Meeting Minutes, May 2015

Reading Library
Board of Trustees Meeting

May 26, 2015
In attendance: Libbet Downs, Peter Seman, Vanessa Maxham, Bill Bakker, Tony Pikramenos, Milde Waterfall.
Minutes submitted by Milde Waterfall, Secretary
***
Meeting called to order at 6:00pm
Minutes approved for April meeting.
No changes to Agenda

Secretary’s Report: Thank you notes sent to the family of Mary Singleton for directing donations to the library and to all donors. Also thank you to Jane Soule and Gabe Boning for program presentations.

Treasurer’s Report: General information. No significant notations.

Librarian’s Report: An Afternoon with Jane Soule and our iPad class were well attended and went well. Work with 4th and 6th grade continuing. We’ve planned a Family Movie Night for June 6th viewing Ratatouille and enjoying popcorn, lemonade and pixy stix. Met with Kevin Barnes of Friends and Neighbors to discuss a potential movie night on the ball field. Exploring costs for out door license. John Philpin is helping with our desktop monitor issues. Submitted a list of hours Librarian has given beyond contract time and discussed remuneration. Librarian will be out on June 2 and June 20th requiring coverage TBA. Librarian decided not to attend the Library conference in Burlington for State Libraries.

Unfinished Business: Tony presented ideas for explaining advantages for automation. Bill reported on Russ Moore’s report on Catamount. Tony added information he received from Tom McMurdo, Collections & Digital Initiatives Librarian, VDL. Mr. McMurdo recommended that we explore Library World as opposed to Catamount or Vokal regarding automation. Extended discussion followed. We have received no dates regarding the Exterior Painting by the Prison. Garret Mulder and Gary Macia completed work on the pillars. Mason Harkins is mowing. Several concerns remain: windows cleaned after painting, railing on stairs put back, Library hours sign needs to be secured, water is welling on the south side of the building, stove on main floor needs maintenance, front side walk needs repair. Libbet will follow up with prison time frame. Remaining budget after all payments made in June will be minimal.

New Business: Board agreed to go ahead with plantings and hanging baskets in preparation for Old Home Days. Board reviewed and accepted the Building Uses Agreement crafted by the Librarian following extended discussion and review of history of the process. The Policy remains at the Board’s discretion and will be reevaluated in January.

Summary of Decisions:
Tony will research Library World and monitor the new Library Use policy, as well as continue to research license for out door movies. In addition he will continue work with the 4th and 6ths grades regarding movie night and other potential projects. Libbet will discuss dates with the prison for exterior work. Milde will pursue planting and baskets. Bill will follow up with Russ Moore in Springfield regarding Catamount.

Next Month’s Agenda possibilities: Automation, Continuing Projects, Budget reviews.
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Meeting Adjourned at 7:45pm

Meeting Agenda, 5-26-15

Reading Public Library
Board of Trustees
AGENDA

(May 26, 2015)

1. Call to order

2. Approve minutes from last meeting

3. Query for changes to agenda items

4. Secretary’s Report

5. Treasurer’s Report

6. Librarian’s Report

7. Unfinished Business
• Automation
• Exterior painting, other maintenance
• Remaining budget

8. New Business
• Payment for herbs
• Building Use Agreement for individuals

9. Summary of decisions

10. Items for next month’s agenda

11. Adjourn

Meeting Agenda, 3-31-15

Reading Public Library
Board of Trustees
AGENDA

(March 31, 2015)

1. Call to order

2. Approve minutes from last meeting

3. Secretary’s Report

4. Treasurer’s Report

5. Librarian’s Report

6. Unfinished Business
• Pillar repair
• Tony’s vacation coverage
• Read-a-Thon
• Community Service (6th graders)

7. New Business
• Automation options

8. Summary of decisions

9. Adjourn

10. Items for next month’s agenda: automation, remaining budget dollars, pillar repair, exterior painting work by prison.

Librarian’s Note, June 2015

The library has free passes available for the American Precision Museum in Windsor, the Billings Farm & Museum in Woodstock, the Fort at No. 4 Living History Museum, and the Vermont History Museum, with branches in Montpelier and Barre; and we have reduced-price passes for Echo Aquarium and Science Center in Burlington.

We also offer a pass for many of Vermont’s state parks, good for free entry into designated park day-areas for up to eight people in a vehicle. The pass can be checked out for two days and is good at Ascutney, Plymouth, Wilgus, and Silver Lake state parks, among others. We’ve got a similar pass for half a dozen Vermont historical sites, including the Eureka Schoolhouse in Springfield, the Old Constitution House in Windsor, and the Calvin Coolidge Birthplace at Plymouth Notch.

Our “Books Have Legs” display has three new anecdotes. David Rowlee, Milde Waterfall, and Maryann Allcroft each shared thoughts about some special books. Stop in and take a look on the wall above the stairs leading to the children’s room. We will continue to highlight additonal entries as they come in. If you’d like to share a few sentences about a book that played an important role in your life, you can pick up an entry form at the library.

We have added about eighty-five DVDs to our collection—classics, comedies, dramas, the whole gamut. They’re all available for check-out. The Vermont Movie is available as well for folks who’d like to see the documentary but couldn’t attend the library’s showing.

The town library provided nine of the ten nominated Red Clover picture books to the school for the kids to read and vote on in class. About a dozen of the kids, in turn, provided the town library with written reviews of the books. The kids’ reviews are laid out atop the bookcase in the library’s children’s room as a guide to parents. We also sent many of the nominated Dorothy Canfield Fisher books over to the older elementary students to read and vote on in class. We very much enjoy working with the school and want to thank the teachers and administrative staff for encouraging the collaboration.

In that spirit, we are working with some of the sixth graders, who are organizing and running a family movie night here at the library. As of this writing, we haven’t yet settled on a specific movie, but it will be shown on Saturday, June 6, at 6:30. Kids may bring pillows and sleeping bags or blankets. They can attend in their pajamas if they like and can bring along a doll or stuffed animal. Popcorn and lemonade will be served.

Cordially,
Tony

Librarian’s Note, May 2015

On Sunday, May 17, at 3 p.m., Reading Public Library will host a free program, “Menus, Memories & Memorabilia.” Jane Soule, owner of South Woodstock’s Hyacinth House B&B, will share menus, memories, and memorabilia from the 1940s and ‘50s, when her aunt ran the place as a guest house. Jane will share handwritten recipes and menus from those years, along with old recipe books, records of where folks did their shopping, and the names of local farmers and food suppliers from the period. Refreshments reminiscent of the mid-twentieth century will be served. Join us for an exploration of how life and eating habits have changed in Windsor County. For more information, call the library at 484-5588.

 

Cordially,

Tony

 

 

Librarian’s Note, March 2015

The Reading Public Library is currently showing Freedom & Unity: The Vermont Movie, the first-ever documentary series about the state. The six-part film is a collaboration of over four dozen VT filmmakers. The film is thematic, not chronological, exploring themes in the state’s history that recur and circle back, from 1777 to the present. Each part is approximately 80 minutes long. The remaining parts will be shown on the following Fridays at 7 p.m.

March 6 – Part 3: “Refuge, Reinvention and Revolution” (exploring innovation, interstates, and counter-culture).

March 20 – Part 4: “Doers and Shapers” (exploring progressivism in education and state law, from Act 250 to civil unions).

April 3 – Part 5: “Ceres’ Children” (exploring participatory democracy and ethics in conservation and farming).

April 24 – Part 6: “People’s Power” (exploring contemporary tensions over energy, independence, climate, and the state’s future).

The popcorn and the program are free.

We have set up a display inside the library for three of our “Books Have Legs” anecdotes. Sharon Harkins, Libbet Downs, and Esther Allen each shared thoughts about some special books. Stop in and take a look on the wall above the stairs leading to the children’s room. We will display three new anecdotes next month. Thanks to all who participated. If you’d like to share a few sentences about a book that played an important role in your life, you can pick up an entry form near the display.

This winter’s book-discussion series features Remembrance of Things Past, the multi-volume novel by Marcel Proust. In March we will be discussing the second volume, Within A Budding Grove. Call the library for the meeting time and date. For those who have a Kindle or an iPad with a Kindle app, you can purchase the entire novel for $2.99 at Amazon. Or you can read it online at openculture.com. I also have one copy of the novel to loan; and the library has a Kindle with a copy of the novel on it. I would probably be able to get one copy via interlibrary loan, as well.

 

Cordially,

Tony