The response has been good.
Associate Director’s Report.
Ms. Bluhm reported on Library activity for December, 2009, with no unusual pattern. Insert numbers reported. Self-check average for the month was 42%; 7,148 items were circulated (note: December is the slowest month of the year for the library); there were 1,047 patron visits and 35 meetings were held.
Friends Report.
The Friends of Norfolk Library are ready to kick off envelope stuffing this Sunday. They are also holding a membership drive, and working to increase participation in Norfolk Reads Together. The new slate has Maureen Buck as the Vice President and Chair of the Nominating Committee, Beth Vallee and Thayer Olsen as Treasurer co-chairs, and Beverly Baldoni as the Secretary.
New Business.
- Mrs. Glasser recommeded that the processing fee be increased to $6.00 per item of lost or unreturned items. After discussion of issues such as potential hardship for members, necessity to cover our costs, and a proposal by Trustees that the amount should be $10.00. The increase to $10.00 was unanimously VOTED.
Direction for FY’ 11 budget: Town requirement to present a balanced budget was discussed in light of the unusual circumstances. Discussion about the inequity that might exist; namely, Library is a small department, and the requirement for a 6-10% cut is disproportional to our size. When Library size was increased, there was no proportional increase in staff. In addition, Library also used the Friends resources for expenses, thus not dipping into Town resources. We use self-check. The argument was made that our budget presentation should not be done with a 6-10% cut.
Next regular trustee meeting – February 18, 2010
The meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m.
True copy respectfully submitted
Kumkum Malik, Clerk
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