Friends of the Manchester Library

Meeting Minutes for October 26, 2005

 

Attending: N. Brady, J. Brummond, C. Campbell, E. Cisney, J. Guariz, M. Guariz, D. D’Haem, W. Larsen, B. Lounsbery, P. Paquette, J. Rada, R. Rada, G. Weixler, R. Weixler, J. Winslow

 

Action Items:

1)    John Winslow to write letter of thanks to PSE for resolving problem with flag.

2)    Carol Campbell to write letter of condolence to family of Charlie Randolph.

3)    Norma to procure a card of thanks for Bob Parks and have it at the Library for signing by all.

4)    Bill, Carol, and Norma to attend a Knights of Pythias meeting to present the summary of the summer reads program in an effort to elicit a donation of support.

5)    Carol to continue with efforts to get a quote on signage for the gardens.

6)    Julie and Carol to finalize LLGC agreement on gardens maintenance.

 

The meeting was called to order by President Julie Brummond at 6:58PM.  Minutes of the previous meeting were accepted as written. 

 

Correspondence: No significant correspondence was received.  It was proposed that a letter of thanks be written to Puget Sound Energy for their quick response to our request on 10/20 to help deal with a snarled flag.  The following day PSE was there to fix the problem.  John will write the letter.  Carol Campbell agreed to write a letter of condolence to the family of Charlie Randolph for his support of the FOL Salmon Bake for so many years.  Norma also suggested that we all sign a card to Bob Parks thanking him for his years of service to the FOL.  It will be available in the Library for signatures through 11/4.

 

Treasurer’s report: Carol presented the regular report with no significant comments.  She did report that the canopies have been ordered, but are on back-order.  Also, an anonymous donation of $400 was received toward the purchase of those canopies.  We agreed that the new canopies would only be used for FOL events.

 

Branch Manager’s report:

Programs –     Toddler & Preschool Story hours continue w/good attendance.

Halloween Family Fun Day October 29th    11:00 – 3:00

Inquiring Minds Program November 16th  A living portrait of the first woman tug skipper on

Puget Sound.  7:00PM

December 3rd & 10th – Make a Gift Day Workshops/Limited size.

Valu-Pak / KRL Publicity Plan – The PR department for KRL would like to streamline and steamroll the PR for the coming year through several promotional ideas. They would like to have all book sale dates by November 1st in order to advertise those dates the back of a coupon in the Val-Pak mailers sent out to all postal boxes. They would also have a $1.00 OFF coupon for any FOL book sale. They would want us to track redemptions. January 2006.  Need a reply to KRL PR by November 1st.  [We agreed that the dates in 2006 would be 2/11, 4/22, 6/18, and 10/21]

Heart of the Community Nomination ~ Will be discussed during the regular meeting under new items. The idea was passed on from Ellen Newberg from an article seen in Library Hotline.  Berkshire Publishing is hosting a photo essay contest to identify 75 libraries throughout North America for a coffee table volume being published in 2006.  Theme:  Heart of the Community: the libraries we love!  Will feature libraries great and small that are beloved centers of their community.  The 75 libraries will be selected to appear will be geographically representative of the US and Canada and also representative of urban/suburban/rural libraries”.  [KRL publicity dept. will help with our write-up.  Dee to coordinate for 12/15 deadline.]

Book Sale PR – KRL’s publicity department printed these flyers for us to distribute.

Lock-up – Reminder to lock the back door. Staff checks the door nightly.

Certificates of Appreciation – KRL’s Certificates of Appreciation for Helen Yahn & Bob Parks were mailed to them last month.

Knights of Pythias ~ Summer Reading Program explanation letter. [to be sent via Norma]

Skateboarders ~ FYI: Lauri reports seeing several skateboarders using the library sidewalks as launching and landing pads possibly inflicting damage on the cement. When she has tried to approach the boys they run away.

KRL’s Board of Trustees – meets Thursday, October 27, 2005 at 6:00 p.m. at the Sylvan Way branch library. [They are approving the preliminary 2006 budget.]

“Behind Bars for Good” ~ On a personal note, I have agreed to be a “jailbird” on November 17th in order to raise money for the local Muscular Dystrophy Association.

I will need to be bailed out of jail. I am asking that you will (not a FOML donation) consider supporting this campaign.  The $1200.00 “bail” will send two kids to summer camp.

 

2006 Manchester Library Hours

 The library board will probably pass this budget that is not the budget we had hoped for.  Manchester FOL received a letter asking if we would support 6 additional hours and, of course, that was approved with excitement. The budget with this proposal was too costly and was dropped. Currently Manchester is open 34.5 hours a week. The currently proposed budget, if passed, would add only 1.5 hours to Manchester and reconfigure the open hours. 

Sunday 

Monday 

Tuesday 

Wednesday 

Thursday 

Friday  

Saturday 

Currently:  

 Closed Closed 10:00-5:30 1:00-8:30  1:00-8:30 1:00-5:30  10:00-5:30
Proposed Schedule: {Stretch to open 6 days & and match other KRL small library hours.}

Proposed:

 Closed *8 hrs *8 hrs 4 hrs  *8 hrs    4 hrs   4 hrs 
10:00-6:00 10:00-6:00  1:00–5:00  10:00-6:00  1:00–5:00 1:00–5:00

*I think this could be changed to 12:00 – 8:00 p.m.  

 

ü      KRL sees these changes as a response to one of the main concerns patrons voiced at the Vision 2020 public sessions. This concern was that patrons could not remember what the library hours were because they were “all different”.  Patrons also wanted more open hours. The proposed budget will not stretch to cover 6 the additional hours as originally suggested. *However we must wait until after tomorrow evening to know for certain that the “plan b” budget is the one approved.

[Subsequent to our meeting, KRL only approved the addition of 1.5 hours due to budget limitations.  Changes to the Manchester schedule are now anticipated to be minimal.]

 

Penny Jar report: Lauri reported new donations of $40.00 for a grand total of $1383.07.

 

Bookstore report: Gigi reported that the storage closet inventory has been re-organized and is ready for the 11/12 special sale.  Set-up will start at 3PM on 11/11.  Hours of the sale on 11/12 will be 10AM-3PM.

 

Facilities Manager’s report: Facilities status was discussed by all.  Joe and Margaret cleaned the HVAC filters and will continue to do this on a quarterly basis.  Carol repaired a broken handle on the storage locker in the Men’s restroom.  Joe suggested that perhaps we should have a handy-man (Hank Tingley?) on retainer to handle all our incidental repairs.  It was generally agreed that no one individual should have to bear the burden of making all repairs at the Library.

          We then moved into a discussion about having an officially recognized facilities manager to orchestrate all scheduled maintenance items and to delegate unscheduled maintenance.  After discussion, Joe Guariz agreed to take the role of facilities manager provided there was back-up on actual repairs, which Carol Campbell, John Winslow, and Eric Cisney agreed to support.  Joe will be added as an authorized signer on the checking account and has a set of keys to facilitate repairs.  Joe has our eternal gratitude for stepping up to take on this responsibility!

 

Old Business: Follow-up items from last month are as follows:

A)     It was deferred having Carol contact the building maintenance lady (Donna) alerting her to the potential for the Library to be open on Mondays, since that is now unlikely.

B)     Julie wrote a letter to KRL supporting the Monday hours for our branch.

C)     Dee completed a summary of the Summer Reads program for the Knights of Pythias.  Bill, Carol, and Norma will attend the meeting and deliver the summary.

D)     Julie clarified that Bob Parks has officially resigned from the FOL.

E)     Carol is still pursuing a quote on plaque for “Whirlwind Moon” and the other garden signs.

F)     Carol has executed an on-line purchase of three canopies, which are on back-order.

G)     Julie and Carol worked with LLGC on a new draft agreement for gardens maintenance which will be completed and signed by both parties once finalized.

H)     John worked with Theresa Godfrey on Mama Java use of FOL canopies/tables/chairs and it seemed to work out just fine.

 

New Business:  The first matter was the selection of a Director to fill the unexpired term of Bob Parks.  Bill Lounsbery was nominated and elected unanimously to a term which expires in February 2008.

          As a result of the Strategic Planning session on 10/22 there were several actions reported.  Ron & Joyce presented their “Friends Invite Friends To Be Friends” membership drive materials.  Feedback was requested from all on their proposal to charge a membership fee for FOL membership at $25/year with larger donation levels included.  This is one step in their marketing plan which will also include a “welcome” packet for new residents.

          John Winslow gave a brief summary of his draft proposal for a multi-purpose building which could include space for an expanded Library, Water District Admin, Port, Community Center, and general event/meeting space and would be on the order of 7000 Ft².  Feedback on ideas for such a building should be forwarded to John.

          It was also noted during the Planning meeting that we need a volunteer who would be willing to post some of our more valuable books on E-Bay in order to get the best value out of the donations.  If anyone knows of someone who might be interested in helping out, please contact any one of the Board members.

          The Veterans’ Memorial Garden has been maintained by Carol Campbell for the last year or two and she asked if the Friends would be interested in assuming responsibility for its maintenance.  There was a motion to take on that duty with Carol as the coordinator and the motion was passed.

          The final item of business was discussion on future meeting dates.  The normal 11/16 meeting will conflict with the Inquiring Minds program, so it was agreed to postpone the meeting to 11/30.

 

Next meeting: The next regular meeting will be Wednesday November 30th at 7:00PM in the Library meeting room.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 9:01PM.

 

Respectfully submitted,

John Winslow, Secretary