07-08-2020 Library Board Meeting

Board of Trustees Meeting
Fairlee Library
July 8, 2020

 

In attendance: Cyrie Lange, Samantha Hickman, Charlotte Williams, Jen Johnson, Joy Weale

1. The meeting was called to order at 7:03 PM by Cyrie Lange in the library.

2. Minutes of June 10th meeting were approved unanimously, on a motion by Jen, seconded by Joy.

3. Librarian’s Report: There are 11 children signed up for the summer reading program. The program is going very well. If the 1500 books goal is reached, there will be an outside movie and pizza party. Samantha will close the library this Friday for a wedding. The Census Bureau will be outside in the yard on the 18th to encourage people to fill out their census. Topsham Communications has increased our internet speed. COVID rules are being observed well by patrons. Samantha’s sneeze guard will be here on July 20th. The same week the library’s water meter will be installed. Finally, Samatha was contacted by a resident who is interested in heading up a library building donations effort. There were 163 patrons in June and 85 so far in July, with more than 400 items checked out.. Samantha will hide the 24 dragon eggs around town soon.

4. Treasurer’s Report: None at this time.

5) Old Business: Vote to approve the By-Laws as written: Charlotte made a motion to accept as amended with regard to timing of future review, seconded by Jen. The motion was approved unanimously. Amendment: the By-Laws should be reviewed as needed or no later than every five years.

6) New Business: It would be helpful for Samantha to include announcements on the Listserve weekly in addition to the newsletter and Facebook. Possibilities for new trustee: we will contact three people, also Charlotte can put a plea on the Fairlee Help Listserve.

Meeting adjourned at 7:50 PM. Next meeting will be August 12th at 7 PM, in the library, with masks and distancing.

Respectfully submitted,

Charlotte Williams, Recording Secretary

 

Fairlee Public Library
By-Laws
Adopted 4/99
Amended 12/9/2009, 3/11/2020
7/10/2020

Purpose: The Fairlee Board of Trustees is the body which 1) develops policy to guide the operation of the library, 2) manages property, 3) requests and approves expenditures of town funds budgeted to the library, 4) oversees the employment of the librarian and other paid staff of the Fairlee Public Library, and 5) serves as a link to the community.

Membership: The Fairlee Board of Trustees shall consist of five trustees. Trustees are elected at Town Meeting, with full terms of 5 years expiring in a one per year rotation. If a Trustee is unavailable to complete the full term, s/he should notify the Board Chair, who will notify the Select Board. When vacancies arise, the Library Board will nominate a replacement, whose name is submitted to the Select Board for approval, with approved nominees serving until the next Town Meeting. The years remaining in the vacated person’s term will be listed as the years of the truncated position, to be elected at the following town meeting, in addition to the slotted election for the regularly expiring 5 year term.

Officers: The duties of the officers specified below are in addition to those duties as public officials, including the Duty of Care or Diligence, the Duty of Loyalty, and the Duty of Obedience, as described in greater detail in the Dept. of Libraries Publication, A Manual for Library Trustees, 3rd Edition.

Chair—warns and presides over meetings

Treasurer—Keeps a full and up to date accounting of the library monies overseen by Fairlee Town Treasurer

Secretary—Takes minutes of the Board meetings, distributes the minutes to the trustees, posts minutes for the town, maintains copies of the library policies, and generates correspondence as needed for the Board.

Meetings: According to the volume of workload, the Board will meet monthly or bimonthly, with notification and public attendance in accordance with Vermont’s open meeting law. Barring rescheduling required by adverse weather or unforeseen conflicts which would restrict attendance below a quorum, the next meeting time and date will be set prior to adjoining the current meeting. When particular tasks, unexpected urgent or emergent deadlines, or additional information is needed prior to making decisions, special meetings may be convened with the approval of the Chair.

The Librarian is expected to attend Board meetings, or to notify the Chair if s/he is unable to attend.

Quorum: Ideally the meeting times are set so that all Trustees can be in attendance, and all Trustees are expected to attend meetings. When members cannot attend scheduled meetings, they should notify the Chair and the Librarian with as much advance notice as possible. Votes to expend library funds in excess of $500, votes to invoke new policy and votes concerning employee policy (hiring, evaluation for example) should be taken only when at least 4 trustees are present. For all other purposes, meetings can be held if 3 trustees are present.

Committees: There are no standing committees for the FPL. Ad hoc committees can be designated by the Chair as the need arises, with membership of the committee decided upon by the Board. When the intent of the committee is to gather specialized information, or when the committee feels it needs representation of the town at large, non-trustees may be invited to join the committee. Committee reports and recommendations will be submitted to the Board for further action.

General Agenda for meetings: Routine meetings will be expected to include: review and amendment/approval of the Secretary’s minutes of the previous meeting, review of the Treasurer’s report provided by the Town Treasurer, review of the Librarian’s report, and to take needed action on any items therein, review any committee reports, update and act on items of old business, and entertain items of new business. Any special focus for the following meeting will be set at the conclusion of the current meeting, as much as possible. When needed, the Chair may request to suspend the formal agenda to focus on a particular topic of a work meeting, and only urgent items which cannot await the next regularly scheduled meeting will be entertained outside of the chosen topic. Meetings will aim to entertain all representative viewpoints present among the trustees and to reach consensus on major decisions. General procedure represents a modified Roberts’ Rules of Order.

During each year, focused topics should include: review and updating policy, evaluation of the librarian’s performance, proposing a budget to be submitted to the Select Board, developing short and long range plans.

Division of Duties: In general, the Trustees are responsible for developing and updating policies and plans. The Librarian is responsible for implementing those policies and plans. The Librarian is also responsible for the daily management of the library, and for providing service to the patrons as well as giving guidance and training to the volunteers. Details of the Librarian’s duties are in the job description of the position Fairlee Public Librarian.

Budgetary and Financial Considerations: In general, expenditures of town funds should reflect the budget which the Board of Trustees submits to the Select Board. A quorum of the Board of Trustees reviews and signs bills organized by the Librarian who then submits them to the Town Treasurer for payment. The Board may approve expenditures of privately held funds for unexpected purchases or services which are in keeping with the plans and purposes of the FPL.

Education and Development: In recognition of the complex tasks facing trustees, the Board members are encouraged to take advantage of the Town Officers Training Meetings as well as membership, attendance in, and reading publications of organizations such as Vermont Library Association and the Vermont Library Trustees Association. The Board should also support and endorse educational and training opportunities for library staff and volunteers.

Amending By-Laws: The by-laws can be amended by simple majority of a quorum of Trustees. The by-laws will be reviewed and updated every five years (no later than 2025) or as needed.